Balogh Csilla – P. Fischl Klára: Felgyő, Ürmös-tanya. A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Monumenta Archeologica 1. (Szeged, 2010)

The Avar Cemetery at Felgyő, Ürmős-Tanya

264 BALOGH Csilla were male (35.6 %) and 54 (24.6%) were female burials, while the sex of 24 individuals (11%) could not be determined from the grave goods either. Whilst the anthropological material is dominated by Europids, six Mongolid anthropological types (Graves 153, 174-175, 197, 203 and 204) and three Europo-Mongolid types (Graves 131, 195 and 215) could also be distinguished.

4 The burials in Graves 174, 197 and 215 can be dated to the earlier Avar period on the basis of the grave goods (earrings with small or large spherical pendant, pressed shield shaped mounts, Alpine type strap ends and Fonlak type belt mounts). The grave furniture of the other burials was made up of simple articles, unsuitable for a more precise dating. The single deceased deposited in a crouched position had Mongoloid taxonomical traits (Grave 195). The Mongolid and Mongoloid components in the ethnic make-up of the Avar period population of the Carpathian Basin have since long been identified. The list of cemeteries with Mongolid and Europo-Mongolid populations mentioned by Lajos Bartucz (BARTUCZ 1934) was later supplemented with the burial grounds at Kiskörös-Vágóhid and Budapest-Csepel. János Nemeskéri noted that four major centres with a Mongolid component can be distinguished: north-western Transdanubia, the Budapest area, the Kiskörös and Bócsa area, and the Debrecen area. In contrast, the Mongoloid type appears to have been restricted to the burial grounds of north-eastern Transdanubia and the Danube-Tisza Interfluve (NEMESKÉRI 1955, 209-210, Fig. 59). In his discussion of the Kunbábony grave, Attila Kiss assembled a list of the burials yielding Early and Middle Avar grave goods from which the skeletal remains could be assigned to the Mongolid and Mongoloid type (KISS 1995, 139), the latter based principally on Pál Lipták's studies (LIPTÁK 1983). From his reading of the then available evidence, Kiss concluded that Mongolid and Mongoloid communities could only be found in the Danube-Tisza Interfluve during the earlier Avar period. The re-assessment and publication of earlier find assemblages coupled with more recent investigations have contributed much to a better understanding of this issue: even though most of the cemeteries used by the Mongolid and Mongoloid communities of the Avar period can indeed be found in the Danube-Tisza Interfluve,

5 this ethnic component has also been identified in eastern Hungary, e.g. in the Early Avar cemetery uncovered at Szegvár-Oromdülő (FÓTHI-LŐRINCZY-MARCSIK 2000, 192). THE DEPOSITION OF THE DECEASED Coffins, shrouds Remains suggesting the use of coffins were observed in 63 graves (29%): in most cases, the one-time presence of coffins was suggested by soil stains noted in the grave pit. Wood remains were uncovered over a larger area in Grave 62 and coffin clamps were found in Graves 201 and 204. The deceased in Grave 21 had probably also been laid in a coffin because the skeleton lay some 20-30 cm higher than the floor of the grave pit. A small rectangular pit in one of the corners of Grave 230 is probably also an indication of a one-time coffin (cp. TOMKA 1979, 53; WICKER 1990, 50).

6 However, if the position of certain bones (e.g. the "cramped" arrangement of the shoulders, the arms and the legs) is regarded as a sign of the use of coffins (cp. TOMKA 1979, 48-52), the overwhelming majority of the Avar graves uncovered at the Ürmös-tanya site were probably coffin burials. This would fit in with the currently accepted view reflecting the advances made in Avar studies during the past decades, namely that the custom of interring the deceased in coffins was a general practice during the entire Avar period, and that the dead were placed in coffins considerably more often than the archaeologically observed traces would suggest (BÓNA 1979, 15-15; TOMKA 1979, 77, 81-82; WICKER 1990, 49). The form of the coffin could best be reconstructed from the soil stains, which suggested a wooden box-like coffin; only in Graves 160 and 204 had the deceased been placed in a log coffin. In addition to rectangular coffins, eight graves had trapezoidal coffins tapering towards the feet (Graves 11, 16, 149, 157, 170, 195, 230 and 231), while three burials contained trapezoidal coffins widening towards the feet (Graves 151, 156 and 174). The soil stains marking the long sides and the ends of the coffins joined, suggesting that the planks had been mortised (cp. TOMKA 1979, Fig. 19). Both the rectangular coffins (Graves 136, 141, 159 and 196) and the trapezoidal ones (Grave 157) indicated by soil stains included variants in which the longitudinal planks extended beyond the cross-planks (Graves 157 and 159) or the planks crossed each other (Graves 136 and 139), suggesting the use of a funeral bier. Elvira H. Tóth believed that the use of funerary biers could be regarded as an ethnic marker in the central areas of the Danube-Tisza Interfluve (H. TÓTH 1995. 155). Coffin clamps were recovered from two burials: both were small pieces. Remains of a chest-like coffin were identified in Grave 201: the small iron clamp lay beside the left foot. The deceased was laid in a log coffin in Grave 204: the clamp lay by the right hand. Comparable smaller clamps are generally found singly; they were equally suitable for holding the planks of the base and the lid or for holding the lid in place. Men, women and children were equally interred in coffins at Ürmös-tanya, although male burials were more frequent. With the exception of Graves 83 and 215, all the men buried with a mount decorated belt had been laid to rest in a coffin. The two graves with post-holes were also coffin burials. The position of the bones in 27 graves suggested that the deceased had been wrapped in a shroud. This custom appears to have been more frequent among adult burials, and especially in the case of female burials. Position of the deceased Most of the deceased were laid extended on their back, with the arms and the legs also lying extended. Smaller variations could be noted in 17 burials, some of which can be explained by the dislodgement of the body in the coffin. The most frequent variation, the placement of one or both lower arms on 4 Cp. Marcsik, in this volume, Tables 4-5. on p. 387. 5 Attila Kiss's list can now be complemented with the following sites: Fajsz-Garadomb (BALOGH-KŐHEGYI 2001); FelgyőKettőshalmi-dülő (MÉSZÁROS et at. 2007), Petőfiszállás (WICKER 2000) and Subotica-Szand Track in Serbia (ADAM 2002, 331). 6 For a discussion of these small depressions or pits, cp. MÓRA 1932, 56; CILINSKÁ 1970, 31; TOMKA 1975; WICKER 1990, 34-35.