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Geophysical prospection and excavations show that the heavily fortified Teleac hillfort was densely occupied with a population reaching the low thousands. In this article it is argued that Teleac was a local political centre that acted as a hub for transportation and trade in a region that is rich in mineral resources. Recent investigations also reveal that Teleac was attacked in the late 10th century in an event that breached and destroyed the formidable northern defensive system. This attack suggests that the level of military threat was quite severe in the eastern Carpathian Basin. The attacking forces must have had significant offensive capabilities in order to tackle Teleac’s defences. It is also a strong indication that not only Teleac, but contemporary fortified settlements in the surrounding region were at least in part erected to resist serious military threats.
Recent investigations at the Teleac hillfort in south-western Transylvania have generated new data on the spatial organisation and history of the settlement. A combination of excavations and geophysical prospection revealed that Teleac was a dense and well organised settlement with a substantial population, and that some sections of the hillfort likely were used for different activities. It is also argued that Teleac likely dominated the open settlements and acted as a hub for transportation and trade throughout the region.
Panel discussion
(2019)
Vorwort
(2019)
Foreword
(2019)
Vorwort
(2018)
Foreword
(2018)
Im Rahmen des hessischen LOEWE-Schwerpunkts „Prähistorische Konfliktforschung – Bronzezeitliche Burgen zwischen Taunus und Karpaten“ werden die Burgen der Bronzezeit sowohl interdisziplinär auf verschiedene Kriterien hin untersucht und das Phänomen der bronzezeitlichen Burg durch theoretische Grundlagen zu Herrschaft und Krieg in der Bronzezeit erarbeitet, als auch exemplarisch archäologische Ausgrabungen an Befestigungen in Hessen und in Rumänien durchgeführt. Befestigte Höhensiedlungen oder Burgen stellten zwischen Karpaten und den Mittelgebirgen ein neues Phänomen dar, das im Zusammenhang mit den gesellschaftlichen Entwicklungen stand. Sie boten Schutz vor Überfällen bewaffneter Gruppen, zugleich konnten Ressourcen und Verkehrswege kontrolliert werden. Mit dem Aufkommen neuer Waffen, wie der Lanze oder den Hieb- und Stichschwertern, sowie der Errichtung von wehrhaften Höhensiedlungen wird in der Bronzezeit Europas im 2. Jt. v. Chr. eine Ausweitung von Konflikten, Gewalt und Krieg greifbar. Die bronzezeitlichen Burgen können bei allen differenzierten Funktionen insgesamt als Ausdruck eines gewachsenen fortifikatorischen Bedürfnisses vor dem Hintergrund sich wandelnder Kampftechniken und eines zunehmenden Konfliktpotentials gedeutet werden.
Foreword
(2019)
During the advanced Early Bronze Age two innovative weapons – the sword and the bronze lancehead – became widespread or were regionally produced in vast parts of Europe. The rapid dispersion of these new weapons implies the corresponding necessity for defence measures and the supply of raw materials, as well as the presence of metalworkers, who possessed technical know-how. The ability to handle a sword or a lance required in turn specific training, which was not limited to only a few persons. The appearance of these weapons occurred around the same time as the construction of fortified settlements in elevated locations in Central Europe.
The large hillfort of Teleac, commanding the Mureş River valley, the principal East-West connecting axis in the Carpathian Basin, was likely built in the second half of the 11th century BC and occupied until the end of the 10th or the early 9th century BC. The fortification wall was destroyed around 920 BC, according to recent investigations. More than 40 iron objects were discovered in the fortified complex. These iron finds viewed together with numerous other iron finds from other sites signify that Transylvania was an early centre of the implementation of iron and presumably iron production. Thereby, the use of iron for producing weapons probably stood in the foreground. This is indicated by corresponding grave finds in Greece that contain a sword as offering, but also iron swords found in Slovenia and Romania.