H. Bathó Edit – Kertész Róbert – Tolnay Gábor – Vadász István szerk.: Tisicum - A Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Megyei Múzeumok Évkönyve 12. (2001)

Sarmatian Burials and A Settlement Feature of the Laté Román Period at Kengyel-Baghymajor (1981)

JÁNOS CSEH SARMATIAN BURIALS AND A SETTLEMENT FEATURE OF THE LATE ROMAN PERIOD AT KENGYEL BAGHYMAJOR (1981) During the archaeological researches performed in the first half of the 1990s near Kengyel village (Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county), finds of settlements from the 4th—5th centuries A.D. came to light on several sites, for the most part naturally pottery. The antiquities may be connected either with Sarmatiaan or already a German, Gepid ethnic group, depending on whether we favour an earlier or later dating, that is we presume the appearance of the latter folk in this region from the last quarter of the 4th century A.D. onwards. The assemblage of finds, certain criteria of which are also emerging in the material published now and found by the rescue excavation in 1981 along the fish pond (surface III.), has been termed by the author as Kengyelpart-Early Migration Period-Group A. The present study has set the publication of this collection of finds as an aim, besides graves dated back to the Roman Age. At the earthworks and the archaeological diggings linked with these (by agency of the archaeologists of the Museum Damjanich in Szolnok and students), four Sarmatian burials (numbered 6-9.) were found altogether. The graves of grown-up and child individuals were of south-north orientation. The articles, items of clothing and use as well as furniture are the following: a bronze fibula, iron buckles, a knife, other irons, mill/grinding stone and clay vessels. From among the latters we can present two, a little jug with handle and a bowl (in form of terra sigillata Drag. 37). Both had in times past been wheel-thrown of fine potter,s clay and they are of grey colour. After the parallels they belong to the Sarmatian potter,s craft of the 2nd-4th centuries A.D. At a point of the surface III. a so-called outdoor baking oven having stood in the open air with comparatively larger sized serving pit came to light (object 1.). The latter was west-east-axled, longish oval in its form and of 380x230 cm dimension. Perhaps that round beehive-shaped - pit which was situated in the middle dates from the same period. The circular oven being 130-140 cm in diameter joined the north-eastern corner of the archaeological feature,s deepened part. Underneath the baking surface („oventop") there was a stratum, layer hid, having made up of potshards and other finds - to have kept the heat. The archaeological material of the settlement building is composed, besides the ceramics to be in greater quantities, of iron fragments, mill- or grinding stones, slags, lumps/clods of wattle-and-daub, really of burnt daubing, hacked bone and other osteological remains. The preponderance of the wheel-turned fragments is peculiar to the pottery and the dominance of grey coloured ones, within the fine earthenware. Typical decoration of the vessels, made of clay being mixed with no additional material, is the polishing in striped, wavylined and net patterns. There is, nevertheless, instance for the grooved ornamentation as well. From the fragments four potteryforms can be reconstructed, such as bowl, pot, jug and dolium. Within the bowls we are by all means able to separate two variants, a hemisphere-like and a conical one. There appears a rim-form (so-called hanging-collar-like) composing a certain definite group, that is probably late, of Hun Age. The pots, bildy-bellied products with different shaping of the mouth and disked-ringed sole may have been by far the greatest number. Out of the filling of the settlement feature we managed to collect the pieces of a slenderly-bodied, high broad-shouldered pot decorated with a single polished wavy-line, which was to be in extenso reconstructed. The jug with a handle and the dolium (large storing vessel) are represented by only a few potsherds in our archaeological relics. In the case of the wheel-made potter's products touching rough, we can clearly separate the grey and brown coloured groups (the latter is also unlike in its material) • the former had been made on speedily rotating wheel, the second on slowly whirled one. Common trait is that we face exclusively pots having in general a shoulder situated higher. By one specimen of the brown-"micaceous" variant, combed-in wavy-line bundle and impressions form the decoration. The fragments made of rough clay and modelled by free-hands are originating from similar vessels, in one case with incised decoration in form of wavy-line bundle. One spindle-disc is, carved from vessel-side, stray find. Designation of the two bands of iron has, in this form, been indefinable. Two out of the three stone fragments originate undoubtedly from handpowered rotational mills. The remaining parts, pieces of the find material beyond the pottery are customary, ordinary/everyday antiquities having almost permanently got to the surface by the settlement excavations. (Translated by the author with grammatical corrections) 142