Aurora Pețan, “A stonemason’s toolkit from the pre-Roman limestone quarry at Măgura Călanului (Romania)”, Praehistorische Zeitschrift 2025, https://doi.org/10.1515/pz-2025-2011.

This article discusses a stonemason’s toolkit that was  discovered  by  chance  at  Măgura  Călanului,  Romania.  This  finding  helps  to  address  a  longstanding  gap  in  our  understanding  of  the  tools  used  in  quarrying  and  monu-mental architecture during the Dacian Kingdom. The toolkit includes  fifteen  iron  implements,  such  as  double-headed  picks,  a  whetting  set,  splitting  wedges,  and  rare  toothed  tools, weighing a total of 10.93 kg. These tools provide val-uable insight into the technical skills of Dacian craftsmen. While some of them have analogues from Greek and Roman areas,  others  exhibit  local  innovations,  highlighting  both  technological  exchanges  with  the  Mediterranean  world  and the ingenuity and adaptability of the Dacian craftsmen. The apparent concealment of the toolkit may suggest a crisis period, possibly related to the Roman conquest in 102 AD. As one  of  the  most  varied  and  complete  stonemason  kits  dis-covered in European antiquity, this finding is exceptionally significant  and  is  expected  to  impact  the  study  of  ancient  craftsmanship and architectural techniques.