An Early Bronze Age boat-like representation from Rakamaz, Northeast Hungary

Abstract

This article offers an analysis o f an Early Bronze Age boat-like small vessel probably datable to the period o f the Nyírség Culture around the year 2500 BC, and gives an overview of previous findings of boat remains and the main types thereof. It is argued that this small vessel displays a number of technical features that are characteristic of plank boats. The hypothesis of an early familiarity with and use of this boat type is supported by the wooden boat remains found in various major European bodies of water. A further hypothesis raised in the article is that this find, isolated as it is, must have served a special rather than a quotidian purpose as a grave object linked to some funerary rite. This idea is based on such considerations as the miniature size of the object, its symbolic boat-like shape, the context of similar clay representations, and the presence within the territory of Hungary of various boat-related concepts (boat shaped urn funerals, tree-trunk coffins, etc.).