PHOTO: Unique pieces discovered in Alba Iulia from the 16th century at the Batthyaneum Library. What is their history?

In the period 1907-1914, at the Roman-Catholic cathedral in Alba Iulia, 33 graves were discovered that revealed several new pieces, which can reproduce the culture and civilization of the 16th-17th centuries.

The archaeological discoveries in the Roman-Catholic cathedral in Alba Iulia, from the period 1907-1914, are the most significant and relevant for the history of the Princely Court, for the aristocratic life of the Palace of the Princes, from the 16th-17th centuries. The inventory discovered then, in 33 graves, can reproduce the image, at least approximately, of the culture and civilization enjoyed by the Transylvanian nobles, uniquely combining Western and Eastern traditions.

Pόsta Béla (1862-1919) is the archaeologist who coordinated the excavations, he was one of the founders of the Ardelean National Museum and a university professor of the Archeology Department of the University of Cluj. Among his students, we also find Constantin Daicoviciu (1898-1973).

Among the graves discovered, grave no. 6 had a remarkable inventory. Among the pieces discovered, a pair of spurs, made of silver-plated iron, and the buckles of a sword, made of gilded silver, attract our attention. We can admire Renaissance decorative elements, rose petals, acanthus-shaped decorations, half-open roses, ornaments imitating pomegranate seeds, but also Tomiea flowers. Pόsta Béla’s conclusion is that these pieces, as well as many others discovered, perfectly reproduce the balance of the Western and Eastern worlds, and can be dated to the 16th century.

Pόsta Béla published the results of its archaeological research in the volume Les trouvailles sépulcrales de la Cathedrale de Gyulafehérvár (A gyulafehérvári székesegyház sírleletei) in 1917-1918. There is also a Romanian translation of this work, published in 2013, according to a post published on Facebook by the Batthyaneum Library.