A 5TH-CENTURY ASSEMBLAGE FROM PĂDURENI

In 2018, six objects made of gold and silver, discovered at Pădureni (Cluj County) with a metal detector, were handed over to the National Museum of Transylvanian History. To verify the context of the find, a small-scale archaeological excavation was carried out in 2019, which did not identify any archaeological features or additional objects. The artefacts can be dated to between the mid-5th and early 6th centuries and appear to be part of an assemblage that has likely not been entirely recovered. The limited information regarding the find circumstances and the original composition of the assemblage significantly hinder the interpretation. The group of objects could have easily been grave-goods; however, the topography of the findspot and the absence of any grave traces do not support this presumption. Based on the available data, hypothetically, an interpretation as a deposit seems more plausible.