Dinu Theodorescu Archaeological Laboratory

After whom we are named

Dinu Theodorescu

Our laboratory bears the name of one of the most important specialists in ancient architecture produced by the Romanian school. Indifferent to his achievements, Romanian historiography during the communist period concealed his name after his emigration to France in 1969, where he would go on to build a brilliant career. By taking his name, the team that makes up the Laboratory wishes to keep alive and honour the memory of this model of a rigorous, erudite scholar of extraordinary intellectual refinement, who throughout his life displayed a generosity hard to imagine, winning over his interlocutors with a fine wit that could nevertheless turn sharp in an instant.

Dinu Theodorescu was born in 1929 in Cluj and later moved with his family to Bucharest (1940), where he studied at the Mihai Viteazul High School and attended the “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism. After graduating (1954) he worked at the Directorate of Historical Monuments, and from 1959 at the “Vasile Pârvan” Institute of Archaeology.

Although he worked on most of the sites where the Institute carried out research, Dinu Theodorescu concentrated his work on the site closest to his heart — Histria. There he began a systematic study of the Greek-period architectural fragments uncovered by archaeologists, raising their analysis to a level unprecedented in the Romanian school. In the course of this work he addressed major questions, such as the spread of the Doric order into the western Pontic region and its evolution. It was also at Histria that he first turned his attention to the Ionic order and the role it played in the development of Histrian architecture, including its links with the eastern Greek world.

Another major contribution by the architect concerns the site of Callatis, present-day Mangalia, where he systematically studied and republished in detail a Late Antique monument (1963), which he reinterpreted as an Early Christian basilica of Syrian type.

Dinu Theodorescu stood out not only for his rigour, capacity for work and intellectual refinement, but also for his working method — the comparison of the internal ratios of architectural fragments — which allowed him to reach a leading level of analysis and to uncover details of great finesse in the execution of the pieces he studied.

After his Romanian PhD (1968), Dinu Theodorescu also obtained a doctorate in France (1973) under the supervision of the great scholar Roland Martin, at one of the major French institutions — the École Pratique des Hautes Études — where he also taught (1970–1977). He continued his meteoric career, becoming a member of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and director emeritus of the Institut de Recherche sur l’Architecture Antique (IRAA — USR 3155) between 1977 and 2010.

From these positions, Dinu Theodorescu was able to take part in the major research projects of the French school: at Grumentum and Metapontum (where he collaborated with another great name in Romanian archaeology, Dinu Adamesteanu), at Selinunte, Syracuse, Lipari, Punta Tresino, Assisi (where he worked alongside the leading specialist in Roman architecture Pierre Gros), in Rome on the Palatine, as well as at Eleutherna and Itanos in Crete and at Aphrodisias in Caria (present-day Turkey), which became another site dear to the great scholar’s heart.

But nowhere did he leave a stronger mark than at Poseidonia-Paestum (Campania, Italy), where for three decades Dinu Theodorescu collaborated with the team of the great Italian scholar Emanuele Greco, with whom he formed a deep friendship. On this extraordinary site — a true open-air manual of ancient architecture — he made a decisive contribution to the plan for an atlas of the city. His efforts resulted in no fewer than four monographic volumes in the “Poseidonia – Paestum” series, dedicated to monuments fundamental to the public life of the ancient city such as the curia, the agora and the forum.

List of publications

Monographs and syntheses

Arhitectura arhaică la Histria şi legăturile ei cu bazinul egeean (teză de doctorat). București, 1968.
Arhitectura în România: perioada anilor 1944–1969 (în colaborare cu G. Ionescu). București, 1969.
Le Chapiteau ionique grec : essai monographique (teză de doctorat 1974, coord. Roland Martin, 1973). Geneva, 1980.
Chapiteaux ioniques de la Sicile méridionale. Napoli, 1974.
Poseidonia – Paestum I. La «Curia» (în colaborare cu E. Greco). Roma, 1980.
Poseidonia – Paestum II. L’agora (în colaborare cu E. Greco). Roma, 1983.
Poseidonia – Paestum III. Forum nord (în colaborare cu E. Greco). Roma, 1987.
Recherches préliminaires sur la frons scaenae du théâtre (în colaborare cu Nathalie de Chaisemartin). Aphrodisias Papers 2: The Theatre, a Sculptor’s Workshop, Philosophers, and Coin-Types. Ann Arbor, 1991.
Guide archéologique et historique des fouilles et du musée de Poseidonia (în colaborare cu E. Greco). Taranto, 1996.
Poseidonia – Paestum IV. Forum ouest-sud-est (în colaborare cu E. Greco). Roma, 1999.

Studies and articles

Campania de săpături arheologice din 1951. Raport preliminar. SCIV 3, 1952, 231–280.
L’Edifice romano-byzantin de Callatis. Dacia N.S., 7, 1963, 257–300.
O acroteră arhaică la Histria. SCIV 15(3), 1964, 369–382.
Un fragment architectural ceramic, cu ove, la Histria. SCIV 16(1), 1965, 163–168.
Date noi în legătură cu pătrunderea stilului doric la Histria. SCIV 16(3), 1965, 481–500.
Trois étapes dans l’évolution du chapiteau dorique à Histria. Dacia N.S., 9, 1965, 147–162.
Remarques sur la composition et la chronologie du kymation ionique suscitées par quelques exemplaires découverts à Histria. Dacia N.S., 11, 1967, 95–120.
Un chapiteau ionique de l’époque archaïque tardive et quelques problèmes concernant le style à Histria. Dacia N.S., 12, 1968, 261–304.
Notes histriennes. RA 1970 (1), 29–48.
Chapiteaux ioniques de la Sicile méridionale. Cahiers du Centre Jean Bérard 1, 1974, 1–52.
Remarques préliminaires sur la topographie urbaine de Sélinonte. Kokalos 21, 1975, 108–120.
Ricerche topografiche nell’area di Selinunte (în colaborare cu Juliette de la Genière). Rendiconti Lincei 34, 1979, 385–395.
Contributions à l’histoire urbanistique de Sélinonte (în colaborare cu Juliette de la Genière). Kokalos 26–27, 1980, 973–996.
Nouvelles techniques de relevé, de restitution et d’étude statistique : les sites de Paestum et de Sélinonte ; le développement historique des chapiteaux ioniques. Le Courrier du CNRS (Suppl. au no. 51), 1983, 30–35.
Il Foro di Paestum (în colaborare cu E. Greco). AION 6, 1983.
Continuité et discontinuité dans l’utilisation d’un espace public : l’exemple de Poseidonia-Paestum (în colaborare cu E. Greco). În: Architecture et société : de l’archaïsme grec à la fin de la République romaine. Actes du colloque international, Rome, 2–4 décembre 1980. Paris, 1983, 93–104.
La Terrasse de Punta Tresino Agropoli : campagnes de fouille 1978, 1979 et 1980 (în colaborare cu X. Lafon). MEFRA 97, 1985, 47–134.
Le Mur nord du Forum d’Assise : ornementation pariétale et spécialisation des espaces (în colaborare cu P. Gros). MEFRA 97, 1985, 879–898.
Le Temple d’Aphrodite, prolégomènes à une étude de restitution. În: J. de la Genière & K. Erim (eds.), Aphrodisias de Carie. Colloque de l’Université de Lille III, 13 novembre 1985. Paris, 1987, 87–99.
Recensione a H. Riemann, Recensioni a Poseidonia-Paestum I, Roma 1980, e a Poseidonia-Paestum II, Roma 1983 (în colaborare cu E. Greco). AION 9, 1987, 217–220.
L’Autel du Forum d’Assise (în colaborare cu P. Gros). MEFRA 99, 1987, 693–710.
Poseidonia-Paestum : un exemple d’intégration urbaine à l’époque medio-républicaine (în colaborare cu E. Greco). În: Akten des 13. Internationalen Kongresses für klassische Archäologie. Berlin, 1988. Mainz, 1990.
La Restitution de l’Aphrodision : certitudes et perplexités. În: C. Roueché & K. T. Erim (eds.), Aphrodisias Papers: Recent Work on Architecture and Sculpture. Journal of Roman Archaeology Suppl. Series 1. Ann Arbor, MI, 1990, 49–65.
La frons scaenae du théâtre d’Aphrodisias : aperçu sur les recherches en cours (în colaborare cu Nathalie de Chaisemartin). RA 1992, 181–187.
De Ionica Symmetria à Aphrodisias de Carie, quelques réflexions. În: Le Projet de Vitruve. Objet, destinataires et réception du De architectura (Collection de l’École française de Rome, 192). Roma : École française de Rome, 1994, 105–122.
La Città e il territorio nel IV sec. a. C. (în colaborare cu E. Greco). În: M. Cipriani & F. Longo, I greci in Occidente: Poseidonia e i Lucani (catalogo della mostra, Paestum, 1996). Napoli : Electa, 1996, 184–200.
Topografia e urbanistica dalla fondazione alla conquista lucana (în colaborare cu E. Greco). În: M. Cipriani & F. Longo, I greci in Occidente: Poseidonia e i Lucani (catalogo della mostra, Paestum, 1996). Napoli : Electa, 1996, 21–36.
La frons scaenae du théâtre : innovations et particularités à l’époque de Zoïlos. În: C. Roueché & R. Smith (eds.), Aphrodisias Papers 3. Journal of Roman Archaeology Suppl. Series 20. Ann Arbor, MI, 1996, 127–148.
Chronique. Activités de l’École française de Rome. Section Antiquité. Les activités archéologiques en 1998. Paestum : campagne de fouilles 1998. Secteur de la Porta Marina (în colaborare cu E. Greco şi Agnès Rouveret). MEFRA 111, 1999, 493–503.
L’agorà : premessa (în colaborare cu E. Greco). În: E. Greco & F. Longo, Paestum: scavi, studi, ricerche. Bilancio di un decennio (1988–1998). Paestum : Pandemos, 2000, 85–90.
Roland Martin, mon maître. În: E. Greco, Architettura urbanistica societa nel mondo antico. Giornata di studi in ricordo di Roland Martin, Paestum, 21 febbraio 1998. Paestum : Pandemos, 2001.
À la recherche du « temple des métopes archaïques » du Sele (în colaborare cu Juliette de la Genière). În: O. de Cazanove & J. Scheid (eds.), Sanctuaires et sources de l’Antiquité : les sources documentaires et leurs limites dans la description des lieux de culte. Actes de la table ronde, Collège de France, 30 novembre 2001. Napoli : Centre Jean Bérard, 2003, 97–102.
Le Bâtiment de scène du théâtre d’Aphrodisias : restitution et étude fonctionnelle de la structure scénique (în colaborare cu Nathalie de Chaisemartin). Pallas 71, 2006, 57–70.
Le Chapiteau ionique archaïque de Marseille (în colaborare cu H. Tréziny). În: A. Hermary & H. Tréziny, Les Cultes des cités phocéennes. Actes du colloque international, Aix-en-Provence/Marseille, 4–5 juin 1999. Études massaliètes 6, 2008, 135–146.

Research team

LADT Members

Alexandra Lițu

Founding member

Member of the archaeological research projects Acropolis Centre-South Sector (Histria) and Beidaud Archaeological Microzone. Areas of interest: Homer, archaic and classical Greece, Greek religion, Greek epigraphy, Digital Humanities.

Alexandra-Clara Țârlea

Founding member

Alexandra Țârlea is a member of the Laboratory, as well as a member of the teams carrying out research in the Acropolis Centre-South Sector (UB) at Histria and in the Beidaud Archaeological Microzone. Her main interests within the two projects are: small finds (especially metal objects), ancient glass, archaeometry, and household archaeology.

Iulia Iliescu

LADT member

She is a member of the University of Bucharest research team conducting archaeological investigations in the “Acropolis Centre-South” Sector at Histria and in the Beidaud Archaeological Microregion. She is responsible for the inventory and primary conservation of the archaeological materials discovered during the research, as well as for the management, processing and study of Roman-era ceramic artefacts. Her main interests concern classical archaeology, the ancient economy and ceramic production in the western Black Sea region.

Valentin-Victor Bottez

Director

Valentin Bottez is the founder and director of the Laboratory, as well as the scientific coordinator of the Acropolis Centre-South Sector (UB) at Histria and of the Beidaud Archaeological Microzone. His main interests are ancient urbanism and its evolution across historical periods, and territorial occupation strategies in antiquity within the territories of ancient cities. Another research direction pursued by Valentin Bottez is the study of Greco-Roman religions, in particular the Roman imperial cult, but also the cult of the ‘Oriental’ gods in the Roman Empire (especially Mithras).

Members

Adrian Șerbănescu

Member

He is part of the research team of the Beidaud Archaeological Microzone, where his collaboration began during his doctoral project and where he has been active since 2022. He is responsible for the design and implementation of non-invasive investigation strategies. His main interest is geophysics applied to archaeology and its use in landscape archaeology, particularly in the study of ancient and prehistoric landscapes, with an emphasis on the pre-Roman and Roman periods.

Alina Stoian

Member

Her work focuses on mediating between archaeological research and the general public, through digital communication projects and experiential cultural initiatives. She coordinates the promotion and development strategy of the „Bucharest Experimental Archaeology Museum” project. Her other interests include cultural entrepreneurship, building digital communities around heritage, and developing innovative formats for experiential archaeology and museum mediation.

Elodie Caserta

Member

A specialist in the method of archaeothanatology, Elodie Caserta’s areas of interest are mortuary practices and their contribution to the understanding of Iron Age and Roman-period societies. With field experience including excavations in France, Spain, Italy, Tunisia and Romania, Ms Caserta is excavation director of the Funerary Space Sector of the Roman Rural Settlement within the Beidaud Archaeological Microzone.

Gaëlle Granier

Member

Inga Głuszek

Member

A specialist in classical archaeology, Inga Głuszek focuses her research on the development of Greek settlements along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Her work addresses the study of Greek fine and tableware ceramics, with particular emphasis on the mechanisms of import, circulation and distribution of ceramic vessels in Greek colonial contexts. She pays particular attention to the local production of tableware in the Greek colonies of the north-western Black Sea, especially the organisation of production, technological processes and the supply of raw materials. Another research direction is the analysis of iconographic representations on Greek painted pottery. Not least, Inga Głuszek is also concerned with the historiography of collecting ancient art in Poland, contributing to the discourse on the reception and study of Antiquity in Central and Eastern Europe. Ongoing projects: 1. Analysis of black-glaze pottery of the Classical and Hellenistic periods from the Greek colonies of the north-western Black Sea (Nikonion, Histria) 2. Production of tableware in the Greek colonies of the Black Sea: technologies and production chains

Irina Achim

Member

A specialist in late-antique and Christian archaeology, Irina Achim is the scientific coordinator of the Basilica with Crypt Sector (IAVP) at Histria and coordinated the Intra Muros Church Sector at Capidava (2008–2015). Her main research interests are the architecture of Early Christian monuments in the northern Balkan region and their interior arrangements for the celebration of the liturgy. Another research direction pursued by Irina Achim is the study of the urbanism of the Greek centres in Scythia and the funerary archaeology of the late-antique period in the Lower Danube provinces. Her research also addresses the history of archaeology in Romania and the Balkans in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.

Radu-Octavian Stănescu

Member

His scientific activities focus on the spatial distribution of ancient settlements in northern Dobruja, recording through aerial photogrammetry and GIS, as well as ceramological studies. His other interests include the analysis of funerary inventories and the provincial and inter-provincial ancient economy.

Collaborators

Aurel Vîlcu

Collaborator

His scientific activity is dedicated in particular to the study of numismatic sources and the contribution they make to the understanding of history in the Danubian-Pontic region, from the appearance of coinage to the medieval period. He is responsible for the analysis of the numismatic finds from the Acropolis Centre-South Sector at Histria.

Valentin Radu

Collaborator

Archaeoichthyology and malacology, dietary strategies of prehistoric communities based on aquatic resources, the palaeoeconomy of human communities, and the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment based on palaeoecological and zoogeographical studies for different historical periods. He is responsible for the analysis of over 500,000 faunal remains, dating chronologically from the Palaeolithic to the Middle Ages (archaeological sites in Romania, Armenia, France, Russia, Georgia and Iran). Deputy editor-in-chief of the journal Studii de Preistorie, specialist archaeologist, certificate 106-S/10.01.2010, expert in goods of scientific importance / palaeofauna, certificate R1/652 of 30.09.2008, accredited evaluator (BrainMap platform). Within the research on the Acropolis Centre-South Sector at Histria, Dr. Radu is responsible for the analysis of the archaeozoological finds.

Partnerships

Institutional partners

University of Bucharest

National Museum of Romanian History

Vasile Pârvan Institute of Archaeology

Ministry of Culture

Constanța County Council

Aix-Marseille University

University of Texas

University of Toruń

IFIN-HH

„Gavrilă Simion” Eco-Museum Research Institute, Tulcea

Timeline

Milestones

2013

Formation of the team's initial core and the start of the research project on the Acropolis Centre-South Sector of the Histria Archaeological Site (Constanța County).

2016

Inauguration of the Dinu Theodorescu Archaeology Laboratory within FIUB.

2020

Start of coordinating our first own archaeological dig, at MAB, in collaboration with ICEM Tulcea.

2021

Start of the collaboration with Aix-Marseille University at MAB.

2022

First course in collaboration with the University of Texas.

2024

First archaeothanatology workshop in collaboration with Aix-Marseille University; start of the collaboration with IFIN-HH.