The main objective of the project is to develop an exhaustive corpus ofall Roman finds from Iasi and Neamt counties, both published and unpublished, as a basis for future research on the social and historical contexts in the Danubian-Carpathian region in the first 500 years of our era. We intend our proposed project to develop a model for all subsequent projects of the framework concept (“Corpus der römischen Funde im europäischen Barbaricum”, hereafter CRFB), which in the future will cover the entire Romanian Barbaricum. The international project Corpus der römischen Funde im europäischen Barbaricum (CRFB) aims to systematically inventory Roman imports discovered in territories outside the borders of the Roman Empire. Within the framework of the CRFB, Roman artifacts – published or unpublished, in museums, public or private collections – are cataloged in a unified way and integrated into a digital database managed by RGK-DAI (Frankfurt).
Started in the former GDR in collaboration with Central European institutions, the project has been implemented since 1992 at the RGK, with the national partners operating autonomously. To date, several volumes dedicated to different European regions have been published and the project continues to expand.
For Romania, the lack of systematic records of Roman imports is a major shortcoming. International access to data is limited and many finds remain unknown even at the national level. Therefore, the proposed research, focused on the counties of Iasi and Neamt, aims at both documenting and scientifically valorizing the local archaeological heritage.
The region of historical Moldavia, due to its strategic position, acted as an interface between the Roman civilization and the East-Carpathian barbarian world. Recent discoveries – including those obtained by detection – demonstrate a significantly more intense Roman influence than that suggested by classical sources. The CRFB project provides a framework for analyzing the distribution and significance of these Roman goods, particularly in funerary and prestige contexts. By compiling catalogs for Iasi and Neamț counties, the research will contribute to a deeper understanding of Roman artifact flows, their chronology and local preferences for certain types of artifacts (metal or glass vessels, ceramics, coins, military equipment, jewelry). The project goes beyond the traditional focus on military or commercial history to analyze the complex relationships between Roman influence and local societies in Barbaricum.