The Frumușeni Mosaics are a set of millennium-old
mosaic
A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
s discovered in
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
at "Fântâna Turcului" (Turk's Well), close to the locality of
Frumușeni, on the left bank of the river
Mureș, near the city of
Arad. The area of the discovery corresponds with the former
Bizere Monastery of the 11th-16th centuries (see
Details).
Discovery
The archaeological excavations from the Frumușeni site, Fântânele,
Arad County
Arad County () is an administrative division ( județ) of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crișana and few villages in Banat. The administrative cente ...
, were done by the research team composed of dr.
Adrian Andrei Rusu (Institute of Archaeology and Art History in
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
), drd. George Pascu Hurezan (Arad County Museum Complex), dr. Peter Hugel (Arad County Museum Complex) and drd.
Ileana Burnichioiu (
"1 Decembrie 1918" University in
Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...
). The mosaic was discovered in August 2003.
Further excavations also identified a complex of monumental buildings (a 23m x 8m two-level palace/port, two churches, a tower with a well, palisades, ditches and other construction components—portal, frieze, colons, mouldings, capitals, window enclosures, arches—local and imported ceramics, sculpted pieces, coins, book binders, adornments, fragments of apparel pieces, bronze vessels, knives, crossbow bolts, spurs, glass panes, plates, dishes and pots, candles. The area was the witness of the discovery of a well, shedding light on the reason for its name. Also discovered was a cemetery, consisting of three hundred graves.
Authorities plan to raise a museum pavilion over the site. This project is also supported by the Austrian Institute of Archeology, as well as the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
. The land on which the discovery was made, was ceded to the new museum by the local authorities.
Details
The mosaics were discovered inside the ruins of a former
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
monastery, the
Bizere Monastery, which functioned between the 12th and 16th century. During this period the area belonged to the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
. The mosaic is believed to have constituted the floor of the church.
The speculations concerning the
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
origin of the mosaics cannot be fully proved, since the style and the possible dating of the finds can also have very strong
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
connections. The archaeological evidence in itself insufficient to decide whether the monastery was of
western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
or
eastern rite. Even the possible
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
origin of the mosaics does not support convincingly the Orthodox identification of the place, because in one hand of the very strong relationship between the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
(see
Béla III's Byzantine connections), and on the other hand the ground plan and the architectural appearance of the building-complex rather represents a classical western liturgical space.
The surface is constituted by several polychrome mosaics, grouped into three 4.5m by 1.3m panels, beautifully crafted, depicting real or fantastic animal, floral, solar and geometric representations. The
bestiary
A bestiary () is a compendium of beasts. Originating in the ancient world, bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals and even rocks. The natural history and illustration of each beas ...
, containing a wolf-headed
centaur
A centaur ( ; ; ), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (), is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version o ...
, a half dog-half boar, a winged he-goat, a bear, a rabbit, a predator bird catching a fish, seems to illustrate the
allegorical
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...
battle between
good and evil
In philosophy, religion, and psychology, "good and evil" is a common dichotomy. In religions with Manichaeism, Manichaean and Abrahamic influence, evil is perceived as the dualistic cosmology, dualistic antagonistic opposite of good, in which ...
. The mosaics also contain several crosses with equal arms, framed by squares, and superposed by a flower, suggesting the path to salvation.
The discovery of the Orthodox church only confirms an older hypothesis of Romanian historiography, which suggests that Catholic orders (
Cistercians
The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
,
Benedictines
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...
), had taken over from the Orthodox Christians a series of monasteries, one of which is the Bistra Monastery (toponym transformed into Bizere). The Catholic monastery ended its existence in 1551, after an
Ottoman invasion.
See also
*
Romania in the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages in Romania began shortly after the withdrawal of the Roman legion, Roman legions from the former Roman Empire, Roman Roman province, province of Roman Dacia, Dacia in the late 3rd century and with the start of the Romania in the ...
*
History of Christianity in Romania
Further reading
*Ileana Burnichioiu, Adrian A. Rusu, ''Mozaicurile medievale de la Bizere , The Medieval Mosaics from Bizere , Die mittelalterlichen Mosaiken von Bizere'', Arad, 2005; Editura Mega, 2006; 55 pages.
References
Archaeological Excavation Reportb
CIMEC
External links
* Images of the archeological sit
("11th century Byzantine mosaic discovery in the course of archeological investigations at the former Bizere monastery (11th-16th century)");
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frumuseni Mosaics
History of Christianity in Romania
Churches in Romania
Christian monasteries in Romania
Buildings and structures in Arad County
Archaeological sites in Romania
Mosaics
Byzantine mosaics
Tourist attractions in Arad County