Prehistory of Transylvania Prehistory of Transylvania The Prehistory of Transylvania describes what can be learned about the region known as Transylvania through archaeology, anthropology, comparative linguistics and other allied sciences. Transylvania proper is a plateau or tableland in northwest central Romania. It is bounded and defined by the Carpathian Mountains to the east and south, and the Apuseni Mountains to the west. As a diverse and relatively protected region, the area has always been rich in wildlife, and remains one of the more ecologically diverse areas in Europe. The mountains contain a large number of caves, which attracted both human and animal residents.
Celts in Transylvania area. The Celts exercised politico-military rule over Transylvania between the 4th and 2nd century BC and brought with them a more advanced iron-working technology. They were also responsible for the spread of the potter's wheel into a much wider area than the one they occupied. Large areas of ancient Dacia, which were populated early in the First Iron Age by Thracian people, were affected by a massive migration of Iranian Scythians moving east to west during the first half of the first millennium BC. They were followed by a second equally large wave of Celts migrating west to east. Celts