Folia archeologica 45.
Beszédes József: Dioscuros ábrázolású sarokkő Alsóhetényből
THE LOVAS CASKE T 175 Since the bowl was found in a grave, and it was produced definitely to be placed in a grave, we may suppose tliat the inscription on it correlates with the Valkyrie's prayer to the life-giving powers in the Poetic Edda, and it is somehow related to beliefs in resurrection." Although the grave from which the bowl came to light was dated to the last quarter of the 4th century A.D., before the publication of the results of archaeological investigations in the cemetery of Csákvár, we cannot define the precise ethnic provenance of this object. In this regard two possibilities seem to be likely: the runic text was written either by a descendant of tiiose Vandals, who were transplanted by Constantine the Great to Pannónia, during the fourth decade of the 4th century. 7 5 The fact that the rune-master was a romanized lady, would support this interpretation. She could belong to those Germanic groups as well who came to Pannónia in 380 A.D., led by Alatheus and Safrac. 7 6 The themes - death and rebirth -, are similar both in the Csákvár inscription and on the Lovas casket, referring to the function of grave goods. The possibilities of ethnic attribution As we have already seen, the erudition of the craftsman working near Lovas, was influenced from different directions: we can separate in it the late Roman provincial (definitely Pannonian) component, with allusions to the cult of the Danubian Cavalry God, embedded into it, and the strong Eastern Germanic (most possibly Vandal) mythological background. The craftsman was trained in Eastern Pannónia, and if we consider the influence of the plaques of the Danubian Cavalry God, produced until the age of Constantine, 7 7 we may conclude that he was active already at the middle of the 4th century A.D. The most likely solution is that he was a descendant of that Vandal group, which had been transplanted by Constantine the Great into Pannónia. 7 8 In this regard it is worth to note, that the only plaque belonging to the cult of the Danubian Cavaliy God, found in the Carpathian Basin outside the provincial borders, came to light on the territory, once ruled and inhabited by the Vandals. 7 9 Therefore the population of various origins (among them Vandals forming a part of the ruling elite) living between Pannónia and Dacia, may have got acquainted with the doctrines of this cult already outside the empire. Vandals had served in the auxiliary units in Dacia as well, from the end of the 2nd century A.D. 8 0 On the parade armour of the Dacian auxiliaries, they could see representations of Germanic deities, 8 1 and such encounters could have contributed to the formation of a demand on portraying the deities of their own 7 4 Cf. Krause 1935-1936, 252-253. 7 5Nagy 1993, 183-184; to the possible existence of a Valkyrie ideal among the Vandals, which seems tone reflected in Vandal personal names see: Wrede 1886, 116. 7 6There were other objects found in Csákvár, which possibly bore runic inscriptions, like e.g. a fibula from grave no. 70, published by Salamon and Barkóczi 1970, 47 and 56, Fig. 11 (no. 70:1 5). During the preparation of this article these objects were inaccessible for me. 7 7 See note 47 above. 7 8 See note 62 above. The design of the central medallion of the Sevso plate was also very strongly influenced by the iconography of the monuments of the Danubian Cavalrv God, in this respect see: Popovic 1992, 615- 623 with a dating of manufacture, which seems to be too early (between 317 and 327 A.D.). 7 9The marble roundel from Kápolna: Tudor 1969, 69, cat. no. 119. Kápolna is not identical with the village of the saem name in Heves, but with another settlement in Abaúj county (cf. Antonescu 1889, 20-21), and lies farther to the North-East than on Tudor's maps. Dating: Tudor 1976, 79: 3rd century A.D. 8 0 Horedt 1958, 45; and Nagy 1996. 8 1 Werner 1941, 35, Fl. 16:1.'
