The broomcorn millet grains ( Panicum miliaceum ) analysed in this study, recovered from Morteni tell (Romania), represent one of Europe’s largest archaeological millet deposits (150 kg). Originally attributed to the Chalcolithic period (Gumelniţa culture), radiocarbon dating revealed a significantly later context (361 cal BC – 61 cal AD (95.4%)), placing the grains in the Late Iron Age - Latène, when millet was an established staple in the region. The uncharred, desiccated grains exhibited uneven preservation: while some retained isotopic values akin to fresh millet, others showed evidence of nitrogen loss due to diagenesis. High δ ¹⁵ N values point to intensive manuring, highlighting millet’s agricultural significance during the Iron Age. Combining isotopic data with FTIR-ATR analysis allowed the detection of diagenetic impacts and underscored the importance of cross-disciplinary approaches in archaeobotanical studies. These findings demonstrate the necessity of radiocarbon dating and integrated analyses to avoid misinterpretations based on stratigraphy alone and to enhance the reliability of data on ancient crop use and significance.

Studii arheobotanice (antracologice, carpologice, polinice) au fost efectuate încă de la sfârșitul secolului al XIX‑lea în vestul Europei. Astfel de analize aduc informații vitale cu privire la creșterea plantelor domestice și la preferințele culinare ale comunităților din trecut, la identificarea materialelor de construcție utilizate, cât și la evoluția vegetației naturale în timp. Din nefericire, în spațiul românesc, analize de acest gen lipsesc din interpretarea arheologică mai veche, deși rezultatele studiilor arheozoologice erau cunoscute și utilizate. Această situație s‑a schimbat însă în ultimii 50 de ani, odată cu publicarea unui număr mare de articole de specialitate, în special palinologice, și ulterior a unor monografii. Principalii beneficiari au fost epocile preistorică și antică. Prin această contribuție se dorește trecerea în revistă și actualizarea datelor arheobotanice publicate de‑a lungul timpului, pentru perioada neo‑eneolitică din sud‑estul României, aparținând majoritar culturilor arheologice Boian și Gumelnița. Informațiile provin din 25 de situri arheologice din această perioadă, însumând 213 probe analizate.

The subsistence economy of Early Iron Age communities in the Lower Danube remains insufficiently documented despite the large number of settlements attributed to the Babadag culture. This study examines subsistence practices at the eponymous Babadag settlement by combining archaeozoological, carpological, phytolith, and radiocarbon evidence from legacy excavation materials. The chronological framework includes 14 radiocarbon determinations, which broadly support an occupation between the end of the 11th/beginning of the 10th century BC and mid-8th century BC. The analysed assemblages comprise 11,475 faunal remains, two samples of charred plant macroremains, and nine sediment samples for phytolith analysis. Domestic mammals dominate the faunal assemblage, especially cattle and sheep/goat, with fishing providing an important supplementary food resource while hunting remained limited. Age-at-death data, together with the limited sex-ratio evidence, are consistent with mixed livestock exploitation, which may have included meat production, dairying, traction, wool production, and reproduction. Carpological remains document hulled barley, emmer, spelt wheat, and common millet, while phytoliths indicate repeated inputs of grass material into archaeological deposits. Overall, the evidence indicates a diversified subsistence economy based primarily on animal husbandry and cereal cultivation and processing, supplemented by fishing and the limited use of wild resources.

In 2021, in a Romanian-Belgian-German collaboration, previously initiated excavations were continued at the multi-period flat-site of Sultana-Gheţărie, where settlement remains and burial features from the Boian-Vidra, Gumelnița and Cernavodă III periods have been documented. In the broader context of the multi-component site of Sultana, these investigations provide evidence for decentral structured settlement and burial activities from the period before, during, and after the occupation of Tell Sultana-Malu Roșu situated on the high terrace of the Mostiștea River. In addition to a so far undated prehistoric inhumation burial, a stratigraphic sequence of a Boian-Vidra (first half of the 5th millenium) and a Cernavodă III (ca. 3600–3500 BCE) pit were excavated, which allow a diachronic comparison of pottery-typological, archaeozoological, and archaeobotanical data. Compared to find assemblages of the first half of the 5th millenium (Boian-Vidra), the material culture from the Cernavodă III context is characterised by reduced decoration rates and a reduced range of decoration techniques in pottery possibly indicating a decline in social complexity. The chipped stone inventory of the same pit provides evidence for primary flint tool production on site. The composition of the archeozoological assemblage from the Cernavodă III feature, compared to the final Tell Sultana-Malu Roșu phase (ca. 4200–3950 BCE), indicates that hunting played only a very minor role in securing subsistence and that the communities living here might have had a rather mobile settlement behaviour. With regard to a possible climatic shift, this would match with the frequent occurrence of the tiny awn fragments of feathergrass, which seems to indicate a greater openness of the landscape and associated the spread of steppe vegetation. In connection with the excavations, a magnetic survey was conducted that revealed no evidence of a continuation of the settlement in the part of the high terrace south of the site.