Folia archeologica 47.

István Vörös: A Denevér úti kovabánya agancsleletei (Budapest-Farkasrét)

ANTLER FINDS IN THE. FLINT MINE 77 3. Parts of red deer antler Antler is the trophy of stags, a paired outgrowths from the frontal bones. It used to develop on the burn (the one of the frontal bone) over about 5 months. The antler of mature stags starts to grow at the beginning of March and by the end of July even the crown of the antler appears. The casting of the antler usually happens at the end of winter. Antlers have three main components: beam, main tines and crown (Fig. 6.). Beam is a long, curved, axial part of the antler, bearing the proclivous main tines, that is trezy, bez and brow tines and the crown at its upper end. The form and shape of the crown are variable as well as the number of the tines of it. At the lower end of the beam, adjoining to the pedicle is the rose (corona), Antlers can be characterized by the number of all the tines on it, that is including main tines and crown tines. If the number of the tines on the two halfantlers are identical, the ramification is called as paired, if not, it is called unpaired. 4. Red deer antler finds of the flint mine 4.1. Parts of the antlers Every antler found in the flint mine were found as cut up, not a single intact antler was foun in the site. The process of cutting up antlers is determined partly by the utilization of the implements will be made of it partly by the structure of the antler available. In the Denevér street flint mine antlers were cut up to get the following parts (Fig. 7-8): Table 2 tine (separated) F5 8 pieces crown tine F4. 1-4. 75 crown ramification + crown E 4 beam + crown ramification + crown D 1-2. 36 beam С 1-4. 27 trez tine (separated) F3 20 bez tine (separated) F2 12 brow (separated) Fl 30 antler beam Al., 3. 6 beam base В. 1 cortex fragm. G

1 -2 31 250 pieces The distribution of antler parts found in the blocks of the excavation campaigns is in Table 3. While the occurrence of different antler parts seems to be quite even, in block No. 87 the occurrence of crown tines (F4) is dominant. Part A. - antler beam Antler with skull-fr. (pedicle) or a cast antler without crown. The beam was cut off either below the ramification of the crown "(=crown bases) - Al : or over the trez tine - A2 or below the trez tine - A3 (Fig. 7. Al-3). Depending on their use the brow-, bez and trez tine were either left on the beam or they were removed. In the Denevér street flint mine the antler part A is represented by 6 finds. Al - 2. pieces: cast juvenile antlers (67, 107.). The length of the beam (measured on the posterior wall of the antler starting from the burn): 380 - 405 mm. The spring of the trez tine measured from the rose: 190 - 220 mm. The length of the beam over the trez tine: 125 - 195 mm.