Folia archeologica 53.

András Markó: The Upper Palaeolithic Site at Szob

THE UPPER PALAEOLITHIC: SI I E AT SZOB 15 Seven burins are known from the lower layer: three dihedral tools are made of nummulitic chert (Fig. 4.7-8.) and one of Tolcsva-type obsidian (Fig. 4,11), a burinon-a-snap and a truncated burin of radiolarite and a double burin of Cserhát-type limnic quartzite (Fig. 4.4.). Both edge of the only one blunted bladelet (Fig. 4.9.) was worked by steep retouch on its distal part and semi-steep retouch on the proximal one. A flake of Slovakian obsidian was worked by inverse retouch (Fig. 4.10.), a point of Middle Palaeolithic character (Fig. 4.6.) with edges worked by scalariform retouch was made on the distal fragment of a Tolcsva-type obsidian flake. Finally a chopper made of radiolarite pebble is worth to mention. EXCAVATIONS CARRIED OUT BY M. GÁBORI During the last excavations a total number of 554 stone artefacts were found. Quartzite was the most frequent raw material used in this assemblage (188 pieces, i.e. 33.94%). According to the refitting studies, the preferred cobbles were oval or hemispheric in form, approximately 15-20 cm in length, often with weathered cleavage surface. The majority of the pieces were chips, flakes and raw material fragments; the only one retouched tool is an intentionally notched flake. Beside it, four pebble slides, a naturally backed blade and a geometric fragment are considered as pebble tools. Among hydrothermal raw material (169 pieces, 30.51%) only the pebble and the Middle Slovakian types were used. The shape of pebbles was similar to the pieces of quartzite, they were only smaller ones, approximately fist-sized in dimensions. The most numerous group among the pieces of this raw material is the chips, blades, raw material fragments and the retouched tools. Andesite of alluvial origin was the third most popular raw material used (80 pieces, 14.44%), but only two blades and three flakes were found, beside the chips, fragments of flakes, and blocks of the raw material. According to the refitting studies the pieces arrived to the site as plan-parallel slabs with the exception of two intact globular pebbles. Two varieties of the nummulitic chert (65 pieces, 1 1.73%) were used, the greyish one is known from the 'lower layer' too. The chips and fragments of a yellowish-red pebble of poor quality show that it was only for tested on the site. In the assemblage two types of radiolarite were used; the brownish mauve coloured variety, probably from the Mecsek Mountains or the White Carpathians is represented by two conjoined chips. Seemingly all the pieces of the yellowish red radiolarite pebble can also be refitted. Finally porcelanite and chalcedony was also used in a smaller quantity. (Table 5.) Among the 13 cores (2.35% of the assemblage) five are single platform ones of limnic quartzite pebbles and porcelanite. The double platform cores (2 pieces) were made of quartzite and nummulitic chert, the only one 90° core of radiolarite. Atypical, mainly fragmented cores (5 pieces) were remains of limnic quartzite and nummulitic chert. Raw material fragments (98 pieces, i.e. 17.69%) without intentional removing of andesite, quartzite and limnic quartzite are represented by a relatively large number. Finally we have to mention the five intact pebbles. 58 pieces of the 66 blades (i.e. 11.91% of the inventory) does not wear pebble cortex, or only on a limited surface (below 25%), with the exceptions of the pieces of nummulitic chert, where half of the specimens wear cortex on a surface of 2550%. The cross-section of the blades is mainly triangular, or, in the case of the radiolarite specimens, trapezoidal. The dorsal pattern is generally uni-directional, or