A Nyíregyházi Jósa András Múzeum évkönyve 41. - 1999 (Nyíregyháza, 1999)

Régészet - Ivan Popovich: Study of the Early Iron Age sites in the Transcarpathian region

Ivan Popovich section. The blade is double-edged, slightly narrowing at the basis. The width of the narrowing part is 3 cm. The maximal width of the blade is 3.7 cm. In the centre there is a half-spherical ridge narrowing towards the end (PI. 1.1). Swords with antenna shaped pommel have not been known in the Transcarpathian region until now. We do not meet them in the Carpathian basin either. A similar type of a hilt was found only in village Vorona in the Kolomyia region (IvanoFrankovsk county of the Ukraine) (MALEEV 1992.194. ris. 2). Swords with antenna shaped pommel are characteristic for the Alps region where they have been most spread and were dated to the period HB

2 (MÜLLER-KARPE 1959.214, Abb. 50.10). A sword from Podzemelj (Slovenia) also has an antenna shaped pommel (GABROVEC 1966. Abb. 1.2) and was dated to the second half of the 8th cent. B.C. (HB

3

) (CHOCHOROWSKI 1993.216-217). Such a late date of the Slovenian sword was established by Gabrovec on the basis of the tube form of the attachment of the hilt. According to the publisher, this refers to its connection to the Central European Cimmerian finds that are missing in Slovenia. The blade of the sword narrowing at the basis of the upper part has a lot of analogies from the territory of the Carpathian basin and may have a local origin. 2. Lower part of a sword. Its length is 4.7 cm. Its cross-section is rhomboid at the basis. The fragment is covered by a strong patina (PL 1.4). 3. The lower part of a blade of a bronze sword with rhomboid cross-section. It is ornamented by three parallel lines. The length of the preserved part is 22.5 cm. There is a crack on the blade. The maximal width of the blade is 3.8 cm. There is a fresh broken surface at the upper and lower part of the blade (PI. 1.2). 4. A lower part of a double bladed sword. The length of the preserved fragment is 15.4 cm. The blade has an irregular rhomboid cross-section. The utmost width of the blade is 3.5 cm, the broken surface is fresh. The patina was fully cleaned off (PI. 1.5). 5. Fragment of probably the middle part of a blade with a rhomboid cross-section. The length of the preserved part is 19.4 cm. The utmost width of the blade is 3.8 cm. The surface is covered by a strong patina. The end of the blade was recently rubbed. There is an ornament consisting of two parallel lines (PI. 1.3). Unfortunately, there are no narrow chronological features on any of the represented swords. We can suggest only indirectly that - according to the evidence of the eyewitnesses - a pommel of a sword from this treasure was cup shaped. So, the sword with the antenna shaped pommel is the most significant from chronological point of view. If we take into account the rarity of finds of this type of sword in the Carpathian basin from one hand, and the mass spread of these weapons in the Alps in period HB

2 from the other hand, and the appearance of these swords in a slightly modernized form under the impact of Thraco-Cimmerian finds of Central Europe at the Balkans (Slovenia) during period HB

3 - all these provide us a basis to date our find to the end of the 9th - beginning of the 8th cent. B.C. Taking into account the dating of the latest Gáva treasures to the turn of HB,-HB_

V we have to put the starting date of the latest pre-Kushtanovica sites to the beginning of the 8th century B.C. In the context of the chronological determination of the treasure described above a special importance is gained by the question of contacts of the population of the Upper Tisza region with the territories east of the Carpathian range. This question has got a long history (LEHOCZKY 1892.43, PASTERNAK 1928.38, BERNJAKOVIC 1960.216-218, KRUSHEL'NICKA 1985.). The most complete data on the ways of contacts between the population of the Transcarpathian region and that of the Eastern Carpathians in the Late Bronze Age are represented in J. Kobal's work (KOBAL' 1993.127-129). According to his observations the main direction was the one following the valley of river Latorica/Latorca situated very close to the valleys of rivers Borzhava/Borzsa and Irshava/Ilosva. Then the road crossed foot-hills towards the Verecke pass. On the opposite side of the mountains this road led to the upper valley of river Strij and then to the Dniester (KOBAL' 1993.128). This direction can be connected with the appearance of the sword with antenna shaped pommel at village Chornij Potik at Irshava from one side of the Carpathians and the one in the Kolomyia region from the other one. This conclusion does not contradict with the existence of a Gáva settlement at village Tyshiv/Csendes, situated at the very foot of the Verecke pass. This settlement was investigated in 1975 by the Transcarpathian Rescue Work Expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the Ukrainian National Academy in the course of the construction of the road Uzhhorod/Ungvár-Verecke pass (PENIAKPOPOVICH-POTUSHNIAK 1976.376-377). The site is situated 500 m south from the village, at a slope leading to the pass at 800 m above the sea level. The cultural layer was disturbed when digging a pit for the road at a depth of 0.6 cm from the modern surface. This layer was composed by a thick level of clay plastering, the thickness of which exceeded 20 cm at a 4.2 m

2 large territory. These are obviously remains of an overground building that had a wickerwork construction evidenced by the imprints of branches on the pieces 138