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Mircea Babeș (13 December 1941–26 April 2023)

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Mircea Babeș (13 December 1941–26 April 2023)

On 26 April 2023, early in the morning, Professor Mircea Babeș passed away after a short but challenging illness. Always preoccupied by the methodological aspects of archaeology, supporter of all forms of archeological education, pioneer of history of archaeology studies in Romania, passionate field researcher, he honored his mission as an archaeologist. For more than a decade, until his retirement in 2007, he was professor of Archaeology at the University of Bucharest, where, amongst other he courses and seminars (both at undergraduate and master’s levels) he had one of the very few courses of History of Archaeology in Romania. He also supervised several MA theses and PhD dissertations on the history of archaeology.

Biography

Born on 13 December 1946 in a middle class family in Bucharest, Mircea Babeș’s passion for history and archaeology was fueled by the visits made with his father to the Greek and Roman sites on the Romanian Black Sea coast, but also by the dedication of his history teachers in school. In 1959 he enrolled as a student at the Faculty of History from the University of Bucharest, where he is rapidly noticed by Professor Ion Nestor (1905-1974) who will later supervise his BA thesis and PhD dissertation. He graduates as first of his year, and immediately after he joins the Institute of Archaeology in Bucharest where he will work for the next five decades. He is promoted full researcher in 1968 and goes through all the stages of a scientific career in Romania, up to senior researcher in 1996. Between 1990-1994 he was also deputy director of the Institute under the directorship of classical archaeologist Petre Alexandrescu (1930-2009).

Guided by Nestor, to whom he remained a faithful disciple, at the same time keeping a pious memory of him, Mircea Babeș specialized in the study of the history and material culture of the Bastarnae communities, archaeologically identified with the Poienești‐Lukaşevka culture in Eastern Romania. In 1971, recommended by Nestor, he earns a scholarship from the “Alexander von Humboldt” Foundation at the University of Saarbrücken in Germany, with the renowned German archaeologist Rolf Hachmann (1917-2014) as his mentor. His PhD dissertation, entitled “Central and Northern Moldova in the II-I centuries B.C.E. (Poienești-Lukaşevka Culture)”, was completed in 1978 under the guidance of archaeologist Dumitru Berciu (1907-1998), after the premature death of Nestor, his first supervisor. The PhD years were only the beginning of his ongoing interest in the question of Iron Age populations (especially the Bastarnae). The summum of his research on the topic resulted in the monograph Die Poienești-Lukaševka-Kultur. Ein Beitrag zur Kulturgeschichte im Raum östlich der Karpaten in den letzten Jahrhunderten vor Christi Geburt, edited in Bonn in 1993 and awarded by the Romanian Academy with the “Vasile Pârvan” prize. This was an exemplary work that capitalizes on his early research and doctoral thesis, as well as on almost three decades of archaeological excavations. Although finished and ready to be published already in 1985, the book’s publication was blocked for many years by the communist authorities because of the accusations of a colleague for “promoting foreign, especially German, interests in Romania” (see Babeș 1991:40).

As a student, Mircea Babeș participated in archaeological excavations at sites such as Oinac, Histria, București‐Ciurel and Bratei; once at the Institute, he joined the excavations of more experienced colleagues: at Romula with Vlad Zirra (1919-200) and Dumitru Tudor (1908-1982), at Giurgiu Malu‐Roșu with Maria Coja (1920-1999) and at Fântânele with Corneliu N. Mateescu (1911-1997). From 1966 onwards, he coordinates the large excavations from Romula, Olt County (1966-1969), Borosești, Iași County (1968-1978), Cârlomănești, Buzău County (1967, 1972-1981, 2001-2011), Enisala, Tulcea County (1968–1969), Poienești, Vaslui County (1979-2000) and Zimnicea, Teleorman County (2000-2004); his main focus on these sites were the mortuary practices during Iron Age and Roman time.

Field research represented only one aspect of Babeș’s scientific training; another, and probably equally significant, consisted of the numerous scholarships outside the country, the most important being perhaps those received from the “Alexander von Humboldt” Foundation at the University of Saarbrücken, Institut für Vor- und Frühgeschichte on multiple occasions (1971-1972, 1975, 1979-1980 and after 1990 several times) and the UNESCO scholarship “G. Katzarow” (1977) at the Institute of Thracology in Sofia, Bulgaria. Many other scholarships, documentary internships and study trips (most of them after 1990) in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Republic of Moldova, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the USSR and Yugoslavia allowed him to reach a high level of expertise and a sound understanding of the history and culture of the Iron Age populations, the funerary practices in the Roman Empire or the history of European archaeology, among other topics.

Mircea Babeș and the history of archaeology

After the reorganization of the Department of Ancient History and Archeology at the Faculty of History of the University of Bucharest, Mircea Babeș was invited to take up a position, first as visiting professor (1994) and then as full professor of Archaeology from 1 November 1996. As mentioned above he had, among other courses as Archaeology, Military Archaeology or Funerary Archaeology, one of the very few courses of History of Archaeology in Romania. I was one of the students who attended this course which was a clear, elegant, positivist, and well documented chronological presentation of the history of European archaeology. Mircea Babeș’s teaching activity is doubled by a considerable constructive effort. In 1997, for example, he organizes the “Vasile Pârvan” Archeology Seminar, thus bringing back to life an old seminar initiated by Vasile Pârvan (1882–1927), regarded as the father of Romanian archaeology. Mircea Babeș becomes the first (and only) director of the seminar, thus creating at the Faculty of History a research center with its own staff, library, research projects, publications, and equipment, and which offered scholarships and organized scientific conferences. He was a gifted, methodical, demanding, and often perfectionist teacher generously spreading his knowledge, fascinating the audience, creating a school, and supporting young people willing to embark on the path of archaeology. He always promoted the cause of archeology within the Faculty, invited foreign guests to lecture whenever possible, stimulated the establishment of the “Student Club of Archaeology”, donated books from his own library and convinced others to donate to the Seminary’s library.

His interest in the history of archaeology started with the study of the life and work of Alexandru Odobescu (1834–1895), the first professor of archaeology at the University of Bucharest. In 1976 he publishes a critical edition of Odobescu’s most important scientific work, Le Trésor de Pétrossa. Étude sur l’orfèvrerie antique (Paris, 1887–1900), for which he received the “Perpesiccius” prize for the best critical edition of the year from the Museum of Romanian Literature. He participated in the “AREA IV. Archives of European Archaeology” (2005–2008) project as the coordinator of the Romanian team on behalf of the University of Bucharest, attracting a wide interest for the history of archaeology among younger colleagues. Furthermore, the AREA project continued locally with another project, “Archaeologists without borders. European dimensions of Romanian archaeology, 1834–1989” (2006–2009), which again had good results in terms of publications and raising the interest for the history of archaeology. Another important publication is the volume edited together with Marc‐Antoine Kaeser in 2009. He also published articles about the life and work of Odobescu, Pârvan and Nestor; German archaeological research in Romania (for which he spent some time in the German archives) and the relationship between German and Romanian archaeology/archaeologists; archaeological congresses; archaeology during the communist era; archaeology and politics, among other topics. He also produced overviews of the development of Romanian archaeology and had planned – but sadly never accomplished – writing a history of archaeology in Romania and even an illustrated history of archaeology in Romania.

Editorial and collective activities

Mircea Babeș’s critical spirit, demandingness and organizational skills found a good home in the position of editor-in-chief of the journal Studii și Cercetări de Istorie veche (și Arheologie) [Studies and Researches of Ancient History and (Archaeology)] which was for many decades among the most important journals of archaeology in Romania. He held this position between 1995 and 2009, and was a member of the editorial board of the journal since 1972. These roles have allowed him to contribute to the development of the journal’s editorial guidelines and raising its scientific quality, in addition to revising and translating manuscripts, and encouraging younger colleagues to publish. He was also a talented polemicist who authored many sharp reviews. He demonstrated his critical spirit and moral inflexibility in the public sphere as well, by being one of the few archaeologists who opposed the Roșia Montană project1. He expressed his position both publicly and within the National Commission for Archaeology within which he had been active in several roles for three decades. Well versed in several languages (German, French, English, Russian), he was invited to give public lectures at the universities of Bochum (1970, 2000), Saarbrücken (1971), Munich (1980), Marburg/Lahn (1981), Berlin – Freie Universität and Humboldt‐Universität (1994, 1998, 2004), Klagenfurt (1999), Vienna (2001), at the Römisch‐Germanische Kommission (1970, 1980), at the museums in Dresden (1973), Halle ( 1973, 1998), Schwerin (1973), and Potsdam (1983), as well as at the Institute of Archeology in Sofia (1977). He was also present at numerous archaeological congresses and colloquiums, both in the country and abroad, including several UISPP congresses (Belgrade 1971, Bratislava 1991, Liège 2001, Lisbon 2006) where he was member of the Commission for the History of Archaeology. This sustained presence on the international archaeological scene has also brought him the election or nomination as a member of various scientific organizations and boards: corresponding member (Ab epistulis) of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) in 1991; member of the Scientific Council of the journal Bericht der Römisch‐Germanischen Kommission (Frankfurt am Main); member of the Permanent Council of the Executive Committee of the UISPP in 1991; member of the Executive Committee of the UISPP (elected at the Liège Congress in 2001), honorary member of the Commission History of Archeology of the UISPP; honorary president of the “Alexander von Humboldt” Club in Romania; corresponding member of the Institute of Archeology with Museum of the Bulgarian Academy in Sofia since 2007; honorary member of the Institute of Archeology in Iași from 2009; honorary member of the Institute of Southeast European Studies of the Romanian Academy since 2009. Besides these positions, Mircea Babeș published more than 150 studies in Romanian and foreign journals. Committed to his principles, in the last years of activity Mircea Babeș concentrated his efforts on publishing his unpublished research, achieving a real tour de force with the support of his younger collaborators, especially for the publications about archaeological sites such as the Poienești necropolises (Daniel Spânu), Borosești (Vasile Iarmulschi) and Romula (Dorel Bondoc).

On the occasion of his 65th birthday, the editorial board of the journal Studii și Cercetări de Istorie veche și Arheologie celebrated him through the writing of Constantin C. Petolescu ( see Petolescu 2007). On his 70th anniversary, some of his former students dedicated him a Festschrift volume (see Măgureanu, Măndescu and Matei 2011), which gathers the contributions of his disciples and closest collaborators.

The last years of Mircea Babeș’s life were overshadowed by several illnesses which reduced his mobility and work capacity. Despite his poor health situation, he remained interested in archaeology, the activity of the Institute, and everything that was newly published. He equally appreciated classical music, rugby, rolling cigarettes, and travelling. He was a devoted friend, a passionate photographer, a supporter of the “Petrolul Ploiești” football team, and a gourmet. He loved his wife, Liliana, whose death affected him deeply. An incurable optimist, he served archeology with tenacity and honesty. He is survived by his son Alexandru, professor of neurosciences and physiology at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Bucharest, his daughter-in-law Ramona, neurobiologist, and grandsons Andrei and Radu. He was buried at the “Sf. Vineri” cemetery in Bucharest, where fellow archaeologists Dumitru Berciu, Hortensia (1901-1983) and Vladimir Dumitrescu (1902-1991), and Silvia Marinescu-Bîlcu (1935-2023) also rest.

Sit tibi terra levis!

Footnotes

  1. Roșia Montană Project was a proposed gold and silver mine in Roșia Montană, Alba county, Romania. If approved, it would have become Europe’s largest open-pit gold mine and it would have used the gold cyanidation mining technique. The project met with widespread protests in 2013 that indefinitely delayed the project, which saw its end in 2021, when Roșia Montană became a part of the UNESCO World Heritage list (for the very important Roman era gold mining galleries) and was also included in the List of World Heritage in Danger. Following these measures, any mining activity in Roșia Montană is prohibited in the future.

Cite this article: Nicolae, Cătălin I. 2024. Mircea Babeș (13 December 1941–26 April 2023), Historical Studies of Pre & Protohistoric Archaeology. The IUPPS “History of Archaeology” commission’s blog, https://histarcheo.hypotheses.org/1354.

References

  • Babeș 1991. Pavel Chihaia, Fața cernită a libertății. 20 de convorbiri la Europa Liberă. Denaturarea adevărului istoric – interviu cu Petre Alexandrescu, Mircea Babeș și Alexandru Suceveanu [Pavel Chihaia, The mourning face of freedom. 20 talks at Radio Free Europe. The distortion of historical truth – interview with archaeologists Petre Alexandrescu, Mircea Babeș and Alexandru Suceveanu], București, 1991.
  • Măgureanu, Măndescu and Matei 2011. Despina Măgureanu, Dragoș Măndescu, Sebastian Matei (eds.), Archaeology: making of and practice. Studies in honor of Mircea Babeş at his 70th anniversary, Bucharest, 2011.
  • Petolescu 2007. Constantin C. Petolescu, Profesorul Mircea Babeș la 65 de ani [Professor Mircea Babeș at 65 years old], Studii și Cercetări de Istorie veche și Arheologie 58, 1–2, 2007, p. 5–10.

Selected list of publications

The reference list only includes selected publications related to the history of archaeology. The complete list of Babeș’s publications can be found in his Festschrift volume (see Măgureanu, Măndescu and Matei 2011). Romanian titles translated, in brackets.

Edited volumes

Studies

  • Babeş M. 1981. “Marile etape ale dezvoltării arheologiei în România” [The great stages of the development of archaeology in Romania], Studii și Cercetări de Istorie veche și Arheologie 32, 3, p. 319–330.
  • Babeş M. 1982. “Vasile Pârvan şi arheologia geto‐dacă” [Vasile Pârvan and the Geto-Dacian archaeology], Studii și Cercetări de Istorie veche și Arheologie 33, 4, p. 359–364.
  • Babeş M. 1983. “Figuri de seamă în cercetarea antichităţilor Buzăului: M. Ghica, Al. Odobescu, I. Nestor” [Key figures in the research of the Buzău antiquities: M. Ghica, Al. Odobescu, I. Nestor], Spiritualitate şi istorie la întorsura Carpaţilor 2, p. 363–369.
  • Babeş M. 1987. “Preocupări de preistorie în activitatea de arheolog a lui Alexandru Odobescu” [Prehistory in the archaeological activity of Alexandru Odobescu], Memoriile Secţiei de Ştiinţe Istorice (Academia R.S.R.), series IV, tome IX, 1984 (1987), p. 136–143.
  • Babeş M. 1994. “Arheologia” [Archaeology], in Constantin Preda (ed.), Enciclopedia Arheologiei și Istoriei Vechi a României, vol. 1, București, p. 94-99.
  • Babeş M. 1995. “160 ani de arheologie românească” [160 years of Romanian archaeology], Magazin Istoric 29, 4 (337), p. 54–56.
  • Babeş M. 1998. “Archäologie und archäologische Denkmalpflege in Rumänien”, Archäologisches Nachrichtenblatt 3, 2, p. 129–132.
  • Babeş M. 1999. “Rumunia: archeologia i archeologiczna ochrona zabytków”, in Zb. Kobylinski (ed.), Ochrana dziedzictwa archeologicznego w Evropie, Warszawa, 1998 (1999), p. 313–316.
  • Babeş M. 2002. “Archäologie und Gesellschaft am Anfang des 21. Jahrhunderts”, Mitteilungen des Humboldt‐Clubs Rumänien 6, Bukarest, p. 7–12.
  • Babeş M. 2003. “Arheologija i obštestvo v načalato na XXI vek”, Arheologija‐Sofia 44, 1, p. 8–12.
  • Babeş M. 2005. “170 de ani de arheologie românească” [170 years of Romanian archaeology], Studii și Cercetări de Istorie veche și Arheologie 54–56, 2003–2005, p. 9–20.
  • Babeş M. 2004. “Rumänsk arkeologi under 170 år”, in Karen Slej, Suzanne Unge Sörling, Dragomir Nicolae Popovici (eds.), Guldskatter – Rumänien under 7000 år. Utställningskatalog, Medelhavsmuseet, Stockholm, p. 82–85.
  • Babeş M. 2005. “Hundertjähriges Jubiläum eines Humboldtianers: Ion Nestor (1905–2005”, Mitteilungen des Humboldt‐Clubs Rumänien 8–9, Bukarest, 2004–2005, p. 11–16.
  • Babeş M. 2006. “Von Odobescu bis Nestor. Der Werdegang des archäologischen Studiums in Rumänien bis zur kommunistischen Machtergreifung”, in J. Callmer, M. Meyer, R. Struwe, C. Theune (eds.), Die Anfänge der ur‐ und frühgeschichtlichen Archäologie als akademisches Fach (1890–1930) im europäischen Vergleich. Internationale Tagung an der Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin vom 13.–16. März 2003, Verlag Marie Leidorf GmbH.Rahden/Westf., p. 237–248.
  • Babeş M. 2007. “Die rumänische Archäologie und die Versuchung des Nationalismus vor und nach der Wende”, in S. Rieckhoff, U. Sommer (eds.), Auf der Suche nach Identitäten: Volk – Stamm – Kultur – Ethnos. Internationale Tagung der Universität Leipzig vom 8.–9. Dezember 2000, Oxford, Archaeopress, BAR, International Series S1705, p. 193–195.
  • Babeş M. 2007. “Arheologia românească și congresele internaționale în epoca „Războiului rece”” [Romanian archaeology and the international congresses in the Cold War era], Studii și Cercetări de Istorie veche și Arheologie 58, 3–4, p. 321–344.
  • Babeş M. 2010. “Arheologie, societate și politică în România, înainte și după 1989” [Archaeology, society and politics in Romania before and after 1989], Studii și Cercetări de Istorie veche și Arheologie 59–60, 2008–2009 (2010), p. 5–16.
  • Babeş M., C. I. Nicolae. 2014. “Rival Archaeological Congresses in inter‐war Europe”, Dacia N.S. 58, p. 309–324.

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cnicolae (February 16, 2024). Mircea Babeș (13 December 1941–26 April 2023). Historical Studies of Pre & Protohistoric Archaeology. Retrieved October 14, 2024 from https://doi.org/10.58079/vunf