• Researches between 1914 - 1988
• Researches between 1989 - 1999
• Research trends for the third millennium
• Histria - a national and international archaeological site

By the summer of 1999 eighty-five years had elapsed since the great Romanian archaeologist and historian Vasile Pârvan, after having discovered - with an incomparable intuition- the ruins of the ancient city of Histria, undertook the first campaign of archaeological excavations. During the decades following that first campaign - when almost continuous archaeological excavations were undertaken, which makes Histria the most durable archaeological site in Romania - an urban settlement was uncovered. Histria was named - rightly - by Emil Condurachi, one of the subsequent leaders of the site, the "Romanian Pompeii".

And while the "Romanian Pompeii" have benefited, over the years, from excellent "stages of research" (Forschungsberichte), due by turn to Scarlat Lambrino, Dionisie M. Pippidi, Gabriella Bordenache or Emil Condurachi, the idea of putting on paper certain plans and aims for the future is an innovation of our generation. Naturally, that does not mean that our precursors undertook their researches without a preestablished plan, as the contrary is proved by many editorial projects, above all the Histria monographic series. Now over eight decades of archaeological researches led to the accumulation of a huge amount of data regarding essential aspects of national and international history. In other words, now there are many data on the settling of the first Milesian colonists; the magnificence of the archaic, classic and partially Hellenistic Histria; also on its integration into the Roman Empire and its relative prosperity as part of it; on the triumph of Christianity; therefore, on a time span of over a millennium and a half. During all that time also the relationships with the local population must have evolved: from the sporadic initial contacts to the significant ethnogenetic mutations from the end of the Classic Antiquity. All that makes us believe that the coming into being of such a plan like the one mentioned is absolutely necessary. And if our generation has had the privilege of writing it for the first time, it is certain that each generation - of the tens that will come one after another at Histria, until the utopian conclusion of the researches - will have to turn the privilege into obligation.

The researches between 1914 and 1988
Of the twelve years (1914 - 1926) that Vasile Pârvan led the archaeological excavations at Histria - as director of the National Museum of Antiquities - only during nine (1914 - 1916; 1921 - 1926) normal campaigns could be undertaken. Interrupted, as understood, by the tragedy of world war one - when Histria was sacked by the invading armies and many pieces, some of them original, lying to this day in museum deposits abroad - V. Pârvan's excavations uncovered the late Roman precinct where the large square, the official district and the thermae were identified. At the same time some excavations were undertaken into what would later be known as one of the sacred areas of the Greek town. The strange presentiment of his unfairly early death - a day before he died he had given instructions to his executor that even the most insignificant notes should be destroyed - resulted in only a partial fulfilment of his generous editorial plan regarding Histria, worked out in 1916. Excepting some short reports on the 1914 campaign, V. Pârvan actually left us just three epigraphic memorials, the first two published under the titles of Histria IV and Histria VII in A.A.R.M.S I., and the third one in the outstanding review Dacia, founded by him in 1924, resumed by Emil Condurachi in 1957, but whose issuing is unfortunately no longer certain.

The great creator of the Romanian archaeological school was succeeded as head of the Histria archaeological site by the remarkable epigraphist Scarlat Lambrino (1927 - 1942). The latter continued the researches in the settlement (the official district, the thermae), discovered the early Roman precinct of the town, and made a few excavations into the plateau on its west. However, like his great predecessor, he contented himself with a brief account on the archaeological researches, but at the same time offered to the scientific world a new lot of original inscriptions, published in the same review Dacia, as well as a few studies, also epigraphic, of a remarkable value. At least as valuable as his own appears to be the work of his wife, Marcelle Flot-Lambrino, Les vases archaiques d'Histria, published in 1938, a work that remained unaltered in time - as is often the case.

The year 1949 - whether we like it or not - meant, in the language of the Histria epigraphic documents, which we will discuss later, a "second founding" of the Histria archaeological site. Under the guidance of Emil Condurachi (1949 - 1970), a period that included the transformation, in 1956, of the National Museum of Antiquities into the Institute of Archaeology of the Romanian Academy, at present named "Vasile Pârvan", and that became the rightful and actual successor of one of the oldest cultural institutions of this country, the researches at Histria intensified on the acropolis, but extended not only to the west district or tumular necropolis, but also into the territory of the old Milesian colony. Thus the foundation was laid for the understanding the numerous complex historical processes involved in the Histria phenomenon.

It suffices to mention here, in brief, the opening of fresh research areas in one of the sacred zones of the Greek town (that enjoyed the collaboration, among others, of D. M. Pippidi, Gabriella Borderache, Victoria Eftimie-Andronescu, Petre Alexandrescu and Alexandru Simion Stefan), in the residential district of the late Roman city (Iorgu Stoian, Emilian Popescu and Mihai Sâmpetru), at the Christian basilica in the big square as well as in many other parts in the centre of the late city (Grigore Florescu and Aurelian Petre), in the so-called economic district (Ion Iosif Russu), at the late Roman precinct (Nubar Hampartumian and architect Dinu Theodorescu), at the Hellenistic precinct (Vasile Canarache and Constantin Preda), at the extra-mural basilica (N. Hampartumian), at the thermae outside the late precinct (Alexandru Suceveanu), at the archaic, classic and late Roman precincts (Dumitru Tudor and Maria Coja), on the plateau west of the city (Suzana Dimitriu, Carmen Dumitrescu and Catrinel Domaneantu), and, finally in the big tumular necropolis (Vlad Zirra, P. Alexandrescu and Dumitru Vâlceanu).

Now the first excavations are under way in the rural settlements of the Histria territory, like those at Tariverdi (Radu Vulpe, Dumitru Berciu, C. Preda and P. Alexandrescu), Istria village (Vl. Zirra), Sinoe and Fântânele (V. Canarache).

Emil Condurachi supervised also the publication of the first two volumes of the new monographic series on Histria. The first volume, issued in 1954 and comprising significant contributions by Emil Condurachi, Gr. Florescu and D. M. Pippidi, tackles, on one hand, the finds uncovered until 1942, and, on the other, in a preliminary form, some of the new finds. However, the second one, issued twelve years later (1966), reveals in a definitive variant only the results from three research areas, namely those from the west plateau (Suzana Dimitriu), from the tumular necropolis (P. Alexandrescu) and from the Hellenistic precinct (C. Preda and architect A. Doicescu).

It is true that these flaws seemed to have been compensated , at that time, by the publication of bulky preliminary reports in the review "Archaeological Materials and Researches" (also in danger to cease publication). However, that does not affect in any way the worth of the successor of Emil Condurachi as head of the Histria site, D. M. Pippidi (1971 - 1981), to whom we owe not only the present form of the Histria monographic series, but also the publication of no less than four volumes of this series. D. M. Pippidi reduced the number of research areas, and excavations were carried out only into the sacred zone (P. Alexandrescu), the north district of the late city (N. Hampartumian, D. Vâlceanu, and, separately, Catrinel Domaneantu), on the west plateau (Maria Coja), at the thermae in the interior of the late Roman precinct, and, on the territory, at Fântânele (Alexandru Suceveanu). That way D. M. Pippidi ensured the issuing of the following four volumes of the Histria monographic series, namely: III (the coins, by C. Preda and N. Hampartumian); IV (archaic and classic pottery, by P. Alexandrescu); V (pottery workshops, by Maria Coja and Pierre Dupont); VI (Roman thermae, by Suceveanu). That impressive series of publications was followed by the issuing of the collection of Histria inscriptions (brilliantly accounted by the same D. M. Pippidi; the late Histria inscriptions are to be found in Em. Popescu's collection). It is obvious that, for as long as he headed the site, that great scholar made most of the researches at Histria, like never before, and, unfortunately, that tremendous rhythm has not been equalled ever since.

During the time when the leadership of the site was represented by Petre Alexandrescu (1982 - 1988), the excavations at the bishop's basilica were resumed (they had been begun by Suceveanu and Costin Scorpan in 1969, but they were interrupted in 1970; the new team included at first Octavian Bounegru and Crisan Museteanu) and new researches were performed into the territory at Histria-bridge (Konrad Zimmermann and Alexandru Avram) and Nuntasi (Catrinel Domaneantu). At the same time at Kostanz am Bodensee a new miscellaneous volume on Histria (the Xenia collection) was issued by P. Alexandrescu and Wolfgang Schuller.

The researches between 1989 - 1999
Worked out in 1989, the new plan for the archaeological researches at Histria was put into practice as late as 1990, since when I have shared the work on the site with P. Alexandrescu. Thus, the excavations at the bishop's basilica were continued (the research team was joined by architect Gordana Milosevici and numismatist Gh. Poenaru Bordea), and other four research areas were reopened either for continuing the researches or ensuring the putting to good use of some older unpublished finds, but unfortunately under the form of a monograph. It involves the area comprising the Greek sacred zone (the team includes K. Zimmermann, Al. Avram and architect Monica Margineanu - Cârstoiu), that of the Greek precincts on the plateau (Mircea V. Angelescu and P. Dupont), and, finally, that of the late residential district (Oct. Bounegru and Virgil Lungu).

Each find uncovered in these areas will have to make up the subject matter of a volume separate from the Histria monographic series. Meanwhile the volume Histria VIII was issued, containing two parts dedicated to the study of the amphora stamps (Thasos, by Al . Avram and Sinope, by Niculae Conovici) . The publications on the Greek sacred zone (Histria VII, co-ordinated by P. Alexandrescu) and on the sculptures (Histria IX, by Maria Alexandrescu-Vianu) are expected in 2000. By then the Ministry of Culture will have issued also the volumes on the early Roman pottery (Histria X, by Alexandru Suceveanu) and on the Hellenistic pottery bearing decorations in relief (Histria XI, by Catrinel Domaneantu). Other volumes are expected to complete this monographic series, including the one by Monica Margineanu-Cârstoiu, dedicated to the study of architecture works (a volume that has reached an advanced stage of elaboration), those regarding the ground researches Tariverdi, Istria-village, Histria-bridge and Nuntasi, which could be followed by the working out of a volume dedicated to the Histria territory) and various others (Hellenistic pottery, the rushlights, the late Roman pottery, metal, glass and bone items).

Research trends for the third millennium
It is certain that, once published, the volumes mentioned above will be dissipated a large part of the issues that our team face today. But as those issues outnumber the present certainties, it appears useful to mark them, at the same time specifying the corresponding age. As a result of the second great wave of Greek colonisation, the archaic Histria is of an exceptional paradigmatic interest both for world history and for the national one. Thus, as regards the date of its founding by the colonists coming from Miletus, it seems that the right information comes from a late source (Eusebius), that is the year 657 BC, and the accuracy of the data from this source has been verified in the case of most Greek colonies. Things turn complicated through the uncovering from under the first layer on the acropolis (a term relatively recently introduced into the Histria vocabulary, thanks to the excavations performed by Catrinel Domaneantu in the so-called sector A) of some Greek pottery fragments worn from a long-lasting contact with the salty sea water (the observation belongs to M. V. Angelescu).

Therefore we will have to admit the existence of a precolonial nucleus, wherever that might have been and no matter what name it might have borne, in which case the other date given for the founding of Histria, and conveyed by another source (Pseudo-Skymnos, that is about 620 BC, may be interpreted otherwise. How the archaic acropolis of Histria looked like is another issue deserving our attention in the future. Until now we have had knowledge on the existence of a sacred zone, to the north of the acropolis, where researchers identified the sanctuaries of Zeus, Aphrodite, possibly Hera, and other religious monuments. But can this sacred zone be considered unique, for as long as from it lacks the temple of the main god (eponymous) of the city, Apollo the Healer (Ietros)? A piece of information coming from one of the most famous specialist in Greek pottery, Marcelle Flot-Lambrino, according to which Apollo's temple might have been situated in the southern part of the acropolis - being, as it is often the case, overlapped by a Christian basilica - should be verified in the near future. At the same time it would be useful to prove another piece of information - conveyed to us by Professor Dinu Adamesteanu - according to which the acropolis might have been defended by its own precinct, like in many Greek cities (for instance, Athens). Once certified, that precinct at one time was doubled by the adobe one, that closed in at least sixty hectars, prefiguring a system of double precincts, often attested in the Greek world, and that would used again during the Hellenistic period in Histria itself. Until then it is worth mentioning that the link between the two nuclei - the acropolis and the west plateau - is still debatable (anyway the idea of two entities facing each other seems hard to sustain). In our opinion, the explanation has to be searched in the great geophysical mutations that have taken place since then, when in the south of the city, today in sand, must have been washed by the sea waters (somewhere in the area must have stood also the harbour of the city, which remains to be identified), and its north, today below sea level, must have still been inhabited.

Special problems regarding the cohabitation between the Greeks and the locals raise both the west plateau, where coexist surface dwellings with a lot of Greek material and half buried dwellings where the autochthonous pottery prevails, and the necropolis, on one side flat, therefore for sure Greek, on the other side tumular, of which at least a part seems to have belonged to the local chieftains. Thus we have reached the issue of the influence of the Greek culture over the local one or rather the influence of one culture over the other. The data on this (one should distinguish between the autochthonous settlements and the Greek market towns, farms and sanctuaries) are still totally insufficient, as they allow only the application of certain clichés (peaceful colonisation, of the Ionian-Milesian type, unlike the Dorian warlike one), that too highly debatable. Anyway, the idea of an inhibition exerted by the Greek factor over the autochthonous one, in sharp contradiction with the role usually attributed to the Greeks, should not be wholly abandoned, taking into account that the manifestations of the locals in all fields of activity (politics, coins and pottery) are much more inconsistent than the north-Danubian ones, either the early or later ones.

A large part of the issues mentioned above are, of course, valid also for classic Histria. The victory of the democratic regime, explicitly attested by the great thinker of the antiquity, Aristotle, as well as the very probable inclusion of Histria into the Athenian Sea League - both linked to the famous naval demonstration of Pericles in the Black Sea - made of Histria one of the big Greeks towns of the 5th century BC, which certainly can be explained by the accession of the city to the status of production centre, which entailed the obligation to coin money. To these certainties we should add, on the one hand, a more plausible explanation for the classical precinct (which hardly fits the double precinct system), and on the other, a justification (of a political nature) of the existence of two layers during that period of time.

Therefore it is only natural that Hellenistic Histria should remain a centre of high interest for the great states of the Aegean and Mediterranean world. Thus, after the Athenians, the Macedonians of Phillip II, Alexander the Great or Lisimachus, Ptolemies, Seleucidae, Mithridates VI Eupator (about who an inscription from Histria recently discovered reads that he used to have a garrison in the city) or Burebista must have exerted, one way or another, their authority on the old Milesian colony. thus Histria joined the circuit of the extraordinary trade relations of the Hellenistic world, as proved by the numerous imports of amphorae from the large production centres in Thasos, Sinope, Rhodos, Cos or Cnidos, merchandise vehiculated by an obviously still active port. It is true that certain Histria epigraphic documents give accounts on conflicts with a series of local kings, more or less important, but that information (if it not due to the multiplying of written sources, as suggested recently by the German researcher Manfred Oppermann) do not prevent us from believing that the flourish of Hellenistic Histria (it is an older opinion of V. Pârvan), at least in its initial stage. That is proved by a recent discovery (sensed by Maria Coja and M. V. Angelescu) regarding the fact that at the beginning of the Hellenistic age the old archaic precinct (the one defending the largest city) might have been used again partially. In that case the Hellenistic stone precinct might be considered to be not a dramatic confining of the city - as believed until recently - but, on the contrary, an extension of its high fortified area.

The political turmoil at the end of the Hellenistic age had a negative impact on the beginning of Roman Histria. In spite of some very early deeds of loyalty to Rome and its emperor (deeds that Histria people repeated on the occasion of the accession of each emperor to the throne), Histria underwent a time of "weakness" (the very words on a famous epigraphic document), comparable with the period of uncertainty at Tomis, so painfully resented by Ovid. Only when in the region between the Danube and the Black Sea stationed the first stable Roman troops, an event followed after a few decades by a profound reorganisation of the Danubian border under Trajan, did the people of Histria regain their peace. Under the shelter of a new precinct, closing in a surface approximately equal to that of the classical city, remarkable monuments were raised, some of them uncovered by excavations (like the two thermae), others revealed by inscriptions (and that we would like to know also through archaeological research), and, finally, a large part of them known from the remains that were used as simple construction materials in the precinct raised after the catastrophe from the middle of the 3rd century. That real renaissance, due to the atmosphere maintained by the philo-Greek emperor Hadrian, may have been called by the people of Histria "the second renaissance of the city" (some argue that this event should be placed after the controversial destruction of the city by Burebista). It is also certain that the title of "the magnificent city of the people of Histria", officially granted in the time of the Severs' dynasty, corresponded to a remarkable prosperity.

By remaining an essentially Greek city (by its institutions, religion, culture and language), Histria was at the same time a centre of Romanization as it took over a part of the conquests of Roman civilisation (it suffices to mention the elements of construction techniques or even the idea of thermae, which inspired the construction on its territory of public baths), while within the territory under Roman jurisdiction the language used was exclusively Latin. Under the walls of the city took place the process of Roman-Getic cultural intermingling, during which the Roman authorities open-mindedly attracted the locals into the magistracy, and, actually, granted Roman citizenship, but that particular process never ceased to bear the stamp of Greek culture.

That very small ethnic community rebuilt, from the ashes of the once magnificent city, late Roman Histria. Thus, "that once strong Histria", to quote Ammianus Marcellinus, must have suffered one of the most impressive destruction, judging from the fact that the event was recorded in the series of imperial biographies, known under the name of Historia Augusta. An older opinion, ascribing that destruction to one of the tragic Gothic spoils from the middle of the 3rd century, has been recently upset by another hypothesis (belonging to Radu Florescu), according to which it was the result of an earthquake. The dilemma will stay with us for ever, but it would be worth mentioning that the construction system of the precinct, with columns transversally arranged at the base of the wall, seems to prefigure one of the most modern systems against earthquakes. In the interior of this precinct (closing in only seven hectares), standing on the old centre of the Roman city, were raised official monuments (civil basilicas) nearby the thermae that continue to function, which stands proof for the continuation of a normal city life, even if more modest, as indicated also by a recent epigraphic find, attesting a senator of the town.

After the relative quietness of the first three quarters of the 4th century, the darkest century in the history of Histria followed. That was certainly brought about by the extraordinary pressure from the migrating peoples, especially the Huns. However, that particular dark century is interesting to study as at the time the Christians, having lived for centuries in the old Milesian colony like on the whole Dobrudja sea shore, built their first religious edifices. The height of Christianity was, however, reached later, when at Histria, that had become, according to a document called Notitia Episcopatum, a bishop's centre, functioned no less than four basilicas. The one that probably was the bishopric stands for one of the largest and most elegant edifices of this type in the whole Balkan Peninsula. The history of this monument, from its construction during the restoring reigns of Anastasius and Justinianus, to its restoration from the end of the reign of the latter, to its almost entire destruction from the end of the 6th century, and, finally to its overlapping, in the first part of the next century, by a hopelessly rural layer, may constitute a typical pattern for how things were along the whole Empire at the end of the Roman rule.

When it comes to patterns, we should remind the one that might be observed in the ethnic components of late Roman Histria. A population of Greeks and Romanised Getae, who had all passed to Christianity, was joined by a large Sarmatian stock, as it results from the archaeological and anthropological data provided by the research of the necropolis (cemetery) at the foot of the city (we mean the older researches undertaken by N. Hampartumian, that are to be resumed soon). It is high time that instead of certain phenomena - especially that of the Romanian ethnogenesis - abusively generalised evenly in the girders of present day Romania (girders that, as known, never existed in antiquity) we contented ourselves with the finding that certain micro-ethnogeneses, some of them rather Romanised, other rather barbarized, were regrouped and unified only later, perhaps under the threat from other terrible invasions. As we are conscious of the complexity of such an issue, of the pros and cons of such an opinion, we only intend to prove that from its beginning to its end, the city on the bank of the Sinoe lake fully played its role of key resort as far as the major issues of the Danubian-Pontic zone are concerned.

Histria - a national and international archaeological site
As the questions regarding the numerous issues emphasised above can be answered exclusively of Histria archaeologists - considering that the results of our researches will be published, only our generation being able to offer the Romanian and international scientific world at least ten more volumes of the Histria monographic series - our considerations could have ended here. But Histria can offer more to European culture, and, taking the risk of raising certain issues regarding the museum and administration aspects, we think the latter deserve to be mentioned in brief, even if - as it will be seen - they are vital for confirming to Histria, also from those points of view, its role as key resort. The first and most urgent is the preservation and maintenance of the ruins in this large open air museum. The consolidation works between 1965 and 1977, at the late Roman precinct, and, partially, the edifice called Thermae I, were followed, after the Revolution of 1989, by those between 1991 and 1994, when the edifice Thermae II was restored (it will also be finished), and the south curtain of the late Roman precinct was released from the soil deposited during the old excavations.

Regrettably, since 1995 no consolidation works has been performed, in spite of the fact that complexes like the large square, Thermae I, the late residential district, the north sacred zone or the bishop's basilica have been excavated or in an advanced stage of excavation, and only the accuracy of these researches can guarantee the validity of the restoration projects in question. At the same time, by surrounding with a protection fence the almost 73 hectares surface, officially in operation - exclusively for the archaeological works of our Institute, one could begin the process of preservation of extremely important monuments on the west plateau, that might be badly damaged starting from the following day or at the end of such ideal works, if they fail to be performed. We approach the issues of the museum itself when we propose the replacing of the present boards in the city by more expressive ones (including an attempt at reconstituting the monuments in question), as well as the printing of a catalogue of the local museum (there are projects as to that, but they cannot be put into practice from lack of financial resources). The museum is the creation of our friends from Constantza, especially of Adrian Radulescu, and it is a fact that it deserves o full modernisation, worthy of its exhibits. We aim at designing a vast promotional programme (from leaflets and copies archaeological items to video cameras, including the introduction of an illustrated text on the Internet). We see all that as a starting point for the beginning of the work of creating a Histria foundation.

V. Pârvan dreamt of founding at Histria a summer university. The generations that followed were content to assume the less impressive, but fully deserved title of school-site. Only that under the present conditions, when we do have electricity, thanks to the same A. Radulescu, but when water is supplied like during the Dark Ages (anyway the conditions do not compare with the ancient ones, when an aqueduct of over 25 km used to link the city to the excellent springs of Fântânele), and the walls of our few dwellings, as well as those of the deposits are not going to last for much longer, the site can no longer shelter a large number of archaeologists, or students.

It is true that all the issues raised in this less optimistic end involve financial efforts inconceivable nowadays. When things go better - that is to happen one day - all the problems should be solved, for Histria does not belong only to our generations - that are used to work under difficult conditions - but, to paraphrase a great Romanian playwright who echoed the words of a great Romanian prince, it belongs to the successors of our successors.