Somogyvári Ágnes – V. Székely György szerk.: A Barbaricum ösvényein… A 2005-ben Kecskeméten tartott tudományos konferencia előadásai - Archaeologia Cumanica 1. (Kecskemét, 2011)

Mária Hajnalová: Bread of Sarmatians on the Danube, or evidence of arable farming at the site of Harta-Gátőrház (Bács-Kiskun County) in the Roman Period

MÁRIA HAJNALOVÁ: A SZARMATÁK KENYERE A DUNÁNÁL I BG-V AD Celts • Pisum sativum • Pis um elatius • Lens culinaris EJ Vicia faba • Lathyrus sp Í-FV AO Gertrens 48(51 Harra Í-V AD Sartrals ll.-V.AD Sarmats Fig. 4a,b Pulses and oil/fibre plants on the great Hungarian plain, Transdanubia and south-west Slovakia. Vertical axes represent number of sites on which individual crops occurred, with the exception of the fourth column (Harta-GátErház) whichreflects number of samples in which the species occurred at the site (total number of samples is 48). Legend: (p)-infill of ceramic vessels, (c)cremations, (s)-settlements. garding reconstruction of agricultural practices, environmental conditions and cultural contacts will be possible. Based on modern ecological characteristics of wild plants, it is clear that they originate from a wide range of plant habitats. As such, their ecological characteristics could be used for reconstruction of the environmental conditions of the sites vicinity. Most of the species were typical weeds of arable fields and gardens and ruderal habitats - the areas disturbed by men such as yards, gardens, waste places, roadsides, etc. Relatively high numbers of species from all of those groups are plants of wet grounds (wet meadows, water banks, shallow water canals), but plants of dry sandy soils are also present. Surprising too is the relatively high number of seeds of grasses, which are usually rather rare in archaeobotanical assemblages. They rarely preserve due to their small size and fragile seed coats. Conclusions From the analyses so far, based on samples representing only one part of the settlement, and with wild plant identification still in progress, this site seems to favour a different food economy to other Sarmatian sites in Hungary that have been studied systematically for plant macro-remains. We can conclude that the assortment of cultivated plants at Harta-Gátőrház does differ from the other, more eastward-situated Sarmatian sites. At this site the cultivated cereals resemble both Barbarian as well as Roman provincial "traditions." The persistence of nomadic (Sarmatian) tradition is demonstrated by the cultivation of barley (Hordeum vulgare) and millet (Panicum miliaceum). The Roman provincial tradition is documented by high quantities of naked wheat (Triticum aestivurn/durum)

. We tend to interpret this phenomenon as a result of the site's very close proximity to the Roman limes and its position just within the external social and political frontier. Statistical analyses of all the Sarmatian samples from all three sites, together with archaeological contextual information, their weed content and ecological information of wild plants should enlighten us as to the exact nature of agricultural practices, including management of crops, their off- and on-site processing, storage and consumption. With such archaeobotanical information we hope to determine, at least in part, the nature of local smallscale economic activities. Archaeologically it is possible to find traces of seasonality (time of sowing) of cereals, preference of soil types, degree of disturbance (weeding, harrowing), ways of harvest, etc. Crop processing by-products (e.g. used as fodder or bedding), stored products and kitchen wastes may be identified. Traces of these activities on the site point to the utilisation of village space in the past. Evolution of agricultural practices and their development over time is important for interpreting the archaeological record. Acknowledgments Above all I wish to express my gratitude to Rozália Kustár, my dear friend for her trust, endless support and many hours of discussion of the material as well as her corrections on the draft of this paper. My sincere thanks go to Imre Romcsics, the director of the Kalocsa Museum and Andrea Lantos, one of the site excavators, who gave their approval for me to work on the presented material. Last but not least, I would like to thank Elena Corbett for English language corrections. 165