Brateiu Archaeological Complex

The Brateiu (Hungarian:Baráthely German:Pretoa) archaeological complex is an archaeological site consisting of several tombs and a settlement, in Transylvania, Romanian. The site contains archaeological finds from several periods. There are 2 archaeological layers, officially known as Brateiu 1, Brateiu 2 which can be distinguished by age. The oldest archaeological site, Brateiu 1, dates back to the 4th century, while Brateiu 2 dates to the 8th century.

Brateiu 1

The oldest archaeological site in Brateiu is divisive among archaeologists.

Romanian archaeologists see the tombs as Roman survivals, because of their cremation methods. (scattered burial) On the contrary, Hungarian German and Austrian archaeologists point out that the burial style of the tombs does show some similarities with the late Roman style, but the design of the tomb, the religious offerings placed in it and the utensils found in the tomb are typical Gothic finds. The Germanic pot fragments found next to the graves are also typical Gothic archaeological finds. Furthermore, the graves unearthed near Chișinău, at a certified Visigothic site, were buried using exactly the same method and style.

The controversy was further deepened by the discovery of 3 Roman coins in one of the graves, but at the same time the settlement associated with the grave was excavated, clearly a Germanic settlement with all the characteristics of the period. (It is important to mention that it is not certain that the coins were found in the graves.) The artefacts found in the settlement belonging to the cemetery are all clearly Gothic utensils (pots, combs, jewellery, hump-backed bone combs, buckles, fibulae; hidden-buried agricultural tools: spade shoes, sickles, cart fittings).

There was hardly any valuable ornamentation or jewellery in the graves, which suggests that whoever they were, these people lived a very simple and poor life.

The placement of the graves and the grave goods buried in them make it clear that the population was a pagan population.

Among archaeologists, there is no consensus on the ethnic composition of the population from the archaeological excavation. However, they agree that the population using the settlement and cemetery had definitely died out or moved away by the second half of the 4th century. This is evident because after this time, neither the cemetery nor the settlement yielded any further archaeological material.

Brateiu 2

The second site, dating to the 8th centuries, also include a settlement. The settlement, although sparsely excavated, is known to combine Slavic, Gepid, and Avar elements. It also had stone-hearth houses and ovens. In the large cemetery, a mixed Slavic-Avar-Gepid population was buried. There is no continuity between this and the older 4th century cemetery. Since, according to the unanimous testimony of its archaeological finds, the Brateiu 2 urn cemetery is not opened before the early 8th century.

Slavis and Avars

Brateiu 2 Cemetery is the largest Slavic urnfield cemetery in the Carpathian Basin. In this part of the cemetery, a significant number of Avar graves can also be found. From the arrangement of the graves, it can be determined that the Avar and Slavic graves were created at the same time. The cemetery contains 34 Avar skeleton graves, of which 2 are horse graves, and two have inscriptions in runic script. Among the Slavic graves, there are 210 cremation graves, out of which 45 are urn graves. Skeletal burials attributed to the Avars are distributed across the entire expanse of the cemetery. Their orientation, except for a few cases, reflects the characteristics typical of the late Avar period. A significant majority (90%) of Avar artifacts unearthed in the cemetery, including stirrups, bits, cast bronze belt ornaments, earrings adorned with small spheres, watermelon seed-shaped beads, awls, and vessels from these same graves, originate from the skeletal burials. Their burial rituals, attire, and objects do not differ from those observed in burial grounds of less affluent 8th-century Avar rural communities found elsewhere within the Avar Empire. Notably, the cemetery holds unique importance due to the discovery of Avar artifacts such as earrings with small spheres, crescent-shaped earrings with silver pendants, iron rattles, and several cast bronze belt ornaments with leaf motifs in four cremation graves. These findings serve as crucial evidence of their contemporaneity and interconnectedness. Even in the early 9th century, the cemetery maintains its "Avar" characteristics, notably with late features such as the horse grave and its complete set of equipment.

In the cemetery, there are no longer any hand-shaped "Prague-Korchak culture-type" urns or vessels present at the last period. The earliest Slavic urns here date back to the 8th and 9th centuries, featuring pottery with wavy line decorations crafted on a potter's wheel from settlements in the Târnava Valley. The majority of Slavic graves in the cemetery postdate the Avar period and are characterized by Slavic urns and vessels. During this period, grave goods largely disappear, with the exception of a few beads and iron knives.

In the cemetery, there are also graves of Slavic origin that archaeologically exhibit strong similarities to Gepidic graves, suggesting that a part of the population assimilated to the Gepidic culture.

Gepids (sometimes referred to as Brateiu 3)

The cemetery at "Brateiu 3", known for its nearly 300 Gepid Christian graves, has revealed several artifacts including jewelry like disc-shaped fibulae, Gepid and Byzantine belt buckles, pottery such as pouring-spout jugs with smoothed and stamped decorations, and weapons including double-edged swords, spears, and arrowheads. These findings predominantly exhibit Gepid characteristics. It is particularly interesting that distorted skulls, a distinctive feature of the Gepids, are also found here, similar to those discovered in Gepidic graves during other archaeological excavations. (In Odorheiu Secuiesc, Bahnea, Sighișoara)

In the Christian Gepid cemetery, Grave 7 revealed the remains of a wealthy woman buried according to typical Gepid customs, with a distorted skull. The noblewoman was given a rich burial, adorned with gold and silver earrings, fibulae, buckles, and gold pins with openwork polyhedral heads.

In Brateiu, all Gepidic graves also contain the typical decorated D-shaped buckles characteristic of the Gepids. These are identical to the buckles found in Gepid settlements excavated in Serbia. It is also important to highlight that a significant number of weapons were found in the Gepid graves.