Apahida

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Apahida
Apahida does not have a coat of arms
Apahida (Romania)
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Basic data
State : RomaniaRomania Romania
Historical region : Transylvania
Circle : Cluj
Municipality : Apahida
Coordinates : 46 ° 49 '  N , 23 ° 45'  E Coordinates: 46 ° 48 '54 "  N , 23 ° 44' 59"  E
Time zone : EET ( UTC +2)
Height : 303  m
Area : 106.02  km²
Residents : 10,685 (October 20, 2011)
Population density : 101 inhabitants per km²
Postal code : 407035
Telephone code : (+40) 02 64
License plate : CJ
Structure and administration (as of 2016)
Community type : local community
Structure : Apahida, Bodrog , Câmpeneşti , Corpadea , Dezmir , Pata , Sânnicoară , Sub Coastă
Mayor : Grigore Fati ( PSD )
Postal address : Libertății street, no. 122
loc. Apahida, jud. Cluj, RO-407035
Website :

Apahida ( Hungarian Apahida , translated "The Bridge of the Monks", Latin Pons Abbatis , "The Bridge of the Abbot", German (old) Bruckendorf ) is a municipality in the Cluj district , in Transylvania , Romania .

The town is famous for its three grand tombs from the migration period . Transylvania is a landscape that has been settled since the Neolithic and benefits from the wealth of raw materials in the Carpathian Mountains. The finds from the Migration Period increased significantly in Transylvania in the second half of the 5th century. In the 5th century there are many rather modestly furnished individual graves and small groups of graves, as well as impressive treasures such as Pietroasa (around 400 AD) or Șimleu Silvaniei .

State tombs

Grave 1

This first grand grave was accidentally recovered on June 12, 1889, when four workers suddenly came across pieces of jewelry while mining gravel. The recovered burial inventory is certainly not complete, some will have been lost as a result of the turbulent circumstances of the discovery. Important finds are a golden onion button fibula , animal head pendants, silver jugs of Byzantine origin and a large number of pieces of jewelry set with almandines. There are also several finger rings, one of which is engraved with the name Omharus. The grave is dated to the last quarter of the 5th century AD.

Saddle fittings

Grave 2

Grave II - salvaged by Kurt Horedt in 1968/69 - is approx. 500 m away from grave I (Omharus grave), which is chronologically younger. Saddle fittings, bridles and other riding accessories should be mentioned here. There is also a spathe , the most famous Germanic long sword. The almandine-set eagle figures are very beautiful. The shape of the fittings and inlays mainly shows similarities with a treasure from Cluj-Someseni, which was found only three kilometers from Apahida in 1963.

Grave 3

During the construction of a new building that was to be erected between the sites of the two other graves, a third princely grave was probably cut in 1973. In the excavation, a child happened to find a large belt buckle that it pulled behind it as a toy. Further remains from this grave could not be found. According to the buckle shape, the third grave is closer to the younger Omharus grave.

interpretation

In the literature, these graves are generally assigned to the Gepids . Byzantine and Christian as well as equestrian nomadic influences are actually mutually exclusive in the two graves (graves I and II), so that an exact classification is difficult. Alternatively, Ostrogoths and Alans are traded.

The similarities in the decoration technique are particularly noticeable. The belt buckles, which are the same in all three graves, are particularly striking. It is a so-called cloisonné ornament. Due to the similarity with work from other graves, this has led to speculations of joint workshops. Similar works and decorations were found in Childerich's grave 1200 km away .

literature

  • Kurt Horedt : Transylvania in the early Middle Ages (= Antiquitas. Series 3: Treatises on prehistory and early history, on classical and provincial Roman archeology and on the history of antiquity. Vol. 28). Habelt, Bonn 1986, ISBN 3-7749-2195-4 .
  • Kurt Horedt, Dumitru Protase : The second princely grave of Apahida (Transylvania). In: Germania . Vol. 50, 1972, pp. 174-220.
  • Alfried Wieczorek , Patrick Périn (ed.): The gold of the barbarian princes. Treasures from state graves of the 5th century AD between the Caucasus and Gaul (= publications of the Reiss Museum. Vol. 3). Theiss, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8062-1558-8 .

Web links

Commons : Apahida  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. 2011 census in Romania at citypopulation.de
  2. Arrhenius 1985, B. Arrhenius, Merovingian Garnet Jewelery. Emergence and social implications (Stockholm 1985)