Somogyi Múzeumok Közleményei 14. (2000)

Gömöri János: Az avarkori és X-XI. századi vaskohászat régészeti emlékei Somogy megyében

217 The archaeometallurgical sites of county Somogy in the Avar and early Árpád-period JÁNOS GÖMÖRI The Working Group on Industrial Archaeology recorded nearly 60 industrial archaeological sites in county Somogy. Among these sites, there are 3 prehistoric work places of stone industry, 5 potteries, 3 lime-kilns, 24 bronze metallurgical and 25 iron production sites. This essay is about the archaeometallurgical sites of county Somogy, which are recorded in the Industrial Site-register of Hungary by the archaeologists of the county. The sites excavated by the author are reported in greater details. They are two iron production sites from the Avar period (Magyaratád and Zamárdi) and two from the 10

th century AD. (BodrogAlsóbű and Somogyfajsz). Bodrog-Alsóbíí (1999) The Temető-dűlő (Graveyard-field) next to Pogány (Pagan)brook was excavated by the author and Kálmán Magyar. The size of the working pit found there is 24 x 16 metres. It contains at least three-four workshops („A"-„D"), with 15-20 enlarging periods. Altogether 43 iron-smelting furnaces and two baking ovens were found in the site, but they did not work all at the same time. In a smelting season, two or three new iron-smelting furnaces were built. The baking ovens were also part of the workshops. The furnaces no. 21, 16, 17, 18, and 26 are on the latest part of the („C") working pit. The neighbouring part (measuring 9 x 9 metres) remained intact with the pit „D" of the baking oven (no. 15) and adjoining furnaces no. 14 and 22 and was parts of two workshops. In this place, the throats of the furnaces, i.e. their upper parts, remained in a fairly good condition. The above mentioned furnaces are as old as the pit-part „B" with furnaces no. 6, 7, and 12. The essay reports in details the methods of preparing and using the inscripted clay twyer. Age determination: Relative chronology: The furnaces of Bodrog-Alsóbű can be connected to the Imola-type furnaces excavated in county Sopron (in Sopron- Bánfalvi út, Répcevis, Szakony, Röjtökmuzsaj and North-east Hungary. Their shape and size is the same, the only difference is in their working, in their method of blowing. The furnaces of Bodrog-Bű have breast walls. So have the furnaces of Somogyfajsz and Somogyvámos. They can be dated between the beginning of the 10

th century and the turning of the 10

th and 11

th century AD. Absolute chronology: above the furnace No. 10: C14: 717 728, 752 - 879, 682 - 922, 927-951 AD; baking oven no. 15: C14: 713 - 846, 673 - 905 AD. (Zsuzsa Szántó, Debrecen) Archaeomagnetic: the beginning of 10

th century AD. (Péter Márton) Magyaratád (1999) The longish slag site reminds us to the iron smelting site of the Avar period. On the southern edge of the slag site, the remains of a house 280 x 350 centimetres basic area with stone oven was excavated. It is similar to one of the dug-in houses of the Avar iron production workshops of Tarjánpuszta. The oven on the north-western edge was sometime re-built totally for a furnace-size oven, but there was not iron smelted in it as it is not burnt to grey. It is burnt red through only in 1 centimetre. It was built into loose yellow soil, so it was not suitable for archaeomagnetic sampling. Most of the finds of the filling of the house were at least 2 tons of iron slag and remains of the iron-smelting furnaces, breast walls with twyers. The finds were scattered from the upper layer to the lower unbroken ground. So the house is of the same age as the first phase of the bloomery. Northwards the second of the surface slag piles was excavated. Among the irregularly shaped pits we found the remains of a furnace in 20 centimetres deep under the today surface. Its highest intact wall is 25 centimetres high, but it is dug into the ground. The furnaces of this site are of the Avartype, similarly those in Tarjánpuszta and Zamárdi, which were built partly into the earth. They were practically free-standing furnaces as they were not cut into the wall of the working pit. But as in Magyaratád, there was a shallow slag tapping pit, which diameter was between 50 and 105 centimetres, in front of them. One of the characteristics of this site is the numerous breast walls, which also reminds the above mentioned furnace-type. The pits full of iron slag were bordered by double ditch sloping towards the brook. The filling of the ditches contained lots of iron slag. Age determination: Relative chronology: in the early Middle Ages (between the Roman and the Árpád-period) or in the late migration period, the place of an earlier village was occupied by the smelters. They probably re-used the buildings of the late village, so it is possible that the village and the works co-existed. Nor in the furnace, or in the ditch excavated in 10 metres length, and in the pits was found any typical pottery, which could have been used for dating, with the exception of some scattered prehistoric and Roman potsherds and hand-made, plain pottery without any characteristic feature. As the dating potsherd is missing from the neighbourhood of the furnace, the iron smelting of Magyaratád can be dated to the AvarOnogur period only on the basis of furnace-typology. That means that the furnace existed in the second half of the Avar period, but possibly not later than the 8

th century. Absolute chronology: first furnace: C14: 625-657, 586-673 AD; the first house (with Roman and Avar (?) hand-made ceramics) C14: 462 - 498, 513 - 576, 444 - 602 AD; seventh pit (Avar, hand-made ceramics): 579 - 659, 458 - 497, 513 687 AD (Zsuzsa Szánó, Debrecen, ATOMKI). Archaeomagnetic: before 850 AD (Péter Márton, ELTE). Somogyfajsz: (1988, 1995) In the work pit 16 metres in diameter, 21 iron-smelting furnaces were dug out. The diameter of the hearth of the furnaces built into the side of the workshop are 35-40 centimetres in average. Their inner areas are pear-shaped, and their inner height could be about 70 centimetres. The clay furnaces are similar to the Imola-type iron smelting furnaces in their size and form. However, differently from the Imola-type furnaces, there are breast walls in Somogyfajsz. Two main periods of use can be observed at the iron smelting place. The work pit no. I. was built in a dip on a 6 x 8 meters area. The entry of the pit opened to the brook. From the same direction, the furnaces sunk into the wall of the workshop were