Journal Analele Banatului N.S. Archaeology-History

Alexandru Szentmiklosi

Andrei Bălărie

Contribuţii la cunoaşterea evoluţiei oraşului Timişoara la sfârşitul Evului Mediu. Cercetările arheologice preventive din suburbia Palanca Mare / Contributions to the Knowledge of the Evolution of the Town of Timisoara at the End of the Middle Ages. Archaeological Preventive Investigations Within the Suburbs of Palanca Mare

Jan. 1, 2012

Abstract

! e ensemble of buildings and empty spaces that the inhabitants of Timisoara know under the name of Square „Timişoara 700” was named in memory of anniversary of 700 years since the fi rst attestation of the town (1266). ! is square superposes the old suburb that existed out of the medieval town of Timisoara at the end of the Middle Ages. In 2009, it started the construction of an underground parking area with a surface of 6,725 m2 , divided into two enclosures (A and B). Unfortunately, the rescue archaeological investigations started only in summer of 2011, succeeding in retrieving just part of the existent scientifi cal information from enclosure B. Medieval Timişoara was divided into three distinct areas: the fortress, the town and the suburbs, respectively Palanca Mare (the Rascian Town) and Palanca Mică (the Island). Situated out of the fortress, the suburbs would prefi gure the appearance of the „towns” around Timişoara during the modern period (the 18th–19th centuries). ! ose suburbs were dwelled by farmers, artisans and merchants especially Christians after the Ottoman conquest. As a distinct suburb, Palanca Mare developped to the north and north-east by the town, surrounding the medieval walls from three parts. Palanca Mare had its own defensive system described by Francesco Grisellini as being formed of a ditch with water and walls faced with a wall of brick and palisades. From a chronological point of view, dwelling in the south-western part of the suburbs of Palanca Mare started, the most probably, in the 17th century even if some ceramic fragments seem to move down this dating in the second half of the 16th century. ! e earliest dwelling horizon detected within the archaeological investigations from the summer of 2011 is illustrated through the alignment of pillars A.1. ! e well C.15 and the shaft C.102 could correspond to this horizon too, but this parallelization remains at level of hypothesis for the moment in lack of a clear stratigraphical connection. A second chronological horizon is the moment in which the alignment A.1 is decommissioned, and it is superposed by a dwelling level certainly illustrated by the semi-buried dwelling C.33 and, probably, by the shaft C.82 and the dwelling C.100. A third chronological horizon is represented by the three graves discovered in primary position and by the archaeological evidences in secondary position (C.90 and fragments of calotte from the cunette fi lling). ! is horizon, on the basis of the coin found in the grave C.61 is dated about the middle or even in the second half of the 17th century. We can not state precisely the necropolis area and nor if there were dwellings or household annexes in use in the close vicinity. ! e stratigraphical succession illustrated by the eastern profi le of the enclosure B associates the fi rst level of burning to a horizon subsequent to the burials within the investigated perimeter. Within the fourth chronological horizon, a fi re burned up both dwellings and wooden structures that continued to delimit, on the same direction, rectangular perimeters. For a large number of complexes, the fi llings point out abundance of remains of burned wood. ! ose were associated with ceramic fragments, bricks and fragmentary tiles. ! e rows of pits with remains of carbonized pillar (alignments A.2 and A.3) can be certainly assigned to this horizon. To the last horizon (5) can be attributed the complexes C.14 that sections the dwelling C.3 and probably the pillar pits with faced piles rammed into the bottom ground. ! e process of fi lling of several complexes (e.g. C.3, C.111) and leveling of settlements with fragmentary tiles, reaching even 30 cm in thickness here and there, can also be integrated in this stage. ! e late complexes, as for example C.13, seem to be isolated intrusions. ! e dwelling of the suburb Palanca Mare ceased after 1750, fact related, very probably, to the moment in which the new military authorities decided to extend the bastion fortifi cation. Onn the place of the suburb Palanca Mare was built the counterguards VII and I that had the role to protect the bastion VII (Eugene of Savoya). ! e large perimeter of research allowed some observations extremely important not only for the history of the urban evolution of the town of Timișoara, but also concerning the techniques of construction of the fortifi cation (a monument included in the category A). Unfortunately, this chance was altered, to a great extent, by the “positive” intentions of the local administration which have decided, not once, to pass over the legislation concerning prevention of archaeological patrimony in its great desire to modernize the town. Undoubtedly, if legislation concerning prevention of the historical patrimony will be respected, the new archaeological investigations will certainly bring new scientifi c information related to the economic and urban development of Timișoara.