Home
Bîlta Fossiliferous site
Archaeological site near Bîlta
As noted previously, near Bilta village, Alexis team has found an archaeological site from the bronze age and the Daco-Roman period.
The site covers a large area, centred on the Wonder Spring, Fantana cu Leacuri.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 28th September 2014
Few artefacts were found on this occasion.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 28th September 2014
Second Bronze Age Archaeological site near Bîlta
Adrian made another visit to the second bronze age site. It would seem that in the area of the 'Wonder Spring', on the right part of the small river which empties into the Jiu, there is a large area with pottery artefacts from the Bronze Age, even though the centre of the site has not yet been found.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 14th July 2014
Another visit will be made in autumn or winter when there is less vegetation obscuring the site.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 14th July 2014
Second Bronze Age Archaeological site near Bîlta
To the west of the village of Bilta, following the road to the Wonder Spring, Alexis found today the second bronze age site, another important discovery for the NGO Alexis Project.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 5th July 2014
It was another opportunity for Maria Amelia to improve her knowledge of researching of sites, as part of the next generation. It was a beautiful day, with an excellent discovery.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 5th July 2014
Plants and animals at the Bronze Age Archaeological site near Bîlta
On the hills on the western side of Bilta village a millipede is sleeping in the grass, under a stone, also a few wild flowers showing their beauty to the world.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 29th June 2014
Bronze Age Archaeological site near Bîlta
After 25 years of research around Bîlta village, Adrian has now found the bronze age site half way between Bîlta and the Wonder Water source, to the west of the village.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 29th June 2014
It seems to be a huge site, covering a large part of the hill to the north of the road, but it will be necessary to come again when there is no grass cover, to establish the true dimensions of the site.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 29th June 2014
The Alexis Project should be congratulated on this success, it is the 200th site found since 2002.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 29th June 2014
Oltenia Museum will receive the documentation, maps, GPS points and artefacts for this important discovery, in accordance with the law 422/2001, Romania.
This is an important day!
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 29th June 2014
Documentation.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 29th June 2014
Searching for Archaeological sites near Bîlta
Near Bîlta village, in the Martalogu Valley, Adrian searches for hidden archaeological sites.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 9th June 2014
Bîlta Animals
Near Bîlta village, in the Martalogu Valley, there are several species of animals from the Oltenia hills region.
Getting photographs is not always easy!
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 9th June 2014
Bîlta Artefacts
Near Bîlta village, in the Martalogu valley, can still be found many artefacts, although they are rare, and have to be searched for carefully.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe, 9th June 2014
Bîlta Fossiliferous site
Bîlta from the hills at the west border of the village. 1000 people live in Bîlta, most of whom are farmers. A few of them work in other towns close by, Filiaşi, Turceni, even Craiova, going there by train and coming back home every evening. In Bîlta there is an Orthodox church, about 5 stores with food and household supplies, as well as eight bars or taverns. However many people make and drink their own wine. There is also a school. For many things, everyone must go to Filiaşi, about 3 km distance to the north, crossing the river by the new bridge, since the wooden pedestrian bridge was destroyed by flood and will not be rebuilt.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
Bîlta Fossiliferous Site, Late Spring 2014
In late spring Adrian went to Bîlta village, and then to the fossiliferous site there.
The fossiliferous site is located in the Martalogu Valley, near the village, and the fossil shells are from the Romanian II period, about 2.5 million years ago.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 28th April 2014
On visiting the site, Adrian found it under the influence of erosion, becoming smaller and poorer, so after our evaluation in about 20 years from now it may well have disappeared for ever, like many other such places.
The Valley of the Fossils is beautiful, spring is coming fast, and even though there has been a lot of rain the Alexis Project is starting a new period of activity in Oltenia, as we have been doing consistently for the last 12 years.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 28th April 2014
Bîlta Fossiliferous Site, Early Spring 2014
In early spring, being in Bîlta village, Adrian made a general evaluation over the huge fossiliferous site there. It was a preliminary training for our young friend Carstea Danutz, a graduate in Biology from Craiova University, dedicated to studies in paleontology.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 15th March 2014
It was necessary to understand the methods of making the evaluations, and the reasons for this process.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 15th March 2014
As a long term project, the Alexis Project intends to make a summer camp for biology students, as is already the case for the very successful summer camp for students of Architecture.
It is our duty to try to give them practical opportunities to work in the wilderness and make special studies relevant to their own specialities.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 15th March 2014
Bîlta images Spring 2013
Spring at Bîlta Fossiliferous site.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 29th April 2013
Spring at Bîlta Fossiliferous site.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 29th April 2013
Adrian rescuing the wooden supports for an ancient water source.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 29th April 2013
Geese and their goslings appreciate the spring!
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 29th April 2013
In the middle of winter, Alina, Adrian and Roxy the frog were again in the valley of fossils near Bîlta village to search along the Martalogu valley for ancient sites.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 30th January 2011
There was a lot of snow on the hills, and the weather was cold and grey.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 30th January 2011
Here in the area of the main fossiliferous site of Bîlta Alina and Adrian found an ancient piece of pottery, so it is necessary to come back here for a better search.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 30th January 2011
GPS readings for the Bîlta area
Am pus o sfoara pe pamint, de la sud la nord, lungime 24 metri si am facut cartare GPS pe capatul sudic al sforii, care trebuie sa fie identic cu cel nordic al acesteia, in determinarea est-GPS. Acesta trebuie sa fie un mod simplu de a calibra aparatura noastra, deoarece, de-a lungul liniei sud-nord, coordonata est a GPS-ului trebuie sa fie aceeasi (de exemplu, avem 23.4775 grade est la ambele capete ale sforii, de la sud la nord…)
Near Bîlta village the team put a 24 metre long rope over the ground, from south to north, thus making the GPS eastern readings the same over the whole distance of the rope, in order to simplify readings - for example, a reading was made of 23.4775°E at both ends of the rope when oriented in the north-south direction.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 17th June 2008
Deasemenea, am facut o harta GPS in valea izvoarelor, dar-de data aceasta-am facut masuratori duble, fiecare cu doua aparate GPS, pentru rezultate mai bune.
In addition, a GPS map of the valley of springs has been made, but from this time onwards, we have these accurate measurements twice, each with the GPS, for better data.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 17th June 2008
Alina si Alex, mergind spre valea izvoarelor, in satul Bîlta, pentru a face o dubla cartare GPS aici.
Alina and Alex, at the valley of the springs, near Bîlta village in order to make a double GPS map here.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 17th June 2008
Pentru prima data, Alex studiaza capetele de cai din lemn din valea izvoarelor, in satul Bîlta, dar putem vedea ca toate cele patru capete de cai din lemn au (fiecare dintre ele) o gura, urechi dar NU au ochi-de ce?. Nu am gasit carti despre aceasta, inca…
For the first time, Alex studies the wooden horse heads from the valley of the springs near Bîlta village, and it can be seen that all four wooden heads each have a mouth and ears, but no eyes - why? The team has no literature about this puzzling feature as yet.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 17th June 2008
On the way to the small village of Schitu, between the hills at Bîlta's west border, can be seen the large Fluieran Valley, a large hole between two hills, approximately 100m x 100m x 100m. The Jiu River can be seen far below. The people of the village say that sometimes you can hear the wind coming through the Fluieran Valley from the hills to the Jiu River, like a whistle. A whistle is Fluier in Romanian, so the name comes from that word.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 19th April 2008
Further on, one hill to the west from the Fluieran Valley, is another huge valley, where Adrian and Alina found another old water spring, called by them "Jesus' Spring". It is accessed by a symbolic foot bridge over the "Styx" river. The spring has been formed up using bricks, with text on it which is now unreadable, and a wooden cross behind it.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 19th April 2008
This single cross, called a Troitza, or Troiţă, includes a sculpture of Jesus, a very old one. Never in the Bîlta area has the Project team found any others like this, only in the northern part of Oltenia, in Gorj county, are crosses with the body of Jesus as a wooden sculpture. In the area around Filiaşi, there are only painted images on wood, or engraved as can beseen in the Meteu cemetery crosses.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 19th April 2008
This interesting image shows large yellow circles on the ground, which are not from UFO visitors, but are made by the tethered horse eating the grass in a circle at the limit of the rope.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 19th April 2008
A general view of the southern part of Bîlta village, looking to the north from the hill over the main fossiliferous site of Bîlta, over the valley of fossils.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 2nd March 2008
A general view of the valley of the fossils, with the main fossiliferous site far away, on the left part of the valley, looking to the north from the Pine Forest.
The real name of the Valley of the Fossils is Valea Martalogului.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 2nd March 2008
The Pine Forest, looking to the east from the hill over the main fossiliferous site of Bîlta, over the valley of the fossils. There, on this hill or around the Pine Forest, we have a lot of discoveries about the ancient village of Bîlta in the Valley of the Fossils.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 2nd March 2008
The valley of the Acacia Forest, full of hundreds of dead Acacia Salcâm trees, yesterday a wonderful forest like a dream, a real tomb of nature today.
Looking east from the hill between the Valley of the Fossils and the Valley of the Acacia Forest.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 2nd March 2008
The Valley of the Springs, looking to the north, to the village, near the way to the Wonder Spring, to the south, at the southern exit of Bîlta Village.
This image does not show any buildings, but only the fences around the springs in this area. This is the exit from Bîlta village to the Wonder Springs, and just near a hill which contains the main fossiliferous site, but on the other side of the same hill, at about 100 to 150 metres east of the Valley of the Springs. Here there is a cross between the water coming from the Wonder Springs and the small river coming from the main fossiliferous site in a new river, the Balta River, which passes through the village to the north east, and then goes down to the Jiu River.
There were never buildings here, the clay is very wet, but there are many vestiges of ancient springs.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 2nd March 2008
Old houses in Bîlta, unoccupied now, but there are many houses like this still being used in the area.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 16th February 2008
This house shows the "wattle and daub" method of constructing the walls of a house. First the frame is made from large pieces of wood, then covered on the inside with thin split planks of wood, often leaving gaps.
Then a lattice work of smaller diameter sticks is placed on the outside of the wall, and the whole is plastered with clay. The same method may be used to finish the inside walls of the house.
If the construction has a good roof, and the walls are protected by whitewash or a mix of cattle dung, clay and water, the house can be very easy and cheap to construct, using materials free from the site or the nearby forest. The houses are warm inside, and require little maintenance.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 16th February 2008
Even though it is still very cold and Spring is not yet here at the time of this photo, we can see frog eggs in the very cold water of a small river in the Valley of the Fossils, near the main fossiliferous site of Bîlta.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 9th March 2008
Newts, Triturus sp, known as Triton or Thryton in this area of Romania, in the same small stream as the frog eggs above.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 9th March 2008
Geese on the hill of the main fossiliferous site in the Bîlta area. They are important because they are used for food by many people in the village, and there are a lot of grass fields and springs around the village, making them easy to rear for the table.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 9th March 2008
A male pheasant or Fazan on the hill near the Volintiru spring, on the way to the church of Gura Motrului.
There are many wild animals in the area, including rabbits, deer, snakes and so on.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 9th March 2008
Spring flowers in the Bilta area.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 9th March 2008
Map of the Bîlta area.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 2nd March 2008
The land runs in a series of parallel ridges and valleys towards the south west, the top of the map.
The Jiu River is at the bottom of the map, with the red area of Bîlta village. Behind Bîlta is the first ridge of hills, then the Acacia River, then another ridge of hills and after this is the fossiliferous valley. Behind this again is another range of hills.
Each of these valleys has a small stream which flows into the Balta River, which then flows past Bîlta village and the Medical Unit. The Balta River enters the Jiu River between the old wooden footbridge and the new concrete bridge across the Jiu.
This is the main hill of the Bilta area, called Cioca, located near the village church.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 15th March 2008
Looking from the top of Cioca hill to the south, we can see the ridge between the valley of the Acacia Forest to the left of the image, and the valley of the fossils to the right.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 15th March 2008
A large eroded hill on the road to Volintiru Spring, with many fossil remains in its upper part.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 15th March 2008
Another large eroded hill in the Valley of the Springs, in the southern part of the village.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 15th March 2008
A deep forest on the hills between the Volintiru Spring and the main road to Wonder Spring, at an altitude of 100 metres above the rest of the area, in a very wild area.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 15th March 2008
This is the old church in Bîlta village, situated on a hill in the central area of the village. The church is kept with a great deal of care by the local 50 yr old Priest, Pop Alexandru. He is a wonderful man.
With the help of the people from the village, Pop Alexandru painted and rebuilt many parts of the church. He has a small house right in the middle of the village, about 250 metres north of the church, a beautiful house, with many flowers at the windows and always kept spotless.
The priest has done a lot of paintings in the village, the church is just one example of his artistry, and he painted the Filishano spring paintings.
As can be seen, the church is very white and the church and grounds are kept clean and neat in all respects.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 15th March 2008
Starting from the main road to the south, to Wonder Spring, a short road climbs to the church, to the right. On part of it there are many wooden crosses, put there in remembrance of people who have died in the village. Some people believe that a dead person remains alive so long as someone remembers them.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 15th March 2008
This is the old cemetery of the village, on the same hill as the church.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 15th March 2008
Crosses at the Bîlta cemetery.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 15th March 2008
The grave of a young woman of 23 in the foreground. Beside it is a wooden pole with a pine branch on its top, now without its leaves, which a bride carries during the wedding ceremony. It seems that she did not live long after being married.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 15th March 2008
Another tradition in the area is to put wooden crosses in the name of the deceased near springs, as can be seen here in the upper part of the southern side of the village.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 15th March 2008
It is also a tradition to put crosses near a bridge over a river, as is shown here at the footbridge over the Jiu River, with the same objective, to remind travellers of the name of the deceased person and as a symbol of crossing the ancient river of death, the Styx.
Once a journalist who was unaware of this tradition wrote in her small circulation newspaper that the crosses were for people who had died passing over the bridge, and the headline read "Bridge of Death"!
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 15th March 2008
This site was first investigated in 1995 when the members of the Alexis Project were led to it by Lucretia Burdusel, a 75 year old woman from Bîlta.
Bîlta is a small village near the town of Filiaşi, in the south west of Romania, at the intersection of three rivers, the Jiu, Motru and Gilort. Bilta is placed in the valley of the large river Jiu, which is the middle of the three rivers, under a landscape of hills and extensive forests.
The site which is estimated to be 3 500 000 years old has an area of outcrop of 10m by 10 m at the surface. The deposits may possibly extend a few metres below the surface.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
The site is under threat from natural erosion and from that caused by people and animals passing through the site.
From the top to the bottom, there is first a section of loess (at the surface), than small stones, then lignite (a soft, brownish-black coal in which the alteration of vegetable matter has proceeded further than in peat but not as far as in bituminous coal. Also called brown coal), then small stones, then marl, which is a clay/limestone mix. In this marl there are a lot of fossils of both gastropods and molluscs.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
These gastropods show affinities with the fossil genus Melanopsis.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
Fossils also include these bivalves.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
In this Bilta fossil site of bivalve molluscs, many are entire and still connected in pairs when freshly weathered from the hill, but separate when washed down by rain and snow to the foot of the hill.
Because the site is on common land, a lot of children play there, and many cows came to drink water from the springs, so the unprotected site is being destroyed by men, cattle, rain and snow. In the 15 years since Dr Gheorghe has been visiting the site, the dimensions of the site have been reduced by half.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
View of Bîlta from the hill where the main fossiliferous site is, looking to the north, from the west side of Bîlta. Behind Bîlta is the Jiu River, and behind that is the town of Filiaşi, while 100 km to the north are the Parang Mountains, the northern border of the Oltenia region.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
About 500 metres to the west of the first site is another outcrop of fossils, discovered in 2006 after heavy rains and snow exposed the fossils. They are contemporaneous with the other Bîlta fossils.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
A comparison of modern shells from the Jiu and fossil shells many millions of years old from the Dacian Basin, Lake Oltenia.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
In Bîlta there are about a hundred springs, at the edge of the hills on the west side of village. There is a long range of hills starting from Craiova extending to the mountains to the north, on both sides of the Jiu river, each range of hills at about 1km distance from the river. Leading to every spring is a track for men and animals, both enjoy the water, which is very cold, clean and good. Sometimes around the spring a wooden fence is put up so that animals cannot foul the water.
The sign on the fenced well reads:
"This well gathers water from deep underground to refresh the passing traveller. It was built with the help of the engineer (illegible name)"
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
All the creeks from the hills, such as this one, go into the Balta, which runs at the back of Dr Gheorghe's medical unit, from west to north, and finally to the Jiu, on its right bank.
In summer, these creeks are very small because of the heat of the sun, and in winter they are all frozen. Sometimes, in the creeks one can find small fishes and frogs.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
This shows one of the many paths out the village, going in many directions. This path is going to the north west, to the lands of some owners and also to another village at about 4 km distance, Racovitza. On this path, at about 2 km from Bîlta thare is a spring, well-known for health - but Dr Gheorghe does not know of any reason for this reputation.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
These small fields are fenced with small tree branches. The fences are called a "gard" and are there to protect the plants from animals.
The owners grow vegetables to eat in these small plots of land.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
People also gather mushrooms in season, and each family has one or two cattle for milk and for sale. They also have one or two pigs and about 10 geese each.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
These geese are kept for eggs and meat and for sale at market, an important source of money for the owner. A lot of people from Bîlta have geese, perhaps 10 for each family. When night falls, they are kept around the house, in a special place called a cotetz, (a small wooden house for birds) and, all day long, the geese walk around free in the village, in those places where there is grass and running water. Sometimes they can fly for short distances. In winter the geese are kept around the house, usually in the cotetz and protected by dogs against foxes. There are many foxes here, wild of course. Nearly all people from Bîlta and other similar villages keep geese. Around the village there is a lot of free land, so everyone can have geese on this common land.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
This map is of the Balkan Peninsula showing basins that existed during the Tertiary (66.4 million - 1.6 million years ago). Subtropical vegetation formed peat deposits in shallow, swampy waters along the basin margins. Subsequent burial and heating of the peat created lignite.
Importantly for our purposes, it shows the extent of the Dacian Basin, also called Lake Oltenia, which covered most of Romania during the Tertiary. It is the source not only of the peat, but also of the marl which underlies it, and the associated molluscs and gastropods, including a rich variety of Melanopsis (sp.) shells, typically (though not always, as here) with raised ridges on the whorls and with pronounced growth rings.
The map shows also the overlap between the Balkan Peninsula Tertiary basins margins and Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) areas. BEN is a serious kidney disease that occurs only in clusters of rural villages located in tributary valleys of the Danube River in the Balkan Peninsula. The map also shows the present location of Pliocene lignite deposits.
The map is adapted from Jasko S: Lignitbildung im Pliozaen in Suedost-Europa; Lignite formation in the Pliocene of southeastern Europe (In German). Braunkohle 1973; 25: 67-71.
BEN is thought to be derived from the leaching of toxic chemicals from lignite deposits in the area into ground water, which is collected in wells by the inhabitants and used for drinking and cooking.
The map and the diagram are from the excellent paper
FACTA UNIVERSITATIS
Series: Medicine and Biology Vol.9, No 1, 2002, pp. 34 - 38 UC 616.61-004
WEATHERED COAL DEPOSITS AND BALKAN ENDEMIC NEPHROPATHY
Gerald L. Feder, Calin A. Tatu, William H. Orem, Virgil Paunescu, Victor Dumitrascu, Diana N. Szilagyi, Robert B. Finkelman, Florin Margineanu, Francisc Schneider
The original paper may be found at:
http://facta.junis.ni.ac.yu/facta/mab/mab2002/mab2002BEN-06.pdf
See also this article:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs004-01/fs004-01.pdf
These are objects at Bîlta found dating to the Neolithic, near the fossil site.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe
Home
Alexis Project Filiasi/Romania
RC J/263/230/2007 CIF 21464151
Email: [email protected]