Achaeometrical Research in Hungary II., 1988

ANALYSES - LITHICS - Katalin T. BIRÓ: The study of polished stone implements in the Carpathian basin

Table 2 Lithotheca Inv. Nr. Source Name of the rock L 97/208 Nadap (Velence mts.) andésite L 97/209 Erdősmecske (Mecsek mts.) granite L 97/210 Glasshütten (AU) chlorite schist with magnetite L 97/211 Szársomlyó mt. (Fejér county) skarn L 97/212 A Kövestető (Mecsek mts.) phonolite L 97/212 В Polgárdi (Fejér county) crystalline limestone L 97/213 Szarvaskő, Tóbérc quarry (Bükk mts.) gabbro L 97/214 Misina plateau (Mecsek mts.) limestone L 97/215 Rumpersdorf (AU) serpentinite L 97/216 Harka quarry (Sopron mts.) gneiss L 97/217 Kismórágy (Mecsek mts.) aplitic granite L 97/218 Felsőcsatár (Kőszeg mts.) greenschist L 97/219 Sopron- Kőhegy (Sopron mts.) Grobgneiss L 97/220 Kisnána (Mátra mts.) andésite L 97/221 Medves quarry (near Salgótarján) basalt L 97/222 Brennbergbánya, Kovács árok mica schist L 97/223 Kantavár (Mecsek mt.) bitumenic limestone L 97/224 Sátoros mt. (Slovakia) amphibol-andesite with garnets L 97/225 Kisújbánya (Mecsek mts.) limestone L 97/226 Szarvaskő (Bükk mts.) ore peridotite Unfortunately, the traces of prehistoric mining activity are typically removed by modern quarrying, as Hungary is not very rich in high quality building stones - at least, as yet, we could not find traces of prehistoric mining or workshops on the source. We hope that further fieldwork will be more successful in this respect. Among the source areas surveyed so far, there are some "classical" sites known from the study of archaeological materials (e.g., Felsőcsatár, greenschist, Bernstein, serpentinite, different basalts), as well as some special materials which offer the possibility of exact identification both among the archaeological finds and the geological evidence. According to recent studies, the phonolite of the Mecsek Mts. can be one of these: the material was spotted in significant amounts at the well-known Neolithic site of Zengővárkony. Another raw material which can be a point-like a potential source is the Szarvaskő gabbro, which was also spotted in archaeological materials (so far only sporadically). The material collected as well as the collection of reference samples will be stored in the comparative raw material collection of the Hungarian National Museum, called Lithotheca. Here we have already collected some raw material types from the Carpathian Basin and its surroundings which can be considered important as possible sources of polished stone artefacts (see Map 1.). 2.3.3. The study of archaeological material The provenance study of polished stone tools in Hungary has so far had very modest results. In certain assemblages, there were some, mainly petrologically based studies. The results, however, could be contented only with the determination of the main rock types, due to the lack of basic research. Such studies were made on the material of the sites Vésztő, Tiszapolgár-Basatanya, Battonya-Parázstanya, Szécsény-Ültetés. The results, however, remained unpublished, or were registered as archived data only. The reason for 120