Romania recovers priceless ancient treasure

A golden arm bracelet dating from 1st century BC is exhibited at the National History Museum of Romania (AFP, Daniel Mihailescu)

BUCHAREST (AFP) – 22 hours ago — Romania has recovered more of a priceless ancient treasure, stolen years ago from the archaeological site of Sarmisegetusa Regia, the head of the national history museum said Wednesday.
A total of 232 artifacts, including a gold bracelet, two iron shields and gold and silver coins were bought back from a German collector, Ernest Tarnoveanu told a press conference.
The 933-gram (two pound) bracelet is the 13th such artefact recovered since 2005, Tarnoveanu said, stressing that 11 more bracelets, all dating from the 1st century BC, are still missing.
"These bracelets are the most spectacular Dacian artefacts handed down to us," Tarnoveanu said.
The Dacians, an Indo-European people conquered by the Romans in the 1st century AD, are the ancestors of the Romanians.
After the treasure of Pietroasele, which includes gold figurines weighing more than 19 kilos, "this is the most important find made on Romanian territory," Tarnoveanu said.
The 13 beautifully decorated golden spiral bracelets recovered so far were among 24 stolen between 1998 and 2001, when the Sarmisegetusa site in southwest Romania was plundered.
Elements of the hoard have been recovered from American, German and Swiss collectors who had bought them in good faith, prosecutor Augustin Lazar said.
Lazar said 28 Romanians have so far been indicted for plundering Sarmisegetusa, part of UNESCO's world heritage.
Thirteen of them received prison sentences of between seven and 12 years in December 2009.
Interpol and law enforcement authorities of Austria, Britain, Belgium, France, Germany, Serbia, Switzerland and the United States helped with the investigation, Lazar said.

The Craftsmen Fairs—Bringing to Life Romania’s Traditions

Through a series of events taking place across Romania, the Craftsmen Fairs offer tourists an opportunity to explore the beauty of Romanian traditions from different parts of the country, and for genuine traditional artists to express and sell their original artifacts.

As trying to keep alive the old crafts, the fairs are periodically held in most cities in Romania, and many of these traditional craftsmen attend them on a regular basis, while some of them were invited to go abroad to display their creations.

The most recent fair was held in the city of Galati in the first days of July. Besides the display and the selling of handmade items, local promoters also organized shows with folk music and dance.

The craftsmen do their work out of passion and out of commitment to the old ways.

“The satisfaction that results from our work is primarily moral in nature; each item we make is handmade, each is unique,” says the potter Simon Stoica, who hails from the city of Chisinau in the nearby Republic Moldavia. He presented his products, souvenirs made from red clay such as bottles, key rings, bells or decorative wall panels.

The creation of clay objects, as he describes it, is one that requires much dedication and patience: they are spun on the potter’s wheel, decoration is applied, then left to dry for one week, painted and baked in the oven at a temperature of 1000 degrees Celsius. For medium-sized objects the whole process takes a whole month and the smaller ones can be completed in up to two weeks. “We are three craftsmen, each one having his own unique style, but our common aim is to promote traditional cultural values and keep alive the things that were used in the old days,” adds Stoica.

Ionelia Stoica is a painter that specializes in native painting featuring themes inspired by Romanian rural life. She does this kind of painting not only on canvas but also on clay pots and braids of rushes. Her greatest joy is that of creating beautiful objects with her own hands that are admired and appreciated by others.

What these craftsmen all have in common is the revival of the spirit of the traditions, and the way they feel about their work: they take work to be an opportunity for relaxation, and more than that, it is a spiritual experience.

Adam Curta, icon painter from Cluj-Napoca confesses, “My work brings me enormous satisfaction and peace of soul.” He and his wife, both teachers, have set up in their school a glass-painting coterie that is both helping to keep the traditions alive and being a form of what he calls “art-therapy.” Adam particularly stands out among the other craftsmen as he is dressed from head to toe in a traditional costume, with not a single piece of modern clothing on him.

As a specialized glass-icon painter, he has a genuine approach to painting, different from other artists. While the latter made icons as already aged, imitating patina using certain techniques and colors, Adam leaves time itself to work its ways and he paints the icons as they should be: clean, using fresh and vivid colors, without tricks designed give customers the illusion that they have bought a hundreds-year-old icon. This authenticity of his style conquered the hearts of foreigners—Adam showcased his creations in exhibitions in France, Italy, Poland, Israel, and Belgium.

Folk masks, traditional costumes, dolls, icons, paintings, bells, pottery made of black and red clay, wooden spoons and more such things are available at the fairs, all made with the purpose of bringing a cramp of authentic tradition in our often dull contemporary modern homes.

Events like Craftsmen Fair are helping maintain authentic local identity and traditions in the era of technology and globalization. As we rediscover and return to the traditional arts, we have the opportunity to see the true beauty of old times.

Constanta -- Tomis

The Romanian Black Sea Riviera stretches from Danube Delta in the north, down to the Black Sea Riviera in Bulgaria in the south, along 275 km of coastline.

The main cities in the region are Mangalia, Nãvodari, Sulina and Constanţa, which is the capital of the area and one of Romania’s largest cities.

The foundations of Constanţa were set some 2,600 years ago, when Greek colonists from Miletus built the city of Tomis on its present site. The ancient city of Tomis has been associated with the legend of Jason and the Argonauts, who embarked on a long voyage from Greece to the Asian country of Kolchis on the Black Sea Coast in search of the Golden Fleece.

The best place for seeing the evidences of the old civilization is the National History and Archeology Museum in Ovidiu Square. It houses interesting exhibits and ancient art objects, reflecting influences from Greek, Roman and Turkish empires, some of which date back to around 6 century B.C. Two statues, one of the "Glykon - The Fantastic Snake," dating from the 3rd century BC (ancient Greek artifact), and the other of "Goddess Fortuna and Pontos," god of the Black Sea, are considered protectors of the city and port and are the highlights of the collection.

Also in Ovidiu Square is the statue of the Latin poet Ovidius Publius Naso who came to live in Constanţa in 8 A.D., after he was exiled from Rome by Emperor Augustus.

Transylvania, among first five tourist destinations in Europe recommended by USA Today

Saxon citadel of Sighisoara (Romania’s province of Transylvania)

Tourist attractions in Transylvania, center of Romania, are among the top holiday destinations in Europe that the renowned site USA Today recommends to American tourists. With all prices going up, and the dollar down, USA Today has intended to make a classification of the most beautiful tourist destinations in Europe accessible to American commoners.

Unlike Romanians, who believe their country has become expensive for tourists, the Americans say in their analysis that Transylvania, at least, offers reasonable prices to its visitors. Tourist attractions in Transylvania would be wild landscapes, probably the last rural areas in the continent with a medieval life style and with old traditions, cities and towns full of the culture and civilization of South-Eastern Europe.

Tourists are advised to start from the city of Brasov, full of history and medieval buildings, including churches and strongholds, to go by cabin to Tampa, wherefrom they have a splendid view of the city and of the mountains. The next location could be Bran Castle, known as the Castle of Dracula. It perfectly suits the Hollywood ideal of the castle of vampires, it has even been filmed for movies about Dracula.

Tourists can also go to Sighisoara. One of the best conserved medieval cities in Europe, it is part of UNESCO World Heritage. Visitors can also go to Sibiu, which was the European Capital of Culture in 2007.

Transylvania is presented fourth in the tourist attractions in USA Today, the other four are, in this order, attractions from Bulgaria, Berlin, Turquoise Coast in Turkey, and Moravia region in the Czech Republic.

MFI heir to create wild species haven in Romania

July 6, 2008 – After plans for wolves in the Scottish Highlands were thwarted, Paul Lister has set his sights on a Carpathian reserve.
A businessman whose plans to reintroduce wolves, bears and wild cats to the Scottish Highlands were thwarted by officialdom has turned to Romania to fulfil his dream.

Paul Lister, heir to the MFI furniture fortune and owner of the 23,000-acre Alladale estate near Inverness, is to turn thousands of acres of ancient forestry in the Carpathian mountains into a haven for wild species.

The mountains are home to 5,000 brown bears, 3,000 wolves and 2,000 lynx — Europe’s largest populations — which are threatened by the rapid expansion of industrial logging operations. Lister, who has worked with the Carpathian Wolf Sanctuary for more than a decade, has created a charitable body, the European Nature Trust, to establish the nature reserve.

Trees and wildlife will be protected by rangers, aided by aerial surveillance, and roads and tracks used by unscrupulous logging gangs will be removed. Visitors will be able to camp or stay in lodges, and go on organised trails to see the “big five” — brown bears, wolves, lynx, wild boar and red deer — in the wild.

Though 16% of the region is under some form of protection, the vast majority is threatened by logging, hunting and development. Lister has turned to the area — which contains a third of Europe’s plant species — after spending five years in a fruitless effort to reintroduce wolves and bears to Scotland for the first time since the 18th century.

Last year he imported a pair of moose from Sweden and already has a breeding population of wild boar on his estate. But his efforts have been frustrated by government red tape and complaints from neighbouring farmers, who fear escaped wolves would kill livestock.

He has been told he must submit a full application to Michael Russell, the environment minister, who would ultimately decide whether to grant a licence to reintroduce wolves under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. The proposal would be subject to a public consultation, likely to take up to a year, followed by possible appeals.

To satisfy the legislation he would need an area of almost 50,000 acres to house 15 wolves, three pairs of lynx and up to 30 brown bears, which would require the co-operation of neighbouring landowners.

Plans for a three-metre-high electric fence around his estate — which would be the longest in Europe — would fall foul of Scottish Natural Heritage, the government conservation body, which has said that it would breach land reform legislation.

“We are still negotiating with our neighbours. It’s a long slog but it’s a case of people changing their mind-set,” said Lister. “I still believe it can happen but if we can’t bring back the wolf, it won’t be the end of the world.

“Romania and the Carpathian mountains have some of the largest tracts of old-growth forests remaining in Europe. These great woods, which are rich in biodiversity, are under threat from illegal logging, not only on private lands but also within national parks.

“We have a wilderness on our doorstep which is Europe’s equivalent of Yellowstone Park but it’s under threat. We need to raise awareness of this and I will absolutely have to take this to the EU. We need to keep these wild spaces, not just for our own benefit but for that of future generations.”

According to legend, the last British wolf was killed in the Scottish Highlands in 1743. Last week opponents to Lister’s Highland plans welcomed his “change of focus”.

“Scotland isn’t ready for wolves and we have always thought that Lister was ahead of the game,” said Ian McCall of the Ramblers’ Association. “We have had concerns about the fencing and access issues.
Perhaps in Romania, where wolves are in the wild, he can achieve more.”

A spokesman for the Scottish government said: “Mr Russell is not persuaded of the merits of reintroducing the wolf. There are a number of very serious issues which would need to be addressed in full for any such application to be looked at.”

Lister’s bid to create his Highland wildlife reserve will feature in a BBC documentary, The Real Monarch of the Glen, which begins tomorrow.

Source: The Sunday Times

Earliest European modern human fossil found in Romania

At the end of June, the American anthropologist Erik Trinkaus delivered on Wednesday a conference at the Bucharest Anthropology Institute titled 'Oldest Homo Sapiens fossils in Europe found in Romania (the Bones cave),' dealing with the discovery in a Romanian cave of the earliest modern man fossil in Europe.

The discovery was made in 2002, in the Bone cave uncovered close to the town of Anina, Caras-Severin county, western Romania; this is where a human jaw bone, 34,000 - 40,000 years old, was found.

Since Romania had no precise dating instruments or internationally acknowledged labs, the jawbone was sent to American researcher Erik Trinkaus, professor at the Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Trinkaus analyzed the fragment in the worldwide acknowledged Oxford and Groningen labs, and the results were also published in the US. According to the findings of the American researcher, the jawbone proves the presence on the European continent of a Neanderthal connection to the fossil human who is known to have lived in Africa. In 2003, fragments of a human cranium that matched with the previously found jawbone were also found in the cave, and they were was proven to have belonged to a young hominid.

At Wednesday's conference, the anthropologist screened a rendering of the process that led him to the conclusion that the bone fragments discovered in the cave date since the period modern humans emerged as a species.

Trinkaus also mentioned the possibility that the exemplary found in Romania may have been the result of 'interbreeding' of a modern and a Neanderthal hominid, a theory not all researchers - and especially those who claim the Neanderthal man has too little contributed to the gene pool of modern man - accept.

Trinkaus said his research relied on Carbon-14 dating.

The fragments discovered in Romania are the earliest Homo Sapiens bones discovered in Europe, the world's second oldest fragments after th fossil discovered in Africa.

Whereas so far the oldest modern man bone fragment discovered in Europe was 25,000 years old, the Bone cave discovery sheds new light on the evolution of modern man.

New archeological site emerges during rehabilitation works of Bucharest historic centre

Road rehabilitation works in the historical center of Bucharest have stuck some three months after initiation as experts are trying to solve the issue of protection of new archeological findings: digs revealed an old road that connected a former “Old Princely Court” to a nearby inn as well as other vestiges of centuries-old items, HotNews.ro reads on March 20, 2007.

The road works are part of a major plan launched by Bucharest officials to partially redraw the landscape of old Bucharest, a city that has been drastically changed under communism.Digs revealed archeological items dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. Should other, older objects be discovered, the site may be isolated by a glass screen to protect the findings until a solution is found.Bucharest Museum chief archeologist Gheorghe Adamesteanu has said that unless such older objects are found, the archeological side may be temporarily be covered in sand.

But the issue poses a major issue to architects over viewing the rehabilitation works as they are pressed by both archeologists and by Bucharest mayor Adriean Videanu, who’s pushing for works to be concluded as soon as possible.The historical center of Bucharest was declared a national interest objective in 2001.

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The “Old Princely Court” area can be identified with the medieval history of Bucharest, though continuity of human life in this part of the town dates back to the 10th and 4th centuries b.C., as attested by archaeological findings. In the absence of old drawings, scale models or engravings, and having at hand few and incomplete documents drawn by medieval Romanian chroniclers, or by foreign travellers, Romanian specialists find it difficult to recuperate the original design of the princely residence.