Bucureşti – centrul istoric. Campania 2007. Raport preliminar privind cercetările arheologice efectuate pe strada Smârdan / Bucarest – Historical Center. Archaeological researches in Smârdan Street

Abstract

During the XVII century the historical documents mentioned a „ Lane going from the Princely Court towards the Greek’s Church’ while later on, until the second half of the XIX century the street was known as the German Lane. It acquired the present day name with the end of the Independence War in 1878. The 2007 excavations were the first ones focusing on the entire street. No archaeological remains were identified on the segment stretching from Lipscani St to Sf. Dumitru St. Foundations of brick constructions were exposed throughout the next segment, from Sf. Dumitru St. to Şelari St. Several fragments of wall foundations were observed at street numbers 30, 37, 39 and 41 and while dismanteling the sidewalk other short wall remains were exposed at street numbers 14, 26, 27, 28, 29. The excavations also uncovered the outlines of four XIX century constructions and one from the XVIII century. Other features included two garbage pits and remains of the old street paved with timber. The trench at no. 41 also yielded an area paved with small river boulders. A large number of pot sherds was recovered, resulted from various pottery types and also a large range of glass items. The majority was found within the cultural layer and only few from closed complexes such as pits or cellars. The ceramics was very fragmented, dating mostly from the XVII– XIX centuries. A major drawback constitutes the fact that this period is at the confluence between Late Medieval archaeology and ethnography, preventing a more refined chronology. The pottery material was grouped in two – the XVI– XVII centuries and the XVIII– XIX centuries, hoping that further publications will be more detailed. Mixed with the above mentioned fragments, isolated sherds, typical for the Dridu culture (X century) also occurred, in the soil resulted while digging the wall foundations.