Amber

For more than 150 years, the prehistoric civilizations of  the East Mediterranean have fascinated and attracted numerous scholars interested both in the various manifestations of  the respective social order within this geographical zone, and by the role and impact these civilizations may have had on the neighbouring regions.
As one would expect, our knowledge is growing continuously, triggered by new archaeological research, the progress of  interdisciplinary investigations of  archaeological science, and the diversification of theoretical approaches interpreting material culture from an anthropological perspective. The speed of these accumulations is increasing rapidly, while the number of  studies and the variety and complexity of the themes is also continuously growing. That is why the periodic organization of  conferences on welldefined themes and the publication of  the respective volumes are absolutely necessary, not only in order to be able to integrate the new data into the broader picture, but also for the redefinition of  the state of research within certain working areas and to show the experimental investigation of  new research directions.
The present volume is the outcome of  a conference with the same title organized at Tulcea, Romania, between the 10th and the 13th of  November 2017, dedicated to the memory of  Professor Alexandru Vulpe. Four prestigious institutions, two from Romania (the Gavrilă Simion Eco-Museum Research Institute, Tulcea and the Vasile Pârvan Institute of  Archaeology, Bucharest) and two from Germany (the Institut für und Frühgeschichte und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, Heidelberg and the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Eurasien Abteilung, Berlin), with the generous support of  the Mayor’s Office in Tulcea, managed to bring together over 50 scholars, most of  them friends, colleagues, collaborators, students or simply acquaintances of  Professor Vulpe. The intention of  the organizers was to provide a suitable environment for sharing opinions and experience, and for an open and positive discussion, to recognize the current state of  research on the topic, and to establish stronger connections for future collaboration in this field.
Contacts among human communities from various cultural areas, the circulation of  people, ideas and objects, or the identification of  the main communication routes as well as their role in shaping prehistoric societies are likely to remain forever topics of  intense discussion within archaeology. The relations between the Carpathian-Balkan area and the Aegean during the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age was one of  the main themes of  study for Alexandru Vulpe. As a supporter of  the idea of  Ex oriente lux, Vulpe always argued for the major role played by the Helladic civilization in the cultural development of  the Carpathian Balkan area. The lectures delivered at the Tulcea conference and the papers published in the present volume highlight once again the complexity of  these connections and the multitude of  perspectives revealed when approaching such a theme.
Although the title of  the volume indicates the main geographic areas in question, contributions from other cultural areas (i.e. Central Europe, the Middle Danube, Northern Pontic area, etc.), whose societies were in close contact with those of  the Balkans, were also welcome. The four sections grouping the studies in the volume had not been established from the very beginning; they are the result of  the subjects approached by the authors. Reading the papers attentively, one notices the diversity of  the subjects and approaches and, in most cases, the novelty of  the ideas expressed. We hope that the publication will provide research with a reference volume, opening new perspectives on the matters discussed. The present work is the result of  the common effort of  all authors, spanning a period of  over three years. We wish to thank all contributors for their promptness and seriousness in answering our invitation to the volume, as well as for the openness and patience showed during the entire editing process. We are very much indebted to the Mayor’s Office of  the community of  Tulcea for the financial help and for the hospitality provided to the participants of  the conference. Special thanks go to Douglas Fear (Heidelberg) for the careful language editing of  the contributions to this volume.

Catalogo della mostra dedicata ad uno dei materiali di pregio privilegiati per la realizzazione di gioielli e suppellettili di lusso, con una ricca selezione di materiali da vari contesti della penisola, a partire dall'età del Bronzo fino al Medioevo.