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

Régészet - L. Hajdú Melinda: Késő neolitikus település Tiszatardosról (Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén megye)

Késő neolitikus település Tiszatardosról (Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén megye)

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LATE NEOLITHIC SETTLEMENT AT TISZATARDOS (BORSOD-ABAÚJ-ZEMPLÉN COUNTY)

Keywords: Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Taktaköz microregion, Late Neolithic, pottery/style

Tiszatardos is located on the northern fringes of the Great Hungarian Plain, in the Taktaköz area within the Middle Tisza Region, in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County. Emese Lovász conducted excavations here in 1991, between |uly 4 and 11. The excavation targeted the outskirts of the settlement, however, its documentation is now almost entirely lost. Information was gained through personal communication with the leader of this field work, who said that the survey was limited to an area of 5 x 5 m. Late Neolithic findings (pot sherds, spindle whorl, a small amount of wattle-and-daub, a bone comb, bone tools, chipped stones and parts of a grinding stone) were brought to light in trench II from a large pit (maybe used for clay extraction or garbage deposition), or rather from the part of the pit that was surveyed. Further information is revealed by the notes made during packing the finds. According to these, there were five survey trenches (trench I—V). Late Neolithic finds came to light sporadically from trenches I, III and IV. During the examination of the finds it became clear that settlement features associated with the Middle Neolithic (first phase of ALBK and the Bükk Culture), the Late Bronze Age and the Migration Period (?) were also excavated.

During the field walks conducted in May 2012 and October 2013 the area was covered with alfalfa, but despite this fact it was possible to collect sporadic ceramic sherds and identify the site which did not seem to be intensive according to our current data of the density of finds. The site was habited throughout different periods, and is located on the northwestern edge of the present-day village of Tiszatardos, on the southern side of the road that leads to Csobaj, on a hillside oriented in an east-west direction. The current riverbed of the Tisza is in a 500 m distance. Based on the geomorphological features as well as the scarce surface finds, the size of the site is ca. 2.7 hectares (305 x 90 m) (Fig. 1). However, it was impossible to precisely localize the Late Neolithic settlement within the site.

The majority of the fragmented pottery material (569 pieces) is coarse ware, however, a considerable number (253 pieces) of fine ceramic sherds were unearthed as well. The finds are not very varied in terms of shape, but their ornamentation is diverse. The surface of the pots was usually burnt brown or brownish. Those extremely thin, polished or burnished ceramics turned golden brown on the outside and dark grey or black on the inside during burning. The typological analysis of the pottery reflected the cultural diversity of the Neolithic settlement.

Fine ware cups with thin walls and globular or slightly S-shaped body are present in the assemblage in a relatively high number (Fig. 13. 2, Fig. 14. 4—6). This vessel form is generally registered among findings of settlements of the Szakálhát Culture (for example at Battonya-Parázs tanya: G. SZÉNÁSZKY 1988, 7—8, Fig. 5—7) and of the Tisza Culture (for example at Kisköre-Gát: KOVÁCS 2013, Plate 44. 2, 4—5, 7; Plate 45. 6). Similarly made pottery is known from the sites of Aszód-Papi földek (KALICZ 1985, 48) and Berettyóújfalu-Herpály (KALICZ-RACZKY 1984,115, Fig. 35,17; 1986,104, Fig. 35/1—6; 1987b, Fig. 35). This pottery type came to light at Polgár-Csőszhalom-dűlő, too (SEBŐK 2007, 104—106).

Bowls and pedestailed bowls (Fig. 10. 3, Fig. 13. 1) are of good quality as well, their surface is burnished.

There can be found half-globular types (Fig. 5. 2—4), truncated conical bowls (Fig. 2. 3, 6; Fig. 3, Fig. 4. 1, Fig. 5. 1, Fig.

7. 6) and biconical bowls (Fig. 6. 5) of the Tisza Culture, as well as pottery imitating the Herpály and Samborzec-Opatów style square-shaped bowls (Fig. 6. 4, Fig. 14. 7). The slightly profiled pedestailed type (Fig. 13. 1) is also associated with the Tisza Culture.

Fragments of coarser, although sometimes burnished jugs (Fig. 10. 1), pot-shaped vessels (Fig. 8. 6—7, Fig. 9. 1-4, Fig. 12. 2) and meticulously formed amphora-shaped vessels (Fig. 10. 2) also came to light during the excavation. A vessel with a convex-shaped neck reflects influences from the Samborzec-Opatów group (KAMIENSKA—KOZLOWSKI 1990, Taf. 11. 11).

Knob ornamentations are varied both in terms of size and form, and were observed on almost all types of pottery (Fig. 2. 6, Fig. 5. 1, 3—4; Fig. 6. 1—2, Fig 7. 5, Fig 9. 1—4, Fig. 14. 3). Some bowls have incisions and finger impressions on the rim. Pierced-through rims were also found (Fig 14. 6—7). Impressed dots are considered a surviving ornamentation typical for the fourth phase of ALBK (Fig. 7. 7).

Although classical textile-style is absent in the assemblage, mugs decorated with incised ornaments, flowerpot-shaped bowls and fragments of pedestalled bowls represent the Tisza pottery style. This type of ornamentation in most cases consists of sketchy lines surrounded by a frame (Fig 7. 1, Fig 8. 1, 3). The patterns range from incised pattern (Fig 7. 2) to zigzag (Fig. 7. 3—4, Fig. 8. 4), incised lines forming a grid (Fig. 4. 5, Fig. 8. 5) and rhomboid patterns (Fig. 8. 2). Incised decoration is often registered in Late Neolithic settlement assemblages (such as Polgár-Csőszhalom-dűlő, Szegi-Ady E. u. 4., Szerencs-Taktaföldvár, Tiszalúc-Vályogos, Tiszaladány-Nagyhomokos).