The discovery in the northern part of our country (between Salaj and Maramures counties) of several tombstones that seem Celtic animated the imagination of researchers to the point that they take into consideration that these Celtic Crosses could reveal the origin of the inhabitants of this part of the country.
The tombstones, with an unusual shape, still spring up from the grass in the old part of the Napradea cemetery out to Cheud. Professor Aurel Medve, until recently director of ‘Traian Cretu’ Gymnasium School in Napradea, told Adevarul there are 12 of these monuments, considered by some as ‘Celtic crosses’ “mainly due to their shape: a circle of stone in which a cross is embedded.”
A few months ago, one of the crosses was taken to the Museum of Ethnography and Folklore in Baia Mare, with experts out there publicly saying the tomb of Napradea would prove that residents in the northwest area of the country have Celtic origins. Historians and ethnographers in Sălaj have preferred to have more reserved statements and indicated that there may be no direct connection between the Celtic tribes and these crosses, although Celtic presence on the territory of Romania is not contested.
Professor Aurel Medve says he is skeptical about the origin of the Celtic cross. ‘First of all, there are several models with multiple shapes and motifs. As for their period of time, they don’t exceed the eighteenth century, perhaps the nineteenth century. They are made of stone – a limestone that exists in Aluniş. There must have been a carvers’ center, due to the fact the village has a tradition in stone carving,‘ he explains.
These kinds of tombstones were found in other places in the area – Traniş, Cheud (Salaj) or Ariniş (Maramures). They are usually located either in cemeteries within the villages or near churches.