Marginal Elites. Some Observations in Modern Romania and their Relevance to Prehistoric Hoards and Status Expression

Abstract

A brief overview of Romani history in Romania is followed by some modern observations, especially as regards the accumulation of wealth and its conspicuous display in specific forms and on certain occasions. A consideration of the modern situation from an archaeological point of view asserts that what we as archaeologists would view as an elite is indeed an elite (within the Romani population), but on the whole is a marginalized minority facing discrimination. The article asks what we actually recognize as elite when we speak archaeologically of ‘royal’ graves, and invokes the possibility of increased attention to multi-ethnic or multicultural communities in prehistoric times.

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