Cercetări Arheologice Preventive La Biserica Fortificată Din Ruja, Jud. Sibiu Campania Anului 2021

Abstract The archaeological research at Ruja highlighted in the 2021 campaign the existence of several levels of burials. In S9 we have early burials unrelated to the present chancel of the church. M11 is a choir-cut tomb, and M14 and M15 are tombs below the present chancel of the church. On the north side section S10 revealed two foundations. One of the foundations is made of hillstone (a kind of local sandstone) bonded with clay. In the section, the bend of this foundation was captured, the south side of which goes under the foundation of the present choir. The second foundation discovered is much better built, deeply cast and more than 1 m thick. The role of this foundation was to support a body of the church and not just a sacristy. The lengths of these two foundations remain to be investigated. In S11 a foundation of stone stuck with clay on the sole and mortar on top emerged. This is part of the foundation of the present buttress and does not appear to be woven with the present foundation of the chancel, but the information is not clear. Both late, N-S oriented, and early graves emerged. The oldest, however, is M27, a tomb with a cephalic niche and a step, with the pit dug in yellow earth, ritualistic burial features found in the settlers of the 12th-13th centuries.