A Herman Ottó Múzeum évkönyve 50. (2011)
RÉGÉSZET - KOÓS Judit: Ujabb adatok bronzkori agyagplasztikánkhoz
162 Koós Judit 3. Fragment of zoomorphic figurine. It is a brown, sheep figurine with smooth surface. The back part of the trunk is missing, the former legs and the horns were broken down. The mouth was indicated with a thin cut (Fig. 1.3). Height: 2 cm. 4. Fragment of zoomorphic figurine. The horse figurine was formed of clay accurately. Its colour is brick red and grey, and the surface is smooth. The head and the back part of the trunk is missing, the ends of the former legs were broken down. The representation of mane can be seen clearly on its back (Fig. 1.4). Height: 3,3 cm. All of them are artistic pieces with accurate forming, in spite of the fact that they are fragments. It cannot be known whether the fractions were wilful or chance and they were contemporary or later. The remained particulars show the exact observation by the maker: the forming of the horn and the mane as well as the representation of the male characters. These all help to identify of the animals. As we have not got exact data about the site and the finding circumstances, thus we can date them only with typological analysis. The finds were inventoried with the same numbers at the same time, so we can suppose that they could be collected from the same site simultaneously. Probably, they are contemporary with each other. THE APPEARANCE OF IDOLS IN THE SITES OF BRONZE AGE It was not a light task for us to find the parallels of the idols. The anthropomorphic figurines are very rare in the published sites of Bronze Age. Klára Marková carried out a comparative analysis between the idols of Slovakia and Carpathian Basin referred to the early and the middle Bronze Age. To sum up her results, she states that these clay figurines are schematic. The body is flat and the lower part of it is rounded off or straight. It seems as if the makers wanted to represent the man only to the waist, without legs (MARKOVÁ 2001, 360-361). The head and the arms are represented as stumps, and the makers ignored the detailed depiction. Only a few figurines are known, where the legs are worked out. The fragments of legs were came to light in two sites of Slovakia from the middle Bronze Age. These, however, could be the parts of standing figures (Vcelince/Méhi, Spissky Stvrtok/Csütörtökhely: MARKOVÁ 2001, 361, Abb. 4, 8-10). They could also be the part of a small altar or pot. As far as the damaged animal figurines are considered, Marková pointed out that the body of the animals were mutilated deliberately (limbs without skull: MARKOVÁ 2001, 358). We think that this assumption can be true in the case of the anthropomorphic figurines as well. We know an idol from the classic phase of the tell site of Carei-Bobald I/Nagykároly-Bobáld I, which has not been published yet. Its form is a flat prism. The head is also flat and fragmentary. The arms are torso and the legs are only marked. Undecorated. The whole anthropomorphic idol is so stylized that the sexual characteristic is also indeterminable. Based on the form and the age, it shows similarity to the pieces of the middle Bronze Age site of Vcelince/Méhi represented by Marková (MARKOVÁ 2001, 361, Abb. 4, 8-10). Among the above listed finds of the early and middle Bronze Age, we did not find any similar item to the idol of the unknown site (Fig. 1.1). We continue our research with the finds of the later ages. We have already dealt with the finds of the late Bronze Age pre Gáva period and Gáva culture through the figurine fragment of Oszlár-Nyárfaszög (KOÓS 2002, 79-81). János Németi, in connection with the find of Érkávás, which is similar to that one from Oszlár, divided the anthromorphic idols of late Bronze Age into two parts. One of his groups contains the pieces similar to human body with low oval cross-section, rounded edge, and scratched decoration. (Caua?/Érkávás-Sziget: NÉMETI 1981-82, Pl. XV/4-7; NÉMETI 2000, 58-60, Fig. 1.1; Lisicniki: MALEEV 1992, 2). In our opinion, we can see the particular features of this type on a find of Biharkeresztes and of Oszlár (Biharkeresztes-Láncos major: V. SZABÓ 2002, Fig. 142.9; Oszlár-Nyárfaszög: KOÓS 2002, 79-80, Fig. 1). Recently, a fragmentary idol has been published from the Hallstatt site of Siret/Szeret (Romania), which can be connected to the GávaHolihrady culture. Considering the form and decoration of this idol, it is correspond with the abovementioned type of group ( M ARE$LÁSZLÓ-N ICU L!CÁ-I GNAT 2008, Fig. 8).
