Janus Pannonius Múzeum Évkönyve 30-31 (1985-1986) (Pécs, 1987)
Régészet - Horváth, Ernő: Wooden remains from the Roman villa at Kővágószőlős
WOODEN REMAINS FROM THE ROMAN VILLA AT KŐVÁGÓSZŐLŐS ERNŐ HORVÁTH The excavations led by Alice Burger of the Roman villa at Kővágószőlős in 1883 brought to light wooden remains as well ( inv.no . R.83. 170.1—9.). The results of the analyses I have carried out on two of these pieces were as follows. Material and method The two pieces at issue were the broken off parts of a branch, and could perfectly be fit into each other. The cylindrical branch, originally 73 mm long and 20 mm in diameter, was split in two lengthwise. It was hollow inside (diameter: 5—7 mm) and was disticntly ribbed longitudinally. These ribs were formed by the considerably resistant wide medullary rays. One extremity of the cavity was funnel-shaped (width: 12 mm; cf. Pl.I.1-2.). Despite their feather-lightness, the texture of the wooden remains was considerably well-preserved, with only minor external damages observable on the surface. The longitudinal cavity, which originally contained the medulla, exhibited a slight reddish-purplish discolouration, which was well obeservable on a 5 cm section of the fracture on one side. A presumed fissure in that section may have permeated the dyes in the fluids flowing through the cavity, thus resulting in a purplish discolouration more marked and concentrated than that on the inner surface of the cavity. A considerably milder variant of the same phenomenon could also be observed on the outer surface, especially at the expanded end of the cavity, i.e. around the discharge hole. The larger and smaller black patches observed on the surface around this hole may have been caused either by carbonization or by the dyes flowing through the cavity. Having sliced a small fragment off the sample, we saturated it with a glyceric-gelatine solution under mild warming in order to make the sample more resistant to cutting. The regular three-way cuttings we prepared with a microtome following the solidification of the saturating substance. Having prepared the cuttings, we dissolved the gelatine, dehydrated the sample with xylol and preserved it in Canada balsam. The subsequent microscopic examination of the tissues has yielded the following results. Determination, description On the evidence of the texture analysed in the threeway cuttings we have identified our sample as elderberry. Sambucus nigra L .—Elderberry During the examination of the cross-sectional cutting, the first thing that struck the eye was the absence of the annual rings, i.e. that the sample had only one annual ring. This phenomenon, together with the remarkably light weight of the sample and the wide inner cavity indicative of a thick medulla unambiguously related to the genus Sambucus, and especially to Sambucus nigra L., characteristic of which are the numerous turions grown in a soil rich in nitrogen, which within a year thrive into relatively thick stems with thick medulla. Part of these shoots grown thick over a period of years and become lignified, but most of them wither after the first year and turn into non-lignified, light-weight branches with loose texture. The withered, loose medulla of the latter is easily extractable, thus forming a natural tube. The microscopic examination of the cross-section has revealed a typical texture slightly differing from that described in the histological identification book (Greguss, 1959). The tracheaein our sample were much more scattered than those in the illustration published by Greguss, and the radial pores were also much longer. This divergence may be accounted for by the fact that while Greguss took his sample from an older specimen, our sample was cut off from a one-year-old branch. The pores in this tree were scattered, i.e. the tracheae were evenly spaced within the annual ring. Only few of these tracheae were isolated or geminated, the majority formed radial pores made up of 3—5, or occasionally 6—8, tracheae. The tracheae were elliptical and radiately elongated with comparatively thick wall. The inner circles observed in some of the tracheae were indicative of a conoidal termination and a simple perforation. The radial pores were separated by 3—4 stripes of medullae. Radiately arranged tracheid stripes could be observed along some of the medullae or the radial A Janus Pannonius Múzeum Évkönyve 30-31 (1985—86): 237—241. Pécs, Hungária 1987.
