Aspects of a Bandkeramik settlement near Olteni in Transylvania

Abstract

Abstract In Transylvania, settlements of the Transdanubian Linienbandkeramik (LBK) are predominantly found in the Braşov Depression. Excavations at the LBK settlement of Olteni, located on the right bank of the Olt River, brought to light the fragmented remains of at least two ground plans of Early Neolithic longhouses. These are the first convincing evidence of such structures in Romania. The pottery allows dating the site to a later Notenkopf phase of the LBK. Among the ceramic pieces, a fragment of a small altar and several multiply perforated objects are particularly conspicuous; this is the first time sieves have been discovered in an LBK context in Romania. In addition, the Olteni site yielded the most extensive collection of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic plastic in the entire Eastern Bandkeramik milieu.