THE SARMATIAN DISCOVERIES FROM RIPICENI – LA STÂNCĂ (BOTOȘANI COUNTY/RO): TWO GRAVES AND MANY QUESTIONS

• Main Authors: Lavinia Grumeza, Angela Simalcsik
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Mega Publishing House 2020-09-01
• Series: Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology
• Subjects: roman period graves, sarmatians, intentional cranial deformation, east carpatians, ripiceni – la stâncă
• Online Access: http://jaha.org.ro/index.php/JAHA/article/view/553

<p>The present paper aims to analyse two graves and other stray finds dated to the Roman period and discovered in 1979 and 1983 in the site of Ripiceni – La Stâncă (Botoșani County/RO). Grave 1 belongs to an adult female (around 55-60 years old) with the skull intentionally deformed in the first years after her birth.  The <em>calvaria</em> of the deceased no. 2 (a child around 2-3 years old) had also traces of artificial deformation. The morphology of both skeletons and the funerary inventory (beads, astragals, ceramics, etc.) can be associated with the Sarmatian culture. Based on analogies one can date the two graves from Ripiceni – La Sâncă during the second half of the 2nd century – 3rd century AD. Probably this features are only a small part of a bigger cemetery destroyed by the animal farm complex constructed in the communist era.</p>