Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. Az István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 17. 1976 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (1978)
Közlemények – Mitteilungen - Müller Róbert: The Iron Implement Find in Nagyvenyim. p. 245–249.
THE IRON IMPLEMENT FIND IN NAGYVENYIM On March 4 1959 it was reported to the Museum of Dunaújváros that a skeleton was found by diggers of a limepit in the district Ujvenyim of the village Nagyvenyim, in the poultry farm Nr. 11. The conservation of the find was carried out by EszterB. Vágó. By the time she arrived to the site the workers had already lifted out the rests of the skeleton from a grave in W — E situation without additional objects, found in the southern half of the 4,2x2,2 m lime-pit. (Grave Nr. 3). In the northern corner of the pit another skeleton was found in similar position, with an egg as only inset (Grave Nr. 4.) The graves belonged to the burial-ground of the Late Avar period, two graves of which (Nrs. 1 — 2) were found a year earlier in the immediate neighbourhood of the lime-pit while digging a silo (RégFüz, XI, 1959, 48). The workers also handed over six iron implements toEszterB. Vágó which they said to have found in a 50 cm. deep pit above the grave Nr. 3. It was therefore believed that agricultural implements thrown into a dung-pit dating from modern history have now been found (Intercisa Museum, Data Sheet 31). I. Balassa agreed to have the find dated by the grave post quem and, although with some reserve, published the photo of the Nagyvenyim ploughshare ranging it among the material of the Late Migration period( 1 ). In our opinion, however, the iron implements came much earlier into the ground, already in the Roman period, and the gravediggers at most deranged the edge of the pit where they were lying. We shall now ewamine one by one, from which period the different implements are known, and shall try to date the fond in this way. 1. Ploughshare (Fig. 1.1.). Slightly asymmertical shovelshaped ploughshare. The left hose—wing is somewhat longer. On this side the share is sloped, its transition to the blade is rounded off. The lower plane of the broadening hose is uniplanar with the edge of the blade, so the plough was used in a horizontal position. L. : 24,3 cm.; hose w. : 11,3 — 12,8 cm. ; shoulder w. : 15,9 cm. The shovelshaped ploughshares are difficult to be dated. They became current in the Roman period on the area of actual (1) „ . . .difficulties were arising in fixing a date ... It is but with emphatic reserve we can date this plough-share from the end of : the period." (BALASSA 1973, 164, fig. 57) (in unconserved condition). (2) The biscuit-shaped chainlinks occur rather frequently from the LT period on, especially on pot-hangers, but links transversally elongated on the one end occur only on plough-chains. It is Hungary ; mounted on turnover ploughs, they were used even in modern history (Müller 1975, 85 — 86, fig. 11.) We know some ploughshares of similar size from several other Roman sizes. As for its shape and proportions, its next analogy was found on the near-by area of Gorsium (Fig. 1.2.) (BALASSA 1973, 108, Fig. 37a). The age of the ploughshare cannot be determined exactly but with help of the other finds. 2. Plough-chain (Fig. 1.3.). Biscuit-shaped chain -link of 15 cm. length. The apparently insignificant fragment has a characteristic feature which proves its function beyond any doubt. One end of the loop made of iron 0,7 X 1,1 — 1,0 X 1,3 cm. in diameter was extenuated to 0,8 cm and transversally elongated over 4,2 cm., while the stump of the next link remained on the other end. Such biscuit-shaped, transversally elongated links can be found on the end of the most usual types of Pannonian plough-pulling chains (ibid., 124 — 125, type I). This typical chain-link is unknown from other objects( 2 ). It is usually 18 — 24 cm. in length, but the length of a piece from Padragkut is only 16,6 cm( 3 ), while the last link of an intact chain found in Keszthely — Fenékpuszta is exactly as long as the find of Nagyvenyim( 4 ) (Fig. 1.4.). The latter clearly shows that the plough-chain consisted originally of three pieces. The large egg-shaped loop was pulled on the ploughbeam, while the end of the biscuit-shaped loop was extenuated because it was attached to a nail in the sleeper of the fore-carriage. Thus the chain served as a link between the plough and the forecarriage. Furthermore the egg-shaped loop permitted to change the ploughing depth (with pulling it further on the beam, shallower ploughing was obtained). It is a remarkable fact, that this object is known in Hungary from the Roman period only. In Switzerland several pieces of similar shape have been discovered, dating from the late Middle Age (Guyan-Schnyder 1976, 62, fig. 20), but those known so far from the Roman period have all been found in Pannónia, except a single Dacián piece( 5 ). particularly on account of plough-chains B. Bratanic (1954, 282—283, 48—49 foot-notes.) was dealing in some details with the biscuit- or 8-shaped links. (3) Bakony Museum, Veszprém: 55.267.2. Photo published by E. B. Thomas (1964, LXXXVI t,; BALASSA 1973, fig. 40/d). (4) Balaton Museum, Keszthely: 77.100.13. Small photo published by В. К u z s i n s z к y (1920, fig. 83). (5) This is why K. D. White did not mention this implement in his fundamental book (1967). Detailed summary on ploughchains BALASSA 1973, 121—128; Balassa 1971, 418—422, 245
