Archaeology and Nationalism. the Endless Struggle for Dăbâca (G.: Dobeschdorf; H.: Doboka). Thoughts on research development and archaeological realities

Abstract

The excavation of Dăbâca castle started in the early 1960s. The contextualization of the results was heavily influenced by ideological preconceptions since the fortification was identified as the political-military centre of legendary “lord Gelou” by archaeologists, based on the material of only three seasons of archaeological research and a written source from a much later period. According to the archaeological and numismatic finds, the fortification was built in/after the first third of the 11th century, but the castle system reached the peak of its life in the 12th century. This is clearly demonstrated by the coins those were found in the graves in Castle Area IV, A. Tămaş’s garden and the graveyard of Boldâgă/Boldogasszony, just like by the diverse structures of the settlement. The transformation of the castle as a political and administrative center can be dated to the late 13th century. It seems that the changes in Dăbâca’s role were not the result of the Mongolian invasion, and can be traced back to other, both administrative and political reasons.