DOI: 10.33547/PraceArch.69.11
The bronze hoard from Breaza (Mureș County). Selective deposition in Transylvania at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age
by Botond Rezi 1, Florin Gogâltan 
2
1 – Mureş County Museum, Târgu Mureş, Romania; 2 – Institute of Archaeology and Art History, Cluj-Napoca/West University of Timișoara, Romania
In: M. S. Przybyła, K. Dzięgielewski (eds.), Chasing Bronze Age rainbows. Studies on hoards and related phenomena in prehistoric Europe in honour of Wojciech Blajer, Prace Archeologiczne 69, Kraków: Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University / Profil-Archeo, 2019, pp. 187-221.
Abstract: Even though we are dealing with a chance find, with many of its original pieces missing, the discovery of the small hoard from Breaza, owing to its character, offers a good opportunity for a general discussion concerning the bronze hoards from Transylvania. In terms of its typology and composition the find can be ascribed to the hoards of the Bronze D period. During this late stage of the Bronze Age, Central and Eastern Transylvania is characterized by the medium- and small-sized hoards consisting mainly of tools. The combinatorial analysis of the objects composing the hoards indicates the employment of a clear selection pattern which differs from that of the neighbouring regions. The intentional fragmentation of the socketed axes in addition to the insertion of certain objects into the socket of other tools is usually ascribed to the Ha A period, however, the case of the present hoard indicates that this practice was also characteristic to an earlier horizon.
Key words: selective deposition, “miniature” hoards, fragmentation, Late Bronze Age, Transylvania