Nagy Emese Gyöngyvér - Dani János - Hajdú Zsigmond szerk.: MÓMOSZ II. (Debrecen, 2004)
B. Hellebrandt Magdolna: Őskori föld- és vízivárak
186 MAGDOLNA B. HELLEBRANDT PREHISTORIC EARTHWORKS AND FORTS SURROUNDED BY BODIES OF WATER According to the relevant literature and archival data 1 " 8 , in the area of Szirmabesenyő-Margit dűlő there used to be a fortress in the 18' -19' centuries, surrounded by a double entrenchment. At present, the fort can be made out in photographs taken from a bird's-eye view (Picture 1). The cross sectioning of the entrenchment was first suggested by Gyula Nováki. In September 1999 we located the double entrenchment on the northern side (Picture 4). The width of the external trench is 11 meters, while its depth is 1,8-2 meters. The distance between the external and the internal trenches is 9,5 meters, which is actually the width of the entrenchment (Picture 5). The internal trench is 9 meters wide and 1,7 meters deep. During the course of the excavation, subsoil water emerged in both trenches. The earthworks at Hejőkürt-Homokbánya were noticed in a shot of aerial photography by Tamás Pusztai. The length of the earthworks with a shape resembling a horseshoe or the Greek letter omega is 1200 meters, while its width is 900 meters (Picture 7). The moated fort at Putnok-Pogonyi puszta was first discovered on a map with a scale of 1:1000 (Picture 8). In a sample of aerial photography taken in 1952, a dark arched shape indicates the fort. (Picture 9). The distance between the two arches of the horseshoe is 1100 meters, while its broadest section measures 600 meters. According to manuscripts forms of maps and archival records 16 " 19 , there also used to be a fort at this location. Near the river Sajó, there used to be a settlement belonging to the Kyjatice culture, while just under Bánréve, at Putnok, a bronze sword has been found. (Picture 10). A similar fortification was located at Lenartovce (Lénértfalva). According to the relevant literature, it is denoted as Hódmezővásárhely, or Orosháza-Nagytatársánc 22 . A similar one could have been located east of Hódmezővásárhely, on the slight mound of Kútvölgyi Hospital, and also south of Edelény, or at Ónod, north of the medieval castle. 29 " 31 In the aerial picture taken between Gesztely and Hernádnémeti, (Picture 12) a fortress of an elongated omega shape can be discovered. The same fortress is also indicated in the records of the second miliary survey (Picture 13). The entrance must have been on the north, in the direction of Halomsor (Picture 14). According to a 19 th century military survey, the lands east of the fortress were waterlogged, although there are still references to mounds in the 20 th century 50000-scale map, and the relevant placenames are Sashalom and Kóczánsashalom. According to our findings, the earthworks and the moated forts and fortresses were most probably built in the Early Iron Age. The prompt for their construction must have been the necessity to create defense systems at strategically critical locations, i.e., at the fords and other crossing points of rivers and valleys, in the plain areas, where water was also available. B. HELLEBRANDT MAGDOLNA HERMAN OTTÓ MÚZEUM 3529 MISKOLC GÖRGEY ARTÚR U. 28.
