Două topoare medievale descoperite în apropierea localităţii Fundu Moldovei (jud. Suceava)
Abstract
The present study primarily aims at bringing in the research field two medieval axes made by iron, discovered by chance in the proximity of Fundu Moldovei village (Suceava County). The village Fundu Moldovei is located about 15 km away from the city Câmpulung Moldovenesc and 85 km west from Suceava, the former capital of medieval state of Moldavia. The area (the Câmpulung Moldovenesc-Gura Humorului Hollow) is well-known as a corridor used by armies, peoples and animals to go across from Moldavia to Transylvania during the historical times. At the same time, the area was inhabited mainly by the animal breeders from the very early age of Middle Ages. The two axes belong to the type VII, VIII and IX in the classification of M. Głosek, in type IVA in the W. Hübner tipology, and type XIV in the classification made by Em I. Emandi. The typological and diachronic systematization has its main starting point in the classifications made for different regions of Europe by A. Nadolski, B. A. Kolčin, A. N. Kirpičnikov, A. Ruttkay, M. Głosek, M. Brmbolić, V. Jotov and many other specialists. For the Romanian region, the late E. I. Emandi’s works and D. Gh. Teodor’s contribution to the timeline of the early axes are most relevant. In the Middle Ages, various types of axes were used not only in wood cutting and deforestation, but also in carpentry and other domestic activities and crafts. Certainly, some tools were also used as weapons and the other way round.
Keywords
medieval axes; medieval metallurgy; medieval state of Moldavia; Fundu Moldovei village (Suceava County); 16th – 17th centuries.