Communicationes Archaeologicae Hungariae

The ‘Epipalaeolithic’ site Hont–Templomdomb of Northern Hungary revisited

Kristóf István Szegedi — 2023-12-16

This paper presents the results of the typological revision of Hont-Templomdomb site originally published in 1956 as Epipalaeolithic. Our observations contradict the Epipalaeolithic cultural and chronological position of the lithic material, which rather can be affiliated with the Late Gravettian of Eastern Central Europe. Current archaeological data allowed us to conclude that the term ‘Epipalaeolithic’ currently is inappropriate in the Palaeolithic chronological sequence of the Carpathian Basin. This led to considering the possibility of a human population hiatus during GI-1 interstadial and GS-1 stadial phases.

Late Palaeolithic to Early Mesolithic transition in the Carpathian Basin

Attila Király — 2023-12-16

Szekszárd-Palánk is one of the handful in situ excavated sites from the Late Glacial period of East-Central Europe which is also supported by radiometric dating. However, the considerable time that has passed since its discovery necessitates a revision, the topic of this paper. The technotypological analogues of the assemblage are Late Epigravettian – Early Mesolithic sites of the Northern Balkans to the south, and Epimagdalenian sites of the Moravian Basin to the north. These analogues, the southern location and northern raw materials of the site support two previous hypotheses: the regional survival of the Epigravettian traditions, and the pivotal role of the Danube in the communication between East-Central Europe and the Balkans in the Late Glacial – Early Postglacial. The site is thus identified as a Final Epigravettan, Late Palaeolithic – Early Mesolithic transitional industry.

The Late Bronze Age Somló Hill and a new bronze hoard

János Gábor Tarbay — 2023-12-16

In January 2023, the National Institute of Archaeology of the Hungarian National Museum launched a new research programme, the aim of which is to explore Somló Hill (Veszprém County), which has been neglected by systematic field research focusing on the Late Bronze Age (LBA) and Early Iron Age (EIA) inhabitation of the site. In the current phase of the research programme, new, preliminary results have been provided on the settlement history of the site, primarily through a systematic metal detector survey. Based on the discovered metal objects, the south-eastern plateau of Somló Hill was inhabited primarily between the Rei Br C and Ha B2 phases, and life on the settlement was probably continuous during the Hallstatt Culture in EIA. In addition to briefly introducing our preliminary results, one of the four hoards, Hoard II from Somló Hill, is introduced. This assemblage was found by Győző Csaba Budai, a volunteer, on the once-inhabited part of the south-eastern plateau. Owing to his discovery, the in situ hoard was documented in excavation. The hoard consists of a handful of objects belonging to a few people, such as a gouge, six Lovasberény-type bracelets, three bracelets with rolled ends, two lumps, and a pseudo-winged axe. The arrangement and grouping of the objects within the assemblage reflect deliberate selection and deposition. The typo-chronological analysis of the objects from the second hoard of Somló Hill suggests that the assemblage was deposited around the younger LBA phase of the settlement in the Ha B1–Ha B2 phases.

Early Iron Age hoard from Jodłowno, Northern Poland

Kamil Nowak — 2023-12-16

The hoard from Jodłowno, near Gdańsk, about 27 km from the coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, was found in 2021. The hoard, comprising 68 metal artefacts, was accidentally discovered during an authorised metal detector survey in the area. Its upper part was disturbed upon discovery, but the lower one has remained intact, enabling the reconstruction of the finds’ position within the deposit. The hoard included four cast hollow ankle rings, six bow-shaped neck rings, two pieces of casting waste, three neck ring and bracelet fragments, four forged blades and fragments, and forty-nine cast metal bars. The paper aims to present this unique find assemblage from Poland and the results of the first attempt at reconstructing the production methods of certain artefacts by analysing the traces on their surfaces.

Hallstatt period hoard from Somló Hill

Bence Soós — 2023-12-16

In January 2023, the National Institute of Archaeology of the Hungarian National Museum launched a new research programme, the aim of which has been to explore the Somló Hill (Somló-hegy) (Veszprém County), a site neglected by systematic field research focusing on Late Bronze Age (LBA) and Early Iron Age (EIA) inhabitation. Somló Hill was often considered one of the most important EIA power centres in the western part of the Carpathian Basin. However, this notion was based mainly on funerary evidence partially unearthed from nearby burial mounds. Beyond doubt, these burials are associated with a prominent elite in the Ha C Period that maintained long-ranging contacts with communities in the (north)west and south. By contrast, virtually nothing is known about either the extent of the EIA settlement both in geographical and chronological terms, its inner structure, or the activity of the community associated with it. In this paper, we aim to show some of the first results of the field research conducted in the last months on the hill and to introduce the first documented EIA hoard of Somló Hill. The typo-chronological evaluation of the hoard suggests that it was deposited in the Late Hallstatt Period, i.e. the Ha D2–D3 phases.

Millstones from the settlement complex of Aquincum

Orsolya Láng — 2023-12-16

Excavations carried out in several parts of the settlement complex of Aquincum (legionary fortress, Military and Civil Towns, villa estates) have so far revealed 250 complete or fragmentary hand querns and millstones of different types. Most were discovered reused in secondary contexts, but some were found in their original position (i.e. in the courtyards of town houses or villas).The cataloguing of this group of finds has just been completed (although new ones continue to be found in ongoing excavations), and therefore detailed research on the types, material, and economic significance has only just begun (in a cooperation between the University of Oxford and the BHM Aquincum Museum). This paper presents the preliminary results of this work on the find location and dating of these stones, as well as distinguishing between hand querns and water-mills. It explores the potential of this neglected group of Aquincum finds, and especially what they might suggest about the extent of the use of water-powered milling on the Roman frontier in Pannonia.

A ritual depot from the outskirts of Sirok

Krisztina Marczel — 2023-12-16

A deposit from the end of the 4th – early 5th century AD was discovered in a metal detector survey on the site Sirok-Alsó Rozsnak, Kígyós-patak partja. The findspot of the recovered artefacts (a shield boss, two bronze buckles, and a pair of strap divider discs from a horse harness) proved to be a north–south directed, artificial platform on which the items had been placed and covered with stone packing. The excavation brought to light nails with silver-coated heads, a silver strap end, and glass cup fragments. The lack of human remains, the shallowness of the base platform, the natural setting of the feature, and the recovered drinking vessel remains indicate that the feature unearthed at Sirok was a ritual deposit.

The formation and spread of the ring with an S-shaped terminal

Károly Mesterházy — 2023-12-16

S-terminalled rings became in fashion in the Middle Avar Period (last quarter of the 7th century AD). The earliest variants, with their end rolled in multiple S-shapes, were worn as earrings. After the Late Avar Period, customs changed, and the rings became braid ornaments; parallel, their ending has also simplified into a simple S shape. The earliest occurrences are in the Balaton area (Keszthely, Kereki, Badacsonytomaj, etc.). This earring fashion was adopted first by Moravian Slavs residing in the valleys of the Morava and Thaya rivers and later by Western Slavs almost everywhere.

In search of the Benedictine abbey of Tata

Bianka Gina Kovács — 2023-12-16

Part of a graveyard was discovered under Nagykert Street in Tata during road construction in 1979. Based on the find material, the graveyard was established sometime in the 11th century. Almost a third of the unearthed burials was a constructed tomb, the preference of which was characteristic of the cemeteries of Benedictine abbeys. Albeit the current scientific consensus has settled with the Benedictine abbey of Tata being somewhere in the area of today’s Fürdő Street, the evidence is not conclusive, and the newly discovered graveyard cemetery raises the possibility that the abbey stood in the area of the Nagykert Street instead.

Gothic stone carvings from the Pauline monastery of Kesztölc-Klastrom-puszta in the collection of the Hungarian National Museum

Gergely Szoboszlay — 2023-12-16

The paper gives a comprehensive presentation and assessment of the stone carvings recovered in the excavation of the medieval Szent Kereszt [Holy Cross] Pauline monastery of Kesztölc-Klastrompuszta in 1959–1961. The evaluation of the 93 Gothic carvings contributes greatly to our understanding of the building history and transformations of the Pauline monastery. The carvings of the chapter house and the monastery church are assessed independently. The stone carvings point to a single, comprehensive reconstruction conducted in the late Angevine era.

Ottoman seals at the Hungarian National Museum

Ibolya Gerelyes — 2023-12-16

In her study, the author conveys the findings of chemical composition investigations performed on Ottoman seals in the collection of the Hungarian National Museum. The examinations conducted draw attention to connectedness between chemical composition, shape, and inscription type; this can assist with dating. In the material reviewed, one group stands out in particular: seals with bell-shaped bodies which can in all likelihood be dated to the 16th–17th centuries and which in most cases feature an inscription with the formula ‘Trusting in the King…’. At the same time, some pieces bearing just the name of their owner differ from the other examples in the collection in terms of shape and chemical composition. These were certainly made after the period of Ottoman sway in Hungary.

Garam Éva

Gergely Szenthe — 2023-12-16