What was thousands of years ago on the land in Ilfov where the A0 highway is being built. The construction site brought to light a treasure

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Exceptional archaeological discovery on the construction site of the highway that surrounds the Capital. 7,000-year-old objects were unearthed during the work. Archaeologists have found over 10,000 artifacts from several eras and human settlements.

By Florentina Lazar on 01.04.2024, 21:01

“This is a brothel-type settlement. It dates from the 6th century AD. The dwelling is 3 m long and 2.5 m wide, and here you can see the fire installation, otherwise known as the stove. At that time, the dwellings were dug into the ground, and the roof was made of wood. On the almost 7 hectares of archaeological site, 15 such houses were discovered,” says Florentina Lazăr, Observer reporter.

The treasure under the highway

The discovery was made during the design operations, in the Bâcu and Zurbaua area of ​​Ilfov. Archaeologists have found thousands of objects and fragments of pottery, vessels, tools and weapons. Historians say that the first Bronze Age communities settled on those lands.

“Let’s imagine that on the land where we are now, 5,000 years ago there was nothing. But being a favorable area, agriculture is flourishing left and right, the land is fertile, we have access to water, the climate is mild, temperate , propitious, the first communities from the Bronze Age came and settled here. The last ones we have identified so far are those from the medieval period, who built a small village here,” says Talida Radu, archaeologist.

“It is a multi-layered site, we have materials from the Neolithic, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, we also have from the 2nd-3rd century. These are some bags from the Bronze Age, you can see the decoration specific to the culture – it was painted white. Here we have a stick end, it was used for spinning, the spindle was put here”, explained Silviu Ene, archaeologist.

Archaeological research began in March. “Initially, we had 4 site areas, now we have 12. Another 8 identified additionally. For the first 2, the archaeological research is now being done, we are on time”, declared Ionel Scrioşteanu, State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport.

The first lot of the A0 Highway is the most delayed, but the archaeological discoveries will not confuse the construction site that will start next month, the authorities promise. “This year we exceed 70 km of the ring highway open to traffic, and as a novelty, the works will also restart on lot 4, which crosses Lake Cernica”, adds Ionel Scrioşteanu, State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport.

Drivers will be able to drive on all 100 kilometers of the Bucharest Motorway – the new Ring Road – in 2026. Archaeological discoveries are frequent on highway construction sites. In 2022, on the A7, archaeologists found the princely tomb of a warrior buried next to his horse, as well as gold objects.