A Herman Ottó Múzeum évkönyve 49. (2010)

Szörényi Gábor András: Késő középkori előretolt védművek a Sajó völgyében

this period too. The great variety of foreworks, stimulated by the rapid advances in siege artillery, can be divided into two major groups in terms of their topography: (1) foreworks lying lower than the main castle, providing a visual control of the broader area and capable of keeping the broader area of the castle and its approaches under artillery fire; (2) foreworks lying higher than the main castle, capable of monitoring, controlling and, if need be, blockading higher-lying elevations that could be a potential source of danger. The written sources first report on more efficient artillery fire from 1420 onward, when in addition to traditional artillery, light firearms too became more widespread, and thus the creation of various foreworks was a response to these arms. The dynamic spread of fire-arms during the 15th century brought a change in the structure of the foreworks. In addition to massive stone towers, various earth-and-timber foreworks were also erected. These foreworks can be derived from antecedents in the Austrian and German lands, which were adopted and incorporated into their own military tactics by the Hussite mercenaries, members of the period's most advanced military organisation. The Hussites added innovative new elements and disseminated the use of foreworks first in the Czech lands and Moravia, and later in Poland and Hungary. The archaeologically investigated foreworks in Hungary (Várgesztes: tower; Szigliget: tower; Zagyvafő: earth-and-timber forework) and Slovakia have been generally dated to the 15th century. The present author first encountered the problem of foreworks during the geodesic survey and archaeological excavation of the Hussite castles in the Sajó Valley. Several castles with foreworks are known along the roughly 40 km long middle reaches of the River Sajó: Sajónémeti, Vadna-Sajóivánka, Sajógalgóc and Sajógömör. The first three castles all have the foreworks lying lower than the main castle. These foreworks functioned as advance observation points and artillery positions. The visibility analysis based on the digital elevation model of these castles indicated that there were blind spots in their foreground from where besiegers could have successfully approached and bombarded the castle. The need to control these blind spots and keep them under artillery fire if need be necessitated the construction of outer battle positions independent of the castle. In contrast to the above, the forework of Sajógömör was established in a location above the main castle from where the main ward could easily have been bombarded if occupied by enemy troops. The control of the location was therefore of vital importance to the defenders. Although none of the foreworks of the castles listed in the above have been archaeologically explored, the analogies from Hungary and Slovakia suggest that they can be dated to the 15th century. Adapted from the Austrian lands, these foreworks had been transplanted to the Czech lands and Slovakia as a result of the Hussite expansion. Knowing that northern Hungary and Upper Hungary had been a marching area of the Hussite troops in the mid-15th century and that the four strongholds in the Sajó Valley had been occupied by Hussite soldiers, the construction of the foreworks can most likely be associated with them. All four castles had been initially built during the Árpádian Age and had later been abandoned. The Hussites occupied and renovated these abandoned strongholds. The re-use of the ruinous castles of the Árpádian Age by the Hussites was a general practice in 15th century Hungary. In the lack of archaeological excavations, the original form of the defenceworks in the Sajó Valley can at the most be reconstructed from the area's topography and the study of comparable constructions. There was only a single forework at Vadna-Sajóivánka and Sajógalgóc, while at Sajógömör and Sajónémeti there were more elaborate outworks associated with the ramparts, as well as in the area extending before the ramparts. (la) All four strongholds in the Sajó Valley had an advanced forework (

vorgeschobene Bastei/vorgeschobene Befestigung

) constructed at a distance of some 100-150 m from the castlc. This feature can thus be regarded as a general practice. These foreworks were generally enclosed by a ditch or rampart, and they were excellently suited to keeping various areas under control. What did these foreworks look like? Their closest analogy is known from Zagyvafő, a stronghold 126