A Herman Ottó Múzeum évkönyve 53. (2014)
Régészet - Tóth Krisztián: Noteworthy Findings of the Roman Age and Early Migration Period from Borsodszirák, Northestern Hungary. First Investigations
A Herman Ottó Múzeum Évkönyve Lili (2014), 159—182. NOTEWORTHY FINDINGS OF THE ROMAN AGE AND EARLY MIGRATION PERIOD FROM BORSODSZIRÁK, NORTHEASTERN HUNGARY. FIRST INVESTIGATIONS Tóth Krisztián Ottó Herman Museum, Miskolc Abstract: The site called Egres-dűlő near the village of Borsodszirák became known thanks to Tamás Szűcs, who have brought a bronze statue, a bust to the Museum of Miskolc in 1998. They identified the exact finding place of the object with Tamás Pusztai soon after, and have collected ceramic fragments from the Roman and Early Migration period alongside with Neolithic, Bronze Age sherds and a silver fitting. We have carried out some field surveys on the site between 2012 and 2014, which helped us to determine the exact locations of settlements from different periods. During these surveys some noteworthy metal object have been revealed from the Roman Age, some 300 m from a settlement dated to the same age. We used geophysical survey to bring to light the context of these metal objects. Despite the lack of a systematic archaeological survey, the quality of the objects and the geographical situation of the site (confluence of two rivers not far from the northern edge of the Great Hungarian Lowland) justify the necessity of further investigations. Keywords: bust, Roman Age, early migration period, field survey, geophysics The village of Borsodszirák is situated 15 km to the North of Miskolc, 5 km to the South of the town Edelény, on the left bank of the River Bódva, 3 km from its estuary with the river Sajó in Borsod- Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northeast Hungary (Fig. 1, A—B). According to geographical classification it lies on the eastern edge of the Sajó Valley. 60% of this microregion is covered by fluvial sand, pebble stone, terrace gravel, 15% by loess and loessderivate (mostly on the 2nd and 4th terraces) and in the same percentage by glacial loam (Dövényi 2012, 831). Number 2 and 3 accumulation terraces escorting the left bank of the Sajó have been interwoven with the terraces of the river Bódva (Dobány 2010, 15). The site is located 500 m from the farmer’s co-operative of Borsodszirák, on 128,5 m above sea level on the 2nd terrace of the river Bódva, which can be found 700 m to the Southwest (Fig. 1, B—C). One can collect archaeological findings on this terrace in a 1200 m long and 30—40 m wide area. The Borsodszirák-Boldva railway cuts out the eastern part of the site. The wider environment of the site belonged to habitants with Germanic origin who had probably settled here at the end of the 2nd century. The hypothetical Germanic — Sarmatian border zone (according to our recent knowledge) was some 25 km to the South. It is hard to interpret this as an exact confine, it is rather like a tessellated settlement network, which tied each other with subde relations. Roman Age inhumation and cremation graves excavated at Nyékládháza (which is situated around 25 km to the South of Borsodszirák) (Lovász 1992, 36) may be good evidences for this, as well as the words of Ammianus Marcellinus about this territory, that Quadic and Sarmatian „people are closely united by same frontiers and like savagery” (Rolfe 1935, 375). FINDING OF THE SITE AND FIRST INVESTIGATIONS In the third week of April 1998, Tamás Szűcs, a villager from Sajószentpéter have brought a bronze statue into the Museum of Miskolc. He had known the site formerly and showed some findings from there to one of the archaeologists of the museum. One of his acquaintances had found the statue at the southern border of Borsodszirák, which Tamás Szűcs bought for a record player and 40 thousand forints. In the 17th of April, Tamás Pusztai with Tamás Szűcs and Péter Tóth made a field survey on the site, when they have found a silver fitting dated to the Hungarian
