Raport arheologic: Sarmizegetusa Regia/Grădiștea de Munte/comuna: Orăștioara de Sus/județul: Hunedoara (2013)

Excavations in Sarmizegetusa Regia in 2013 were carried out in two sectors: 1. The 4th terrace (within the military precinct); 2. Outside the fortress’s rampart, close to the Southern Gate. 1. Excavations continued to investigate the area in which the paved road (which led down to the Sacred Area) was identified a few years ago. One of the main objectives was also to document the stratigraphy of the different stages of occupation of the fortress from Late Iron Age to the modern times. 2. Last summer, beneath the roots of a large tree, brought down by a wind storm, a hexagonal bronze matrix was found, on which 78 zoomorphic designs were cut in intaglio. Our main objective consisted in finding as much information as possible about the con- text of the artefact (possible structures, stratigraphy etc.)