Unearthed mega-structure hints at communal rule in Romania 6,000 years ago

Amazing stuff!

"Archaeologists working at the ancient settlement of Stăuceni-"Holm" in northeastern Romania have uncovered a mega-structure measuring 350 square meters dating back about 6,000 years. This is one of the few examples of a massive building that has been physically excavated in the region. It is hoped that it will reveal more about the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture (ca. 5000–3500 BC) of Eastern Europe, which is known for its large, well-planned settlements.

A civilization without rulers?

Researchers have studied this culture extensively, yet many mysteries remain about their settlements. There are no palaces, no obvious signs of rich elite burials and precious metals are extremely rare. Even though thousands of people lived together in these early cities, most houses look the same. ..."

From the abstract:

"2021 to 2024, the Cucuteni A3 settlement of Stăuceni-‘Holm’, Botoşani County in north-east Romania was surveyed geophysically and by systematic field collections.

According to the geomagnetic results, on the plateau a settlement with about 45 houses was delimited by several ditch- and palisade systems.

A comparatively large building (350 m2) was located in the area between the ditches, which is meant to be a mega-structure, mainly due to its size and the clearly visible position next to the probable entrance of the settlement.

The mega-structure was partially excavated in 2023–2024. The observations, regarding the architecture and the dating of the feature in particular, provide valuable information for the discussion about the function of these special structures, of which only five others have been investigated in detail by excavation to date."

Unearthed mega-structure hints at communal rule in Romania 6,000 years ago

The mega-structure at Stăuceni-‘Holm’, Botoşani county, Romania and the debate about the governing of Cucuteni-Trypillia-settlements (open access)

What Moldova teaches us about fighting hybrid threats

Very recommendable! Another target of Putin the Terrible!

Deutsche Eurofighter und deutsche Luftwaffe Piloten schützen NATO-Luftraum Polens und Rumäniens

Sehr empfehlenswert! Wieviele russische Dronen sind bereits im NATO Raum hinein geflogen oder sogar gelandet/abgestürzt?

Sehr gut, dass die deutsche Luftwaffe in Rumänien und Poland tätig ist!

Wann werden die Russen endlich den Putin der Schreckliche loswerden!

Romania’s Economic Crisis Explained

Recommendable! However, this video by TLDR again ends kind of abruptly!

Russian Drone Breaches Romanian Airspace

Serious stuff coming after about 20 Russian drones entered the air space of Poland last week!

The Russo-Ukrainian War is already World War III by any other name given how many countries are involved on both sides.

When will the lethargic, apathetic Russian Slav(e)s/Serfs finally get rid of their last tsar, the megalomaniac and war criminal Putin the Terrible! Please Russian people make the world a better, more peaceful place again!

"Romania, a NATO member, reported Russian drones entering its airspace on Saturday, less than a week after Poland announced the same violation. The Romanian defense ministry said a Russian drone was detected while fighter jets monitored a Russian attack on Ukraine near Romania’s northern border. The ministry added that the drone didn’t fly over a populated area and didn’t pose an imminent threat. ..."

Monday, September 15, 2025 - Join The Flyover

Romania becomes second Nato country to detect Russian drone in its airspace

Romania to procure Israel's Iron Dome. Really!

Does Romania (population 19 million, NATO member, ranked about 54th in GDP per capita) need such an advanced defense system?

"Romania is to become the first European country to procure Israel's Iron Dome rocket defense system. The procurement was revealed in an interview that Romanian Minister of National Defense Ionut Mosteanu gave the state television channel TVR. He said that the country would sign a procurement agreement in the coming fall. ..."

Romania to procure Iron Dome - Globes "Romanian Minister of National Defense Ionu? Mosteanu told the state television channel TVR that his country will sign a procurement agreement with Israel in the fall."

Stephen the Great of Moldovia - The Final Years of a Legend (1492–1504)

Recommendable! Notice Poland-Lithuania!

Romania reruns controversial election after earlier vote annulled

What is going on in Romania?

"Romanians are trying again to elect a new president, six months after the first attempt ended in scandal and confusion.

A radical outsider with mystical leanings, Calin Georgescu, came first on 24 November, but that result was annulled over allegations of campaign fraud and Russian interference. ... 

If no candidate wins over 50% of the vote, a run-off between the first two candidates will be held on 18 May. ...

The result is awaited nervously in European capitals, Washington, Kyiv and Moscow. Romania is an important transit route for weapon systems and ammunition to Ukraine. The country has a US missile defence shield at Deveselu, and three major airbases from which Nato flies air policing missions up to the border of Ukraine and Moldova, and out over the Black Sea.

Ukraine exports 70% of its grain down the Black Sea coast, through Romanian territorial waters, towards Istanbul. The Romanian navy demines those waters, and the Romanian air force trains Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s. The Trump administration is reassessing its commitment to Romania. A visa-waiver agreement was abruptly cancelled on the eve of the election. ...

But Romania finally joined the Schengen land-borders on 1 January, ...

Many in Romania's large diaspora - a million are registered to vote - have already cast their ballots, especially in Spain, Italy, Germany and the UK. They are invisible in opinion polls, and could easily sway the final result. ..."

Romania reruns controversial election after earlier vote annulled

Medieval bear’s teeth shed light on historic heavy metal pollution in Romania

The proverbial good old times!

"Abnormally high levels of lead in the teeth of a brown bear, which died 1000 years ago down a cave shaft in the Southern Carpathian mountains, represent the earliest known evidence of human-induced heavy metal pollution in a wild animal. The finding pushes back the date of such pollution affecting terrestrial wildlife by several centuries before the Industrial Revolution began around 1760. ...

Analyses of sediment cores revealed such pollution had already begun at low levels at the onset of the Bronze Age 5200 years ago in northern Greece. Then, 2150 years ago the pollution intensified, aligning with when the Roman Empire began to occupy Ancient Greece.

However, although historic heavy metal pollution likely affected ecosystems, little is known about its impacts due to a lack of direct evidence. Now, palaeontologist[s] ... have found the earliest evidence yet of lead pollution in a wild animal after analysing the teeth of a bear that lived around 1000 years ago. ..."

From the highlights and abstract:

"Highlights

• multi-elemental concentration maps of the dentition of a sub-fossil brown bear from the Carpathian Mountains.

• Anomalous concentrations of heavy metals (lead, zinc, lithium) are detected in the last deposited layers of dentine.

• Radiocarbon data of the sampled bone indicate the individual is 1000 BP-year-old, at a time and place known for ore smelting.

• Earliest-known evidence for anthropogenic pollution on the wildlife.

Abstract

Effects of past anthropogenic metal pollution on the wildlife are understudied. We investigate trace element incorporation in the dentition of a 1000 BP-year-old brown bear from the Romanian Carpathians, an area known historically for strong metallurgical activities.

Background values as well as unnatural high lead (Pb), lithium (Li) and zinc (Zn) levels in a circa 5‒6-year-old brown bear male were detected using trace element maps across its functional dentition.

High-resolution elemental transects and histological sections reveal the seasonal extent of lead intake, which occurred during five recorded summers, i.e. when the animal was actively foraging.

We interpret the elevated Pb, Li and Zn concentrations in the terminal growth lines as evidence for the earliest-known anthropogenic heavy metal pollution in a wild animal.

Our study underlines the impact of early industrial activities in a large terrestrial omnivore, demonstrating that anthropogenic threats on wildlife were not solely driven by hunting or landscape modification during the most recent decades."

Medieval bear’s teeth shed light on historic heavy metal pollution | Research | Chemistry World

Societal changes in Ancient Greece impacted terrestrial and marine environments (open access)

Earliest evidence for heavy metal pollution on wildlife in Middle Age Europe (open access)

This 20m vertical shaft is the only way in or out of the cave where the bears’ remains were found

Graphical abstract

Die wichtigsten Herkunftsländer ausländischer Arbeitnehmer

Wenn Deutschland nicht so eine Bananenrepublik wäre, könnte der Schmelztiegel oder D. als Einwanderungsland ja sogar gut gelingen!

Anscheinend sind Inder etwas unterrepräsentiert!

Die wichtigsten Herkunftsländer ausländischer Arbeitnehmer - iwd.de "In Deutschland gingen Mitte 2024 rund 5,5 Millionen Menschen mit ausländischer Staatsbürgerschaft einer sozialversicherungspflichtigen Beschäftigung nach. Die größte Gruppe bilden Personen mit türkischem Pass, die zweitgrößte stammt aus Polen. Doch auch viele [Einwanderer] aus Krisengebieten arbeiten in Deutschland."

Romanian fossils are earliest evidence of hominins in Europe, predating other finds by up to half a million years

Amazing stuff!

"The bones are at least 1.95 million years old but could be up to 2.2 million years old. They may help build a picture of when early human ancestors left Africa and reached Europe and Asia, and the route they took. This has been an area of debate for decades.

The previous oldest evidence of hominins in Europe – stone tools found in Ukraine in 2024 – are just 1.4 million years old. In Dmanisi, Georgia – at the border of Europe and Asia – finds have been dated to 1.85–1.77 million years. ...

Cut marks that could only have been made by stone tools used by early hominins were found on the [animal] bones. High-precision uranium-lead radiodating  showed the bones were at least 1.95 million years old. ..."

From the abstract:

"The timing of the initial dispersal of hominins into Eurasia is unclear. Current evidence indicates hominins were present at Dmanisi, Georgia by 1.8 million years ago (Ma), but other ephemeral traces of hominins across Eurasia predate Dmanisi. However, no hominin remains have been definitively described from Europe until ~1.4 Ma. 

Here we present evidence of hominin activity at the site of Grăunceanu, Romania in the form of multiple cut-marked bones.

Biostratigraphic and high-resolution U-Pb age estimates suggest Grăunceanu is > 1.95 Ma, making this site one of the best-dated early hominin localities in Europe. Environmental reconstructions based on isotopic analyzes of horse dentition suggest Grăunceanu would have been relatively temperate and seasonal, demonstrating a wide habitat tolerance in even the earliest hominins in Eurasia. Our results, presented along with multiple other lines of evidence, point to a widespread, though perhaps intermittent, presence of hominins across Eurasia by at least 2.0 Ma."

Romanian fossils are earliest evidence of hominins in Europe, predating other finds by half a million years "Analysis of bones butchered by ancient human ancestors shows they represent the oldest direct evidence of hominins in Europe."

Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years ago (open access)

Fig. 1: Map of fossil localities showing evidence of hominins (either hominin fossils, lithics, or cut-marked bones) in northern Africa and Eurasia prior to 1.0 Ma.

Fig. 2: Selected images of high-confidence cut-marked specimens from the Olteţ River Valley assemblage.

Romania and Bulgaria join Europe's Schengen borden-free zone after being EU members since 2007

Good news!

Romania highest court annuls presidential election results after accusations of Russian meddling

Recommendable! Romania is very important for the defense of the Ukraine!

Did Russia interfere with Romania's presidential election?

Recommendable!

Post-poll Chaos Grips Georgia and Romania With Palki Sharma

Recommendable! The case of Romania seems to be suspicious indeed!

Hunter Biden Lied About Lobbying Foreign Agent (Romania) to Protect his then vice president father

This huge scandal is comparable to Watergate scandal except this time the Washington (Com)Post is not investigating!

This case is also showcasing to the world of a shocking double standard in law enforcement in the U.S. like a banana republic!

For too many years the Biden clan got away with too many illegal acts or even crimes!

"... Yet the younger Biden failed to register as a lobbyist for a foreign power to spare his father political embarrassment, falsely labeling his business as real estate management advice. ...

In 2015, Romanian real estate tycoon Gabriel Popoviciu faced bribery charges in his native land. Popoviciu hired Hunter Biden, then the son of sitting Vice President Joe Biden, to prompt the Obama-Biden administration to “investigate the Romanian criminal investigation into Gabriel Popoviciu and thereby cause an end to the investigation of Gabriel Popoviciu in Romania,” stated court filings from special counsel David Weiss. ...

Payments began on Nov. 5, 2015, as Popoviciu deposited $179,836.86 into the business account. On Nov. 14, Hunter Biden met with Romania’s ambassador to the United States and, the next day, traveled to Romania. Hunter would meet the ambassador again on March 26, 2016. ...

The efforts may have included Joe Biden. In September 2015, then-Vice President Biden welcomed Romanian President Klaus Iohannis to the White House to discuss corruption.

“Vice President welcomed President Iohannis’ focus on anti-corruption efforts and [the] rule of law as a means to strengthen national security and promote greater investment and economic growth,” stated a White House readout of the meeting. ..."

Hunter Biden Lied About Lobbying Foreign Agent to Protect Dad

Spanish F-18 Fighters Join NATO Black Sea Policing Mission in Romania

More signs that Europe and NATO considers the threat posed by the megalomaniac and war criminal Putin the Terrible to be very serious!

Several Spanish fighter aircraft stationed in Romania? Unusual!

"The military issues website BulgarianMilitary.com reported on Saturday, Aug. 3, that eight Spanish F/A-18A+ fighter aircraft supported by around 150 personnel arrived at Romania’s Mihail Kogălniceanu military airbase at the start of a new deployment as part of NATO’s Black Sea Air Policing mission. The Spanish team will be stationed in Romania until December as part of the routine rotation of member nation support to the operation. ..."

Spanish F-18 Fighters Join NATO Black Sea Policing Mission "Spain’s “Paznic” tactical air detachment deployed to Romania for a five-month detachment over the weekend as part of the NATO Black Sea Air Policing mission."

Three Russian Shahed Drones Strike Romania, Causing Fire, Sources Say

If confirmed, this is very serious stuff! How close are we to World War III?

Romania is a NATO member bordering on the Ukraine.

When will the lethargic, apathetic, and slavish Russian people finally get rid of their last czar, the megalomaniac and war criminal Putin the Terrible! How many more young Russian men have to die or be maimed because Putin the Terrible has conducted a “special military operation” since February of 2022!

"Russian drones struck targets in Romania early Wednesday morning, July 24, during Moscow’s attack on the port infrastructure of Ukraine’s Odesa region, informed sources in Ukraine’s Security and Defense Sector exclusively told Kyiv Post.

Three Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) were recorded falling and subsequently causing fires in Romania.

Explosions from kamikaze drone strikes were reported near the village of Niculițel [Romania], 7 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. ..."

Three Russian Shahed Drones Strike Romania, Causing Fire, Sources Say Russian drones struck targets in Romania on July 24, causing fires near Niculițel, 7 km from the Ukrainian border, confirmed by the IAR-330 helicopter crew from the 57th Air Base.

Rumänien wird grösster Gasproduzent der EU

Gute Nachrichten!

Was für eine kuriose Schlagzeile! Ich bin fast vom Stuhl gefallen! Nach Russland wird ausgerechnet Rumänin der grösste Produzent von Erdgas!

Die Wirren des Russisch-ukrainischen Krieges!

Die Internationale Energie Agentur bietet veraltetes Material (2020 letztes Jahr) zum Thema an! Die IEA ist wohl immer noch im Covid-19 Koma! 😊

Rumänien wird grösster Gasproduzent der EU Mehr Erdgas für Europa: Nach vielen Versäumnissen investiert OMV in Rumänien Milliarden in die Förderung

Die europäischen Länder haben sich beim Gas von Russland abhängig gemacht. Sie haben es versäumt, Alternativen zu suchen. Ein lange verzögertes Projekt in Rumänien kommt nun in Gang. Das Land wird zum grössten Gasförderer der EU.

OK Computer: Romania debuts ‘world’s first’ AI government adviser

Probably some lifetime career politicians could easily be replaced by better AI! 😊 (Caution: Irony)

"Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă surprised his Cabinet on Wednesday by introducing them to a new member — run completely on artificial intelligence.

Ciucă introduced the new "honorary adviser" called Ion to the rest of his ministers in a demonstration, with a face and words appearing on a digital screen, responding to the prime minister's prompts along with a computerized voice.

Ion was developed by Romanian researchers and will use artificial intelligence to "quickly and automatically capture the opinions and desires" submitted by Romanian citizens, Ciucă said. ..."

OK Computer: Romania debuts ‘world’s first’ AI government adviser – POLITICO Ion will synthesize concerns submitted by citizens into reports for the government to consider.

Sunt aici să te reprezint (the government website, in Romanian language)

Credits: The Batch by Andrew Ng

Nicolae Ciucă introduced the new "honorary adviser" called Ion to the rest of his ministers in a demonstration