H. Bathó Edit – Gecse Annabella – Horváth László – Kaposvári Gyöngyi szerk.: Tisicum - A Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Megyei Múzeumok Évkönyve 16. (2007)
Schytian Age Cemetery Hear Abony
ZOLTÁN POLGÁR SCHYTIAN AGE CEMETERY NEAR ABONY The rescue site No. 65, along the by-road of the long-distance road No. 4 was excavated by the Directorate of County Pest Museums and the Directorate of County Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Museums in the spring of 2003 was a section of a cemetery from the Scythian Age. The rescue site can be found on the eastern side of the road from Abony to Újszász, on a high ground risen from the sorroundings about 5-6 metres, and its direction is north-east—south-west. The excavation happened between 14 th July, 2003 and 18 th August, 2003. The unearthed area was approx. 5500 m 2 . We excavated 163 graves during the rescue operation, and 33 objects of modern times or of unidentifiable times for being without finds. The unearthed graves show different burial rites, namely stretched out skeletons, contracted skeletons on the right or left side, unurned cremations and inurned burial can be found. Among the burials the cremations are in majority, altogether (unurned and inurned) 85, and the number of inhumed burials (stretched out skeletons and contracted skeletons) is 75. The adequate proportion would be defíned after the totál unearth of the cemetery. Bones of hands and feet are missing from several graves, one of the reasons could be the mutilating of dead occuring in Scythian cemeteries, but unfortunately in several times the machine which found the grave, removed the bones, and in somé of the graves the poor quality bones were absorbed by the earth. In the cemetery we excavated somé special graves, among them double burials and cenotaph graves. Most of the grave-offerings are vessels, which contained food and drink for the deceased's trip to the otherworld. Among them hand-formed and wheel-made pottery alsó occur. The materials are characteristically from the Scythian Age, among the female jewels the so-called spirál pendants can be found in 4 graves, altogether 8 pieces. Peacock-eyed pearls were alsó found. Among the male graves a grave of a man at arms buried with battle-axe was unearthed, and two arrow-heads without typical three-edged socket were found in a grave. The excavation of the cemetery section is not completed, it extends to the north and south. According to the already excavated materials the cemetery belongs to the group of the Great Hungárián Plain of the Scythian Age, its use can be dated back to the 6 th and5 th centuryB.C. 326
