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

Régészet - Mikhailo Potushniak: A multilevel settlement on Mala Hora at Mukachevo/Munkács–Kishegy

Mikhailo Potushniak Among the glass shaped vessels we have both ornamented and plain ones. The motif of the ornament is the same as on the cups - different rectilinear compositions keeping the panel system of ornamentation (Pl. IV.7, V. 17, VI.4,6). e. In the collection of the Late Neolithic pottery we have some fragments ofbowls standing on high conical or cylindrical pedestals. There is a significant amount of ground limestone in the clay. Some pieces of it appear on the rough surface of brick-red or brownish color. The interior of the pedestals is gray or black, sometimes even smoothed. Judging from the analogies, the upper part of the vessels was modeled in the shape of a deep or biconical bowl. The average height of the pedestals is 8-12 cm (Pl. V.6-7). f. A characteristic form of the Late Neolithic vessels is represented by a beaker. We have one piece of a bottom part of a beaker from the excavations by J. Böhm. These were vessels with a wide bottom. Walls are slightly narrowing from the bottom up to the middle of the body and then start to widen towards the neck. The piece from Mala Hora II was made of clay tempered with small ground limestone. The exterior is light red, the interior is black polished. The diameter of the bottom is 14 cm, the height of the remained part is 9 cm, the whole vessel could have been 25-30 cm high (PI. V.l). Rich collections of partly preserved beakers were found at the settlements of Drisino-Mala Hora II and Zastavne-Kovadomb II. Fragments were met at the settlement Beregovo/Beregszász-Ardivska Hora (PELESHISHIN 1979. ris. 2.6; 3.8). The piece from Mala Hora II is the largest example among the ones found at the mentioned sites. g. Among the Late Neolithic vessels there were also lids evidenced by a mushroom shaped handle, that probably belonged to a lid (PI. VI. 11). h. Miniature vessels are represented by two restored pieces. The first one is a bowl like cup of grayishbrown color. Its sizes are the following: the diameter of the rim - 7.5 cm, that of the bottom - 3.3 cm, height- 5.8 cm (Pl. V.2). The second one is a barrow shaped cup with a smoothed brownish surface. Its wall is gray in the middle, there is a significant amount of organic temper. Its sizes are the following: the diameter of the rim - 4.5 cm, that of the bottom - 2.8 cm, height-7.5 cm (Pl. V.9). A fragment of a female clay statuette also belonged to the Late Neolithic level of the settlement. It was probably found by the Zatlukal brothers. The surface of the statuette is smoothed, reddish brown and is covered by vertical incised lines (PI. VI. 13). A fragment of a bowl also belonged to an anthropomorphic vessel. On the exterior side of the bowl a part of plastical human depiction remained. The arms of the human being are bent in elbows and turned upward. The head is accented, but the features of the face were not contoured. The depiction resembles a moving man. The exterior and interior surface of the fragment and that of the figure is of reddish brown color, plain, smoothed. The clay of the vessel was tempered with limestone and chamot (PI. VI.12). Finally we have to underline that the assemblage from Mala Hora II must be included into the circle of the PC and put to end of its early period that according to our inner periodization of this culture corresponds to the end of the Late Neolithic. The settlement on Mala Hora II conditionally can be synchronized with the material from the settlement of Zemplín/Zemplén in East Slovakia. The latter must have come from the late stage, but because of its one phase character, it is earlier. Here some corrections can be made, because only a selected material from Zemplin was published and we do not get a full picture on the whole assemblage. Besides, the material from Mukachevo-Mala Hora II is represented by not stratified collection. However, it is undoubtable that the material from Zemplin is later than the settlements of the early stage: Zastavne-Kovadomb II and Beregovo-Ardivska Hora. Materials from Mala Hora II chronologically are earlier than the ones from Cicarovce. The materials from Mala Hora II must be put after settlements of Drisino-Mala Hora II, Zastavne-Kovadomb II and Beregovo-Ardivska Hora. Mala Hora III. The third period of inhabitation of the site can be put to the late Copper Age and connected from ethno-cultural point of view with the Baden Culture (POTUSHNIAK 1972.89). Collection dated to the Baden time is represented by about 200 units of pottery, some clay objects and stone tools. According to the inventory numbers, the majority of the finds of this time come from the excavations of the Zatlukal brothers. Fragments of medium size ornamented vessels dominate. There is no rough, not decorated coarse ware in the collection. The majority of ceramics is made of well processed clay. In the clay we find quartz sand, chamot. The surface of the fragments is smoothed, its color is black, grayish-black, brownish-red and dark brown. The interior surface is usually thoroughly smoothed, black or dark brown. There can be separated a small group of ceramic with exclusively sand in its clay. The vessels of this 14