CÂTEVA CONSIDERAȚII PRIVIND DEGETARELE MEDIEVALE DESCOPERITE ÎN SITUL DE LA LOZOVA – LA HOTAR CU VORNICENII

Summary. Thimbles, also referred to in documentary sources as „năpârstoace”, usually made of metal in the shape of a hollow cone trunk, represent one of the rare categories of archaeological materials found in urban and rural settlements in medieval Moldova. This type of utensil, intended to protect the ring finger from needle pricks during sewing, has been found in the medieval sites of Baia, Păcuiul lui Soare, Dinogeția, Cetatea Albă, Roman etc. In this paper we present the preliminary results of the investigation of the four thimbles discovered in the medieval site of Lozova during the archaeological campaigns of 2014-2015 and 2024. The respective artifacts were found in burial complexes (M. 84, M. 89, M. 108, M. 117) uncovered in the perimeter of the cemetery belonging to an Orthodox rural community settled in the Bucovăț valley, an area where at the beginning of the 15th century (1420), during the of Alexander the Good, there were the villages of Lozova, Vornicenii, Secăreni ruled by the boyar Oană. Key words: thimbles, archaeological materials, medieval cemetery, Lozova – „La Hotar cu Vornicenii”, Moldova