Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. Az István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 4.-5. 1963-1964 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (1965)

Tanulmányok – Abhandlungen - Makkay János: What was the Copper Age Clay Wagon Model of Budakalász? IV–V, 1963–64. p. 11–15.

was carried from his shrine inside the city to the so-called "akitu-house" outside it first by boat, then by a vehicle, and returned to the temple at last.

22 Owing to this ceremony almost as many clay boat models as vehicle representations are known from Western Asia.

23 The information gained from an ancient Sumerian legend also coincides with the order of the akitu festival. According to this Enki, god of the water and of fertility, having created the world, arrived in Sumer from the South, the Ocean, sailing a boat:

24 "Lorsque le ciel fut éloigné de la terre, Lorsque la terre fut séparée du ciel, Lorsque l'humanité fut semée, Lorsque le Dieu-Ciel eut installé le ciel, Lorsque Enlil eut installé la terre^ Au temps où il navigait, où il navigait, Au temps où le Père navigait vers le monde, Au temps où Enki navigait vers le monde •" It was this legendary ark of Enki which took part also in the akitu festivities later. This connection makes us understand, why it was necessary to offer votive vehicle models to the gods: because they belonged to the attributes, the emblems of divinity, because the vehicle, let it be two- or four-wheeled, was a participant of their great deeds, it helped them in their struggles, fought for the benefit of man. Now the attributes, the emblems of the gods were often placed beside the statue representing the god in the shrine. This is borne out by cuneiform sources too:

86 "Les emblèmes des déesses seront apportés de leur temple, puis dans le temple d'Istar, à droite et à gauche, Us seront placés." It was noted down that Inanna drove his chariot, drawn by seven lions, himself.*

6 Further a hymn to Ninurta contains the following sentence: "My heavenly chariot, being there in the temple."

27 Embossed portrayals inform us also on the way in which the mentioned attributes and 22 A. FALKENSTEIN: Akitu-Fest und akitu-Festhaus. Festschrift für Jon. Friedrich (Heidelberg 1959) p. 165 and passim; cp- S. Aa. PALLIS: The Babylonian akitu-Festival. Det Kongelige Danske Videnskarbernes Selskab, Hist.filol. Medd., XII 1. (Copenhagen 1926). 23 E. D. VAN BUREN: op. Cit. pp. 177-178, 265-266; Ы. GENOUILLAC: Fouilles de Telloh. I. Époques Présargoniques. (Paris 1934) p. 82 and II. Époques d'Ur lile Dynastie et de Larsa (Paris 1936) Ch. VI etc. 21 M. LAMBERT: La naissance du monde à Sumer. La Naissance du monde. Collection "Sources Orientales" I. (Paris 1959) p. 108. 25 G. DOSSIN: Un rituel du culte d'Istar provenant de M*ri. Revue d'Ass. 35 (1938) p. 10. 26 F. THUREAU-DANGIN : Chars divins. Revue d'Ass. 24 (1927) pp. 203-204. generally the favourite arms of the god were placed beside his statue.

28 By this act the faithful expressed their gratitude for the help of the god, or they wanted to secure his goodwill for their planned actions in advance. The small clay wagons may have played the same role. There is an obvious explanation for the fact that we find also some four-wheeled models, recalling agricultural use, beside the numerous votive war chariots. In course of the annual festive processions the "idol" was carried around on such a four-wheeled wagon. This is well depicted e. g. on a seal from Urartu.

29 We see a four-wheeled flat wagon on it, drawn by mythological animals, destined to carry the holy wood rather Enki's sacred ark. By the above statements we endeavoured illustrate one of the characteristics of the Budakalász wagon, that of being a vehicle. It is important that the custom of offering votive cars and the explanation of this custom were found in the same circle in which research looks for the origin of the real vehicle and the models, among them that of the Budakalász wagon too. In the following we have to deal with the fact that our find used to be a vessel at the same time. This is not illustrated by its shape only. It is proved also by the circumstance that in the same cemetery quite similar vessels with wagon-like upper part have come to light, placed on lower or higher pedestals. Such a vessel, placed on a four-wheeled wagon, is known e. g. from Dergisov (Silesia); unfortunately R. Forrer does not publish its exact date.

30 It belongs to the Late Bronze Age prooably. The author presents a similar find, though made of bronze, from the Cairo Museum.

31 In his quoted papers V. Sümeghy enumerates several Greek analogies, so we may refrain from treating them here. The most important of all finds of this type is the clay model found in the Sin-Shrine of Khafajah. As a matter of fact, this is a hut provided with weels, holding a larger vessel with a tubular support and two small jugs. H. Frankfort explains the object as follows: the two small jugs contained some liquids,, 27 R. JESTIN: Textes religieux sumériens. Revue d'Ass. 35 (1938) p. 173; cp. E.REINER: Le char de Ninurta et le prologue du Mythe de Zû. Revue d'Ass. 51 (1957) pp. 108-110. 28 L. LEGRAIN : Terra-cottas from Nippur. University of Penns., The Univ. Museum, Publ. of the Bab. Sect. Vol. XVI (Philadelphia 1930)) p. 27, PI. XXXVII Fig«. 198 and 199. The preceding picture is visible also on the embossment of the parapet of a small votive chariot: A. JEREMIÁS: Das Alte Testament im Lichte des Alten Orients. 4th ed. (Leipzig 1930) Fig. 62. 29 Ы. B. PIOTROVSZKIJ: Vanskoe Tsarstvo (Urartu). (Moscow 1959) p. 229, Fig. 75. 30 E. FORRER: Les chars cultuels préhistoriques et leurs survivances aux époques historiques. Préhistoire 1 (1932> Fig. 14. 31 Ibid. Fig. 36. 13