Folia archeologica 53.

Alfréd Dulai: Late Palaeolithic Fossil Collectors: Small Piles of Molluscs at Szob (Börzsöny Mts, North-Hungary)

FOLIA ARCHAEOLOC,ICA I.III. 2007. BUD.U'KSI SKELETAL PARTS OF THE FOSSIL AUROCHS (BOS PRIMIGENIUS BOJ.) FROM EGERVÁR (HUNGARY) István VÖRÖS In the vicinity of Egervár (Zala county), large animal bones were found while cleaning the Sárvíz canal in 1959. The finds were presented to the district medical doctor Dr. Antal Hruska who made the following observations at the site: 400 m to the SE from the castle near the village at the milestone nr. 6,'50 meters downstream in the bed of the Sárvíz canal, at the depth of some 2 metres an incomplete skeleton of a large herbivore was found, without skull (Fig. /.). The articulate skeleton was lying obliquely, the cranial parts touching the left bank of the canal in anatomical order and probably on its right side. Rescue excavations were made on the spot by Sándor Bökönyi from the Hungarian National Museum on l

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l of April 1959. The missing parts of the incomplete skeleton were not found (

BÖKÖNYI 1959, HNM Archives 131.E.III.). The bones were collected by Dr. Antal Hruska, who transferred them later on to the Archaeozoological Collection of the HNM (29 pieces of bones: some vertebrae, costae, pelvis and large bones remains, Inv. nr.: 59.12.1-12.). The incomplete skeleton remains without skull were classified first as Bos sen Bison. The analytical comparative study of the bone remains proved it to be an aurochs: „the vertebral column and the large leg bones show clearly that these are the remains of an aurochs (Bos primigenius Bojanus 1827)". The colour of the aurochs remains is brown; there are traces of peat and small grain-size grey sand on the surf ace of the bones. During the cleaning of the smaller water conduit canals forking into the Sárvíz there were mediaeval potshards found but their topographical and stratigraphical position was different from that of the f ossil skeleton. DESCRIPTION OF THE AUROCHS SKELETAI. PARTS Trunk - thoracic cavity: 12 vert, thoracalis (I-XIL), 6 vert, lumbalis (I—VI.), sacrum (I-V.) 4- I. vert, caudalis, 19 whole or fragmentary costae (10 sin. - 9 dext.), Limbs: pelvis, sin. scapula, humerus, radius-ulna, metacarpus, ph.I. ant. lat., dext. femur, tibia. DORSAL VERTEBRAE (I-XIL, Inv. nr: 59.12.1., Fig.

2.1) "Fhe dorsal vertebral column of the aurochs from Egervár is complete, it has 12 thoracic vertebrae. The Bos usually has 13 thoracic vertebrae. The aurochs from Nagybajom had 13 thorac. verts. (

JÁNOSSY-VÖRÖS 1981.). The Bison has usually more, 14 thoracic vertebrae. Fhe corpus vertebrae is relatively long, the crista ventralis is well developed. From the dorsal incisure of the vertebral chord, a foramina vertebralia lateralia