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Archaeological artefacts at Danube Kilometre 937
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General view of a beach on the left bank of the Danube, about 2-3 km west of Drobeta Turnu-Severin and about 100 metres downstream from Kilometre 937, at the point where a small stream enters the Danube.
It is interesting to see the amount of rubbish strewn on the beach, left by the receding waters of the Danube from a previous high water point.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 2007
Google Earth image of the Km 937 site.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 2007
Adrian made a trip to the area of an ancient Roman site, at Km 937 on the Danube, not far from Drobeta Turnu-Severin.
The whole Roman site was covered some years ago by concrete for tourist facilities, by the Drobeta local government.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 24th March 2012
When making investigations of ancient sites, Adrian needs a lot of equipment, including a notebook, GPS and other instruments.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 24th March 2012
Adrian met there a new Alexis Project friend, Valentin Nica, age 16, who is dedicated to ancient history and is ready to help to promote it
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 24th March 2012
There is little now to see of the ancient Roman site here.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 24th March 2012
On this important archeological site, the people from Drobeta Turnu Severin have built a big recreational area. Only a small part of the site now remains, but still underground there are artefacts from the iron age, Roman times, and the Middle Ages.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 23rd October 2009
Adrian and Alexandru have visited again the remainder of the destroyed 937 site, on the left bank of the Danube river.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 18th April 2010
There are still a few artefacts in the area, even though a huge part of it is covered with a holiday village.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 18th April 2010
In our opinion, the site is completely destroyed, even though there was here a Byzantine harbour, as well as a Middle Ages village with a lot of pottery from the Simian culture.
There is no possibility of rehabilitating the site.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 18th April 2010
Still, there are signs of life, nevertheless, as this millipede shows.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 18th April 2010
Although the site at Kilometre 937 is no more, it is still possible to find occasional indications that it was an important site.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 20th February 2010
Alina has in her hand a stone piece which seems to be a paw from a funerary lion, a sculpture very often built over Roman tombs.
The area is defined by the following GPS readings:
Altitude 51 m, 44° 38' 1.7" N, 22° 35' 13.3" E
Altitude 50 m, 44° 38' 1.5" N, 22° 35' 21.5" E
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 23rd October 2009
Only a wild goose remains to guard the rest of the site against those who would destroy history.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 23rd October 2009
A lot of artefacts saved from Km 937 are ready to be given to the museum to be studied by specialists.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 23rd October 2009
Here we found a very beautiful piece of broken Simian pottery.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 23rd October 2009
A beautiful piece of painted pottery from the Middle Ages, according to Dr Cornel Balosu from Oltenia Museum. It was part of the Simian village culture, during the Middle Ages.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 31st August 2008
A very large and beautifully made stone anchor, possibly from the stone age, not with a hole in it, but with a groove around it to fix the rope.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 31st August 2008
An iron knife, one of many iron pieces found here.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 31st August 2008
A general view of all 64 artefacts found on this day at Km 937 on the Danube, many found underwater.
We believe that the site is underwater, covered by the Iron Gates hydro-electrical plant lake, and many artefacts are eroded from the site during floods in the Danube River.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 31st August 2008
A piece of Middle Ages pottery with a stamp of '+' or 'x' on it, as was found here last year.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 31st August 2008
Artefacts found on the left border of the Danube, at km 937.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 3rd August 2008
The GPS map of site "937". As can be seen, it is a 200 metre long site along the left bank of the Danube, finishing where a small river enters the Danube. The main area, where most of the artefacts are found, is between the middle of the site and the small river.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 16th March 2008
Pottery artefact showing incised curved and straight lines, as well as a coloured glaze.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 12th September 2007
This is an interesting and important piece, with a stamp on the clay.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 12th September 2007
About thirty fish net weights, called "lest" in Romanian, found by the Alexis team at Km 937
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 12th September 2007
Pottery artefacts
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 12th September 2007
Pottery artefacts - a comparison of objects found at Crivina and at Km 237.
To find two identical pieces, about 50 to 60 km apart from each other means much about trade in the Middle Ages, and may indicate a small pottery factory in the region, possibly midway between the two points. Dr Cornel Balosu presumes that this factory was at Simian.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 12th September 2007
A small lead figure on the left, found at Kilometre 937, showing a soldier of the Middle Ages, with an axe and a large shield. The letter "P" was found under the feet of the figure. The soldier has a chain around his neck, and a battle helmet on his head.
On the right, for comparison purposes, a modern toy soldier depicting a soldier from apparently the same period.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 2007 (L) Ebay (R)
A fine piece of Middle Ages pottery, pieced together from fragments found at Kilometre 937.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 2007
Fragments of Middle Ages pottery found at Kilometre 937.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 2007
Fragments of pottery found at Kilometre 937 on the Danube, about 2 km west of the Cladova site. Here there is a small river coming down from the hills north of the Danube's left bank. Dr Gheorghe believes that there is an old Middle Ages village on the hills, since there are many artefacts in the area, but especially in this small river.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 2007
Some of the very large number of Lest (weights for fishing nets) found only along about 100 metres of the beach.
It seems that this area was a centre for fishermen, perhaps in the Middle Ages.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 2007
This wonderful pottery artefact is perhaps of the "Simian" type.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 16th March 2008
A grinding stone used in both the middle ages and in Roman times and earlier, as a tool for making flour from cereals to make bread.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 16th March 2008
One of many ceramic weights for fixing a fishing net in position, used for example in the middle ages.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 16th March 2008
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Alexis Project Filiasi/Romania
RC J/263/230/2007 CIF 21464151
Email: [email protected]