A Herman Ottó Múzeum évkönyve 49. (2010)
Szörényi Gábor András: Késő középkori előretolt védművek a Sajó völgyében
with a similar topography, which has been excavated: a series of post-holes were found along the perimeter of the hillock ringed by a ditch, except on the side facing the castle, perhaps indicating the entrance. The area enclosed by the post-holes was covered with a thick layer of burnt daub, providing evidence for a wooden structure daubed with clay, perhaps a palisade or a fence. The foreworks in the Sajó Valley were probably similar constructions in view of the surveyed ramparts and elevations. The 15th-16th century visual and textual sources of the neighbouring countries are important for the hypothetical reconstructions because they contain various elements of these defenceworks. The evidence suggests a round, independent timber and earth forework. (1 b) A pointed oval forework located behind the northern section of the rampart was surveyed at Sajónémeti. This work is separated from the rampart of the stronghold by a ditch, today no more than a shallow depression. The oval forework was thus physically independent of the stronghold. Although a forework, it differed from the other foreworks that were advance lines of defence owing to its slight distance. This construction can thus be regarded as a Vonverk or a Vorbastei. (2) A second group of these constructions comprises the earthworks and defenceworks projecting from the rampart ( ausspringendes Erdwerk/Vorwerk). These were earthworks associated with the stronghold and its defenceworks (ramparts), which can now be traced in the polygonal widening of the rampart. Although resembling the former regarding their structure, they were an organic part of the castle and cannot be regarded as independent military constructions, i.e. as foreworks. The triangular projections on the western and eastern side of the circular rampart protecting the Sajónémeti castle can be assigned to this category, as can the northern section of the rampart at Sajógömör, although the latter may have been an outer ward ( Vorburg ) in view of its size. These walls/ramparts enabled flanking fire and probably also protected the entrance to the main stronghold. The earth-and-timber foreworks were architectural solutions based on practical considerations which were incorporated into the military tactics of the Hussite mercenaries, the most developed military organisation of the late Middle Ages. The use of these works was disseminated by the Hussites over the greater part of Central Europe. Foreworks were the architectural response to artillery and foreshadowed the later military architecture of the early post-medieval period. András Gábor Szörényi 127
