Cristina PARASCHIV-TALMAȚCHI*
Abstract. After an introduction, in which the construction phases of the fortifications of the Hârșova fortress, a few landmarks regarding the archaeological research of the site, and the context that led to the undertaking of new large-scale archaeological investigations are mentioned, the author brings to attention stratigraphic sequences recorded on this occasion inside the Byzantine enclosure, in the harbor area, and on the eastern side, extra muros. The investigations, carried out in 2020, confirmed that the small enclosure was built after the return of the Byzantine administration to Dobruja (post-971), and that the wall and the tower on the northern side were constructed on the bedrock, after a prior leveling of the terrain. In the harbor area, a landing stage was identified for which there are indications that it was arranged in the 10th century, probably at the same time or not long after the construction of the Byzantine enclosure. It shows similarities with the port installations of the fortresses from Nufăru and Păcuiul lui Soare. On the eastern side, the excavation reached the bedrock, revealing an area where some materials used for the construction of the enclosure were prepared and the presence of craft-related structures.
Keywords: fortress, Byzantine enclosure, port, stratigraphy, 10th–11th centuries, Hârșova, Danube
DOI 10.56082/annalsarscihist.2025.1.29
*PhD, Senior Researcher: Museum of National History and Archaeology Constanța, Romania; e-mail: ctalmatchi@gmail.com.
PUBLISHED in Annals of the Academy of Romanian Scientists Annals Series on History and Archaeology, Volume 17, No1