Csengeri Piroska - Tóth Arnold (szerk.): A Herman Ottó Múzeum évkönyve 54. (Miskolc, 2015)

Régészet - Csengeri Piroska: Középső neolitikus telepnyomok Mezőzombor-Községi temető lelőhelyről

Középső neolitikus telepnyomok Mezözombor-Községi temető lelőhelyről

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MIDDLE NEOLITHIC SETTLEMENT REMAINS FROM MEZÖZOMBOR-KÖZSÉGI TEMETŐ

(NORTH-EASTERN HUNGARY)

Keywords: Carpathian basin, Neolithic, Tiszadob group, Bükk culture, ceramic style, Spondylus

The archaeological site of Mezpzpmbor-Köt^égi temető lies at the border of the Great Hungarian Plain (Alföld) and the North Hungarian Mountains. It is situated on an elevation at the edge of the Taktaköz microregion, which used to be a boggy, marshy area in the Neolithic (Fig. 1—2). Human population settled on this elevation due to its advantageous geographic position and various people remained there throughout the Neolithic, Copper and Bronze Ages. Following a hiatus period, it was repopulated by a Germanic community in the Roman Age.

The site was discovered in 1999 and the first rescue excavation was conducted by Judit Koós and Nándor Kalicz in 2000 (Fig. 1). It was followed by a second excavation in 2001, by Róbert Patay and the author of this piece. At the time a 400 m2 area (1st and 2nd surfaces) was excavated, along with 72 archaeological features (Fig. 1, 3, 6).

Among Middle Neolitihic remains and finds from 2001, the grave of the Bükk culture (CSENGERI 2001a) and graves of the Tiszadob group with Spondylus shell ornaments have been published earlier (CSENGERI 2004). The rest of the Middle Neolithic features (Fig. 3—9) and finds (Fig. 10—29) of that season are presented in this article.

Parts of two large, amorphous clay-extraction pits (6/2001: Fig. 3; 34/2001: Fig. 6) and two smaller, more regular pits (7/2001, 8/2001: Fig. 3) came to light with Tiszadob style ceramics on the 1st and 2nd surfaces. Graves 48/2001, 49/2001 and 62/2001 with Spondylus shell ornaments can be connected to the Tiszadob group in the Northern corner of the 2nd surface as well (Fig. 6—9). Because of the small and broken excavation surfaces, it is not possible to reconstruct the inner structure of the Middle Neolithic settlement. However, it can be said that the Tiszadob graves were situated near the clay- extraction pit 34/2001 like a grave group. Unfortunately, detailed information about the inner structure of settlements with Tiszadob style ceramics (3rd phase of the Middle Neolithic of the Carpathian basin) are unavailable. However, new results can be expected from the analyses of two large settlement remains - Tisgadob-O-kené^ (Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, excavated in 2002 and 2006-2007; ALMÁSSY-ISTVÁNOVITS 2004; SCHOLTZ 2008) and Hejőkürt-LIDL logisztikai /éÖ£/>o«/(Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, excavated in 2005 by Judit Koós and her collegaues, unpublished).

Only a single feature - the grave 21/A/2001 with a decorated bomb-shaped vessel and two Spondylus beads - can be connected to the Bükk culture from Mezőzombor (Fig. 3, 5). No house remains or pits of this culture were found during the excavation of 2001. Beside the features with Tiszadob style ceramics and the Tiszadob graves, this burial of the Bükk culture and stray finds with Bükk style refer to a long-lived Middle Neolithic settlement at this site.

Regrettably, Middle Neolithic finds of Mezőzombor are considerably fragmented. They only consist of 2221 pieces of ceramics of which 682 are derived from Tiszadob features. In addition, several other finds were unearthed during the hand digging of the humus layer of the western quarter and eastern corner of the 1st surface and the western corner of the 2nd surface; and these were also present in vast numbers in features of other archaeological periods.

The percentages of different ceramic material types in Tiszadob features are the following: decorated fine ware 28.59 %, undecorated fine ware 6.01 %, painted ceramics (not with local style) 0.73 %, incised coarser and house ware 5.72 %, house ware 58.94 %.

The most common type of Tiszadob fine ware at the Mezőzombor site is the deep cup/bowl with vertical walls (Fig 8; Fig 12. 1—2, 4; Fig. 13. 5; Fig 16. 1, 3-4; Fig. 24. 5). Flatter cups/bowls represent the second most common type (conical: Fig

12. 3; Fig 25. 1; hemispherical: Fig. 16. 2; Fig. 19. 6; Fig 24. 2; 2/3 spherical: Fig. 24. 4). Low-necked mugs with quadrangular bodies and high-necked flasks with similarly quadrangular bodies and knobs on their bellies were characteristic Tiszadob forms (KALICZ—MAKKAY 1977, 39). Only belly fragments of these types turned up at our site (Fig. 26. 1). Pedestailed bowls, usually with inner decorations were also typical elements of Tiszadob pottery (KALICZ—MAKKAY 1977, 39; KURUCZ 1989, 30—31), however they occurred in lesser amounts in Mezőzombor (Fig. 19. 3; Fig. 23. 1—2). Bomb-shaped vessels from here are very scarce (Fig. 24. 3); these became dominant later in the Bükk culture (LICHARDUS 1974, 26; CSENGERI 2001b, 75-76).

Incised decoration patterns of Tiszadob style fine ware from Mezőzombor (decoration under the rim: Fig. 12. 1—5; Fig

13. 5; Fig. 16. 1, 3—4; Fig. 19. 1a, 3a, 6; Fig 23. 1a, 2a; Fig 24. 1—5; Fig. 25. 1; main decoration of the body: Fig. 15. 4; Fig. 16. 3, 5, 7—8; Fig. 17. 2—5, 7; Fig. 19. 1a, 3a, 4, 6; Fig 23. 1a, 2a, 3a; Fig 26. 1;Fig 24. 2, 5; Fig. 25. 1—3; “in-between” decorations: Fig. 16. 6a; Fig. 19. 4, 6; Fig. 24. 4; Fig. 25. 1; decoration near the bottom: Fig 17. 4—7; Fig. 25. 3) were characteristic at other settlements as well (KALICZ-MAKKAY 1977, 40-42; KURUCZ 1989, 33-34).

Knob decoration (Fig 24. 2; Fig. 26. 2—3) and white incrustation (Fig 16. 4; Fig. 19. 1a, 6; Fig. 26. 3) are very rare on Mezőzombor fine ware while inner decoration is more common (Fig. 12. 6; Fig 15. 1; Fig. 16. 6; Fag 19. 1, 3, 5; Fig 23. 1—3). The latter appears on bowls and pedestailed bowls (Fig. 19. 1, 3; Fig 23. 1—2) which is evident in any case due to the