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Pál Raczky - András Füzesi

The reconstruction of symbolic events from the past The archaeological study of a Late Neolithic site at Öcsöd-Kováshalom

An extraordinary ceramic assemblage was excavated at Öcsöd-Kováshalom, from the Tisza I. layer of the tell-like settlement, which can be dated to the very end of the 6th millennia BC based on radiocarbon data. The assemblage was found in a communal space that was a 4 by 12 m open area bordered by three houses. The two vessels - a large face pot and a flat rectangular bowl - identified in the assemblage were culturally connected to the Middle Neolithic, Szakálhát and Linear Pottery traditions. While the fragments of the perforated flat bowl remained in the original place of activity, the sherds of the face pot were scattered in a large area. Behavioural differences can be seen in these two different uses of space. The deliberate ‘scattering’ of the sherds of the face pot quasi expanded the action radius of a space-limited act. The pieces left in place ‘perpetuated’ the event in order to create a ‘memorial place’. The two vessels are connected into an organic unit based on the manipulation of liquid. The central element of the reconstructed celebration was a communal consumption of food and drinks. The frame of these events was defined by the various dimensions of feasting and ritual. The four exit holes of the rectangular vessel and the four-four hands and four anthropomorphic figurines on the face pot materialize the communal level that goes beyond the framework of the households, the vessels, and the activity performed with them. The reconstructed ritual could be a mediation tool for the self-identification of the community, and for emphasizing the integration that took place at that period of the settlement.

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