Primarily this site is a late Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age flint mining settlement. The vast majority of surface finds from the Piatra Tomii site are associated with the end of the Cotofeni culture (phase 3). Based on surface finds, test pitting and initial excavation trenches, it appears that there was a Cotofeni settlement on the slope of the hill as well as the field at the bottom of the slope.

Chert Mining
It is presumed that the primary occupation of this settlement was chert mining and processing. There are numerous outcrops of medium to high quality chert in the Piatra Tomii hill (which is in fact a late Jurassic karst tower with a thin layer of top soil covering it). Near the Piatra Tomii hill there are a few other smaller limestone outcrops, several of which also contain chert nodules and lenses. Indeed a large quantity of chert artefacts can be found on the surface at the site amongst potsherds. In the excavation trenches of 2009, there were found numerous cores and unused blades (fractured and whole). The large number of cores and unused blades suggests that the occupants of this site were exporting the material (likely in the form of cores and pre-made tools). Petrographic analyses of the raw material at Piatra Tomii matches that of the artefacts found at Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites in this region such as those at Turdas, Vintu de Jos and Tartaria.

Mining Technology
At many locations on the hill, one can observe depressions in the soil ranging from 1m to 3m width. Several of these were excavated in 2009. Most had a layer of top soil of only 30-40cm. The lower soil in and around these depressions often contained ash and organic residue (possibly charred material). The rock surface in the depressions was highly cracked and loose. The pieces of rock ranged in size from submillimetric grains to gravel and upto 5-10cm (with occassional larger pieces). It should be noted that most of the rock surfaces of the hill that were exposed or uncovered during excavation were of a water-worn or exfolliating type. The areas around the depressions which were not cracked had a large amount of gravel and small rock fragments just above the bedrock surfaces. At some of the pits there were found stone axes and chisels. The interpretation of these finds is that heat cracking was being used to extract teh chert. After people located a band of chert or an area of large nodules, they would have built fires on top of the rock to heat it up. They likely then swept away the embers and threw a large quantity of water on the still hot bed rock. (There are numerous springs within a few meters of the Piatra Tomii hill.) This would have caused the rocks to shatter, making it easier to extract both the limestone rubble as well as pieces of chert. The stone axes and chisels may have been used to cut wood brought to the site. (Of course they were also likely used to cut and carve wood for constructions.) Without bronze or iron tools, it would have been time consuming and labour intensive to use only hammer stones to carve away at the limestone. This is not to say that they did not also use hammer stones (hand held or fixed in a handle), as percussion-worn river cobbles were discovered during excavation at the dwellings on the hill.

Afluence
It is worth noting that although the Piatra Tomii settlement is rather remote (being about 15km from the Mures River up in the Apuseni Mountains at an altitude of about 700m above the Mures Valley) the occupants appear to have been more afluent than those living at other Cotofeni settements in this region. During the 2009 excavations numerous copper artefacts were found, including ear rings, beads, awls, and buckles. There were also found objects of glass and fine quality ceramics.

Architecture
Excavations in 2009 revealed an interesting aspect of Cotofeni architecture. At least in some areas The slopes of the hill have been paved with rocks to create a step formation. Beneath one dwelling the steps were about 30-40cm per 10-15 increase in height. Within the steps were post holes suggesting that part of the houses were supported by posts while the rear part was directly placed on the ground. Although this type of architecture has been observed in other cultures (and is still used today in the region) this is the first time that it has been observed at a Cotofeni site, suggesting a local evolution of the culture in it's final phase.

Post-Cotofeni
Fieldwalks revealed a tumulus field nearby. Excavations in 2009 confirmed it's association with the later Schneckenberg culture (which immediately succeeded the Cotofeni culture). As yet, the relation between the tumulus field and the settlement has not been established (if there is one). Similarly, no Schneckenberg settlement has been located in the vicinity.

Pre-Cotofeni
During test pitting in 2009, Petresti type pottery was found at the site, indicating that the site was in use long prior to the arrival of the Cotofeni population (and possibly abandoned until the late Cotofeni people arrived). The potsherts were found in and next to a chert extraction pit along with axes and chisels and an ashy soil, suggesting that they were also extracting the chert. Whether there was a permanent Petresti settlement, or whether these people only visited the site to extract chert is unclear. At the mouth of the Racatau valley (where it opens into the Mures valley), across the Mures river is the Tartaria archaeological site (approximately 15km from Piatra Tomii) where there were discovered Petresti and Cotofeni as well as Vinca artefacts. As yet, no Vinca artefacts have been identified at Piatra Tomii. The material used by the Vinca population at Tartaria though matches the raw material found at Piatra Tomii, so it is quite possible that they also visited Piatra Tomii for raw materials.

Other Cultures Present
Fieldwalks have also identified paleolithic and Dacian artefacts.