Ancient Mining Networks The French Archaeological Missions 1999-2001
Béatrice Cauuet [1], Bruno Ancel [2], Christian Rico [3], Călin Tămaş [4]
The research framework	Orlea/Ţarina/Carpeni Sectors
The geologic framework	The "Coş" sector
The geology of Roşia Montană area	Results of archaeological surveys
The Cârnic Massif	The importance of the excavations campaign
The Cetate Massif	List of ilustrations
Hăbad Sector
Since 1999, the French archaeological mission led by Béatrice Cauuet (archaeologist C.N.R.S.) has been working on the site opened in Roşia Montană. The French team includes researchers from The Unit for Archaeology and History - U.T.A.H. (Unité Toulousaine d'Archéologie et d'Histoire) at Le Mirail University in Toulouse, associated researchers from other French institutions, as well as archaeologists from the Union National Museum in Alba Iulia (1999 - 2000), geologists from the Department of Geology of Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and geologists from the Technical University in Munich (Germany). The main objective of this mission was to establish an exhaustive archaeological diagnosis of the state of conservation, the nature, chronology and importance of the mining vestiges foregoing the 20th c. preserved in Roşia Montană. The presence of the French team is entirely justified by the experience accumulated by the researchers of the U.T.A.H. department specialised in mining archaeology - a recent inter-disciplinary scientific approach almost unknown in Romania at this moment.            In 1999 [5], the French mission was entirely financed by the French Government [6]. In 2000 [7] the financing was partially supported by the French (60%) (Ministčre des Affaires Etrangčres and Unité Toulousaine d'Archéologie et d'Histoire - U.T.A.H.) and part of it was provided by Roşia Montană Gold Corporation (40%), according to the partnership agreement signed between Le Mirail University in Toulouse and the mining corporation, in the framework of the mining project [8]. In 2001 [9], U.T.A.H Laboratory and Roşia Montana Gold Corporation financed the French mission, further to the conclusion of a new annual convention between U.T.A.H and the National History Museum of Romania [10].
1. Researcher C.N.R.S. (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), archaeologist at U.T.A.H (Unité Toulousaine d'Archéologie et d'Histoire), Le Mirail University, Toulouse (France) ; Head of the French missions at Roşia Montană. 2. Curator at the Cultural Department of L'Argentičre-la-Bessée (France). 3. Lecturer at Le Mirail University, Toulouse; archaeologist at U.T.A.H. (France). 4. Lecturer at Geology Department, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca (Romania). 5. The members of the French mission in 1999 were: Bruno Ancel, Aura Sîntimbrean-Bedelean, Matthieu Boussicault, Rolande Carré, Béatrice Cauuet, Horia Ciugudean, Gerhard Lehrberger, Christian Rico, Vladimir Ruttner and Călin Tămaş. 6. Cauuet et al., 1999 7. The members of the French mission in 2000 were: Bruno Ancel, Călin Baciu, Matthieu Boussicault, Rolande Carré, Béatrice Cauuet, Horia Ciugudean, Cécile Dardignac, Lucreţia Ghergari, Jérôme Girard, Corina Ionescu, Denis Jacquemot, Christian Jousset, Gerhard Lehrberger, Christian Rico, Vladimir Ruttner, Călin Tămaş and Christian Vialaron. 8. Cauuet et al. 2000. 9. The members of the French mission in 2001 were: Philippe Abraham, Bruno Ancel, Matthieu Boussicault, Rolande Carré, Béatrice Cauuet, Cécile Dardignac, Sorin Faur, Lucreţia Ghergari, Jérôme Girard, Corina Ionescu, Gerhard Lehrberger, Thierry Moindrot, Christian Rico, Vladimir Ruttner, Călin Tămaş, Géraldine Thiéry and Christian Vialaron. 10. Cauuet et al. 2001.