Presentation

MATERIALE ȘI CERCETARI ARHEOLOGICE

Materiale şi Cercetǎri Arheologice (MCA – Archaeological Materials and Research) was first published in 1953 by the Institute of Archaeology of the Romanian Academy, as a response to a clear and much felt need for a publication dedicated to the dissemination (at a national scale) of archaeological field results as seen through excavation reports.

Shortly after its first issue the publication became one of the most appreciated and in demand both in Romania and abroad, as suggested by its presence in numerous libraries of the main research centres in Europe and the United States. To the prestige of the publication also contributed the professional reputation of the advisory board members, also Members of the Romanian Academy: Emil Condurachi, Constantin Daicoviciu, Ion Nestor and Gheorghe Ştefan.

The publication appeared regularly until 1962 but it took other eight years until the tenth issue was released in 1970. At the beginning of the tenth decade of the 20^th century the publication was again resumed, with an editorial board comprising members from several research institutions in Romania. During the above mentioned period, and only in those five issues, Materiale şi Cercetări Arheologice hosted in its pages the excavation reports presented at the National Session of Archaeological Reports. Thus, the publication continued to respond to its initial purpose – as mirror of the Romanian archaeological field research – reaching issue no. 17 in 1993. At the initiative of the Institute of Archaeology „Vasile Pârvan” a new series – Materiale şi Cercetǎri Arheologice (Serie Nouă) started in the 1990-ies, with the first volume issued in 1999. At present, the new series has reached no. XX published in 2024.

At the moment, the editorial board comprises young researchers from the Institute of Archaeology „Vasile Pârvan” of the Romanian Academy, bearing in mind the clear purpose of continuing the publication of MCA following the initial principles. Alongside field reports, our publication hosts synthesis papers or detailed studies concerning various categories of archaeological materials. Thus, a number of prestigious international scholars (Michael C. Barton, Svend Hansen, Uwe Fiedler, Alain Tuffreau, Erik Trinkaus, etc.) have already been invited to publish in our pages. Papers are admitted in all languages of international circulation and starting with 2012 we also publish book reviews. The main aim of the editorial board is to ensure the annual appearance of the publication.

Since 2011 Materiale şi Cercetări Arheologie (Serie nouă) has been indexed in international databases such as Copernicus, Erih Plus, Scopus, CEEOL, Persée, EBSCO. The accepted papers (following a peer-review process) cover a wide chronological range, from Palaeolithic to contemporary archaeology. Published papers are available for free downloads from our website www.mcajournal.ro.

The interest of the international scientific community and the growing prestige of MCA prestige also show in the presence of our publication in more than 150 research institutions, museums and universities worldwide. As the results of many archaeological excavations in Romania are still known in Romania and abroad mainly through the information published in Materiale şi Cercetări Arheologice, with no following monographs, our publication remains an essential instrument for a detailed study of the archaeological research in Romania.