Early Iron Age settlement of Saharna-Ţiglău. Preliminary research results

The settlement of Saharna-Ţiglău was discovered in 1946 by G.D. Smirnov. In 1950 Smirnov together with G.P. Sergeev carried out limited exploration excavations. Only 50 years later, M.T. Kašuba published the results of those excavations in shorthand form in the study “The early iron in the forest-steppe between the Dniester and the Siret rivers”. The present paper suggests that the monument of Valea Ţiglău bears the named - Saharna Ţiglău.

In point of fact the settlement is situated on a high rocky cape (“Valea” means “ravine”) formed by the right bank of the Dniester river and the Ţiglău clove. The settlement is now situated on the privately owned agricultural lands. In the course of economic works carried out in 2007, a number of archaeological artefacts were uncovered on the territory of the settlement and place at service of the Moldovan State University Archaeological expedition.

In the course of excavations covering 40 square meters, significant and diverse ceramic material was found. The preliminary analysis shows that the ceramics in form and in ornament has wide analogies as in the Early Iron Age monuments of the Cozia-Saharna culture and beyond it.

Variety of shapes and combination of the streaked and stamped ornaments show the importance of this settlement in studying the history of the first half of the first millenium B.C.