On the route of the future A7 Ploiesti highway, an exceptional archaeological discovery was made, the tomb of a warrior of the IV-V centuries, in which more than 120 objects were found, including weapons (sword, dagger), as well as gold ornaments for the warrior and for decorating the horse, reports CNAIR.

About opening

As part of the feasibility study of lot 1 of the A7 Ploiesti – Buzeu highway, archaeological excavations were also carried out and the grave of a horseman who lived at the beginning of the so-called “period of migrations”, i.e. 16-17 centuries ago, was discovered.

A part of a horse, a sword and dagger decorated with gold, a bronze cauldron and a quiver with arrows were also discovered. A golden mask was placed on the warrior’s face. The man was important, perhaps a prince, and was buried with many social symbols indicating his importance in that era.

About the Moldavian highway

The A7 “Moldova” highway is almost 440 km from Ploiesti (Dumbrava/A3) to Siret, on the border with Ukraine. From Ploiesti to Paškani (approximately 320 km) was funded by the PNRR, a short-term plan developed by the EU to restart the post-pandemic economy. Mandatory condition: implementation of projects by 2026.

So far, only two lots (49 km) out of three from Ploiesti (Dumbrava) to Buzău and two final lots (16 km) on the Buzău – Focşani section (4 lots – 83 km in total) have been concluded.

What CNAIR says

An impressive archaeological discovery on the Ploiesti-Buzeu section of the A7.

For the Autostrada A7 infrastructure project, Ploiești-Buzău, the archaeological research planned in the feasibility study phase was limited because some areas along the route were not expropriated and for this reason archaeologists did not have access to the land, even though the law provides for geotechnical, archaeological research etc. along the entire route of the road infrastructure object (even from this stage!).

Even in this situation, in Lot 1 of the said project, approximately 14 kilometers out of 21 kilometers, intrusive archaeological diagnostics could be carried out during the feasibility study stage, and four archaeological sites were identified. Later, after the completion of intrusive archaeological diagnostics, at the implementation stage, four more objects were cataloged.

Preventive archaeological research of one of the discovered objects yielded an exceptional find, namely the grave of a prince – a warrior – dated, according to the inventory, to the time of the resettlement of peoples.

The tomb is surprising for its varied and rich inventory, from skillfully crafted and decorated weapons to gold ornaments for both the deceased and the horse he was buried with.

Archaeological research is being carried out by specialists from the Vasile Parvan Institute of Archeology in Bucharest, who have tried to collect all the information that this type of discovery provides in extremely difficult weather conditions.

The burial goods, as well as the bones, were collected with great care and are currently in the laboratory of the institute for cleaning, conservation in their own conditions and restoration, to be exhibited to the public in the near future. .