Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. Az István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 10. 1969 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (1969)

Közlemények – Mitteilungen - Kovács Tibor: Prehistoric Horse-Bits of Antler Found in the Carpathian Basin Recently. – Újabb őskőkori agancszabla leletek a Kárpát-medencében. X, 1969. p. 159–165.

represents the younger period of the existence of the Vatya culture.

26 As the settlement was disturbed earlier, a Bronze hoard of Koszider type has been uncovered.

27 Owing to its formal features, the semi-finished piece is chiefly related to the specimens of the so-called Yattina type.

28 On the other hand, ornaments similar to those of button forms of dotted circles may be found on the piece from Budapest — Lágymányos only, dated by Amália Mozsolics to the second half of the period В III.

29 Since we do not known the structure of the cheek-piece from Mende, the latter relation seems to be the more concrete. This seems to be supported by the harmony between the chronological situation of the young Vatya finds uncovered in the Mende settlement and the date of the Lágymányos cheek-piece defined by Mozsolics. Here we may add that we regard the enlisting of the cheekpieces fo Vattina type

30 into a separate type as debatable. On the basis of their structure, in spite of their divergent form, we prefer to call them a variety of the cheek-pieces having two ovalshaped holes (the so-called Tószeg type). We are convinced that the attempt of reconstruction regarding their use needs revision.

31 3. Lo vasberény — Mihályvár A left-side cheek-piece of a bit from deer's antler. The exterior is convex, the interior is polished flatly. It is pierced by an ovalshaped hole in the centre. At both dissected ends the central diploe parts have been removed so that the holes opened in this way, together with two small holes bored from the concave side, form a tubular passage for the insertion of the two branches of the bridle. Length: 13,5 cm. (Fig. 3, Fig. 6. 4.)

32 The unornamented cheek-piece of a bit has been uncovered in course of the excavation, conducted at Lo vasberény — Mihályvár in 1966 by the research team investigating the Bronze age earthworks of Fejér County,

33 in the pit marked with G. The pit contained some unornamented Bronze Age sherds and animal bones. According to the results of the excavation going on since 1964, the settlement was inhabited during the most part of the existence of the Vatya culture, but at any rate in the younger phase of the same too.

34 Mende—Leányvár A left-side cheek-piece of a bit from deer's antler. It has an oval cross-section, its interior side is somewhat polished. The two ends are cut off straightly ; here the central spongeoid parts are removed till one hole each, bored from the concave side. The upper and lower branches of the bridle could be inserted into the tubes formed at both ends of the cheek-piece in this way. The mouth-piece was fixed into the oval-shaped hole in the centre, piercing the plane of the cheek-piece at a right angle to the mentioned ones. The marks of wearing cannot be observed easily at the oval-shaped hole, owing to a defect in the specimen. The virtual prolongation of the axes of the marks of wearing, noticed on the two small round holes, forms an acute angle. Length: 11,5 cm. (Fig. 4., Fig. 6, 5.)

35 The find has been uncovered in 1968 when the mentioned settlement of the Vatya culture became disturbed.

36 Both the Lovasberény and Mende cheek-pieces represent the so-called 26 T. KOVÁCS, AÉrt, 94, 1967, p. 219. 27 In the Hungarian National Museum, unpublished. 28 Cf. A. MOZSOLICS, A. Arch. Hung., 12, 1960, p. 127. to Ibid. p. 132. so A. MOZSOLICS A. Arch. Hung., 3, 1953, pp. 80-83. 3i S. BÖKÖNYI, о. с. p. 116, fig. 2. 32 F. É. PETRES, AÉrt, 94, 1967, p. 219. 33 The members of the research team active on the project, sponsored by the Fejér County Museum Board are : É v a F. Petres, Gábor Bandi, Tibor Kovács. 34 The excavations from 1964 to 1968 aimed at the possibly complete uncovering of one part of the settlement, the so-called Small Castle. When this work will be finished and eventually the strata of the so-called Large Castle will be defined, the situation of the Lovasherény cheek-piece in the framework of the settlement may become clear. 35 Local History Collection, Gyömrő. 36 The publication of both pieces from Mende-Leányvár has been made possible by the kindness of István Rolkó, in charge of the Gyömrő collection. Füzesabony type. The specimens enlisted into this type (Füzesabony, Tiszafüred, Pákozdvár, Szob,

37 Maié Kosihy, Nitriansky Hrádok-Zámecek, Vesele,

38 Böheimkirchen, Grafenberg,

39 etc.) have a common feature: the oval-shaped central hole serving for the insertion of the mouth-piece. The number of holes made for other reins is divergent. In her first paper dealing with the cheek-pieces Amália Mozsolics holds that the Füzesabony specimens are younger than those of Tószeg type.

40 Further she draws our attention to the formal and ornamental similarities of the Pákozdvár specimen and one from Beycesultan, found in a layer dated between 1450 and 1300 before our era.

41 The reality of these probable connections is supported by István Foltiny with the publication of additional important pieces.

42 In his judgment, the oldest cheek-pieces of Anatolia, the specimens from Alaca Höyük, were uncovered in the layer of a Hittite settlement, dated between 1450 and 1300 before our era.

43 For the dating of the cheek-pieces with one large, ovalshaped hole, found in the Carpathian basin, and for the definition of their southern origin, the radiocarbon datation of the Mende — Leányvár settlement furnishes an important proof.

44 According to the results of investigations made by the Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Bodenforschung 1/6 14

C-Llabor, directed by Dr. Mebus A. Geyh, the analysed probe derives from the years 1330 + 65 before our era.

45 4. Százhalombatta — Brick Works A right-side cheek-piece of a bit from deer's antler. The crosssection of its upper part is round, that of the somewhat thicker lower part is rather oval-shaped. It lacks any ornament. Length: 12,3 cm. (Fig. 5, Fig. 6. I.)

46 Its upper end is crowned by a small button, the lower end is closed by a part raised from the body, produced in the shape of a truncated cone. All the four holes are situated in the same plane. The uppermost round and the following two oval-shaped holes are piercing the plane of the cheek-piece entirely, the lowest round hole forms a tube-like opening together with the bored end of the cheek-piece. The traces of wearing seen on the round holes, serving for the insertion of the bridle reins, are directed towards the central part of the specimen. At the shorter sides of both oval-shaped holes scarcely visible traces of wearing may be observed. After the verifying excavation in 1963 the south-western part of the fortified settlement has been carried away. At that time the cheek-piece presented here has come to light. Its stratigraphical situation is unknown. Our present knowledge is insufficient for an exact dating. As to structure, a Hungarian specimen from an unknown site is its nearest parallol.

47 Owing to a strong similarity, a fragmentary piece from Ács deserves mention, too.

48 The Százhalombatta specimen, however, seems to be a close relative of the cheek-pieces of the Hallstatt period, owing to the holes situated in a single plane and to the execution of both ends. The best analogies may be adduced from Kisköszeg and Priglitz.

49 Considering the chronological situation of the sped, mens quotted as parallels, and leaving a detailed analysis aside, we may attach the cheek-piece uncovered at Százhalombatta — Brick Works to the younger stratum of the settlement, representing the Vál culture. Summing up, we want to remark the following. In the Carpathian basin the oldest accessory of a horse-trapping, made of deer's antler, is the plate for the partition of reins, found under 37 A. MOZSOLICS, A. Arch. Hung., 3, 1953, pp. 70-74. 38 A. TOClK, Stud, zvesti AÜSAV, 3, 1959, p. 48, T. II. 1, T. VII. 10. - ID., Opevnená ... p. 47, fig. 31. 39 ST. FOLTINY, Bronze- und urnenfelder zeitliche Hirschhorn- und Knochentrensen aus Niederösterreich, MAG, 95, 1965, p. 243; ID., BJb. 167, 1967 p. 22, T. VII. 9. 40 A. MOZSOLICS, A. Arch. Hung., 3, 1953, p. 75. «ID., A. Arch. Hung., 12, 1960, p. 127. 42 ST. FOLTINY, BJb. 167, 1967, p. 22. 43 Ibid., p. 19, fig. 6. 44 The analyzed specimen was taken from a depth of -35 to -40 cm, from the pit starting in a humous soil marked IV/a. 45 My thanks are due to the late László Vértes who made the analysis possible and undertook the burden of mediation. 46 Hungarian National Museum, Inv. no.: 66. 17. 1403. « A. MOZSOLICS, A. Arch. Hung., 12,1960, p. 126. 48 ID.

, A. Arch. Hung.,

3,1953,pp. 96-97, fig. 37. 49 ST. FOLTINY, BJb, 167, 1967, p. 32, T. XIII. 1, 3. - J. H. POTRATZ, о. с pp. 128-129, fig. 54/b. и* 163