A Nyíregyházi Jósa András Múzeum évkönyve 43. (Nyíregyháza, 2001)

Természettudomány - István Vörös: Burials with horse from the Age of Hungarian Conquest in the Upper Tisza region I. Szabolcs–Nyírség

A Felső-Tisza-vidék honfoglalás kori lovastemetkezései I. Burials with horse from the Age of Hungarian Conquest in the Upper Tisza region I. Szabolcs-Nyírség In Northeast Hungary burials with horse were found at 38 sites of the Upper Tisza region, in the territory of Szabolcs-Nyírség. At 3 sites (NN 6, 7, 32) the number of graves is unknown (x). At 35 sites a total of 312 graves was found: the number of graves is 1-20 at 16 sites, 1-31+x at 19 sites (Table 1). At six sites the number of burials with horses is unknown (NN 6, 14, 16, 17, 35, 36 -x). In 32 cemeteries we know at least 78 burials with horses: at 27 sites the number of burials with horses is 1-12, at 5 sites (NN 10, 3, 13, 22, 28) 1-2-11+x. One burial with horse occurs at 19 sites: at 8 sites these are single burials, at 11 sites (number of graves: x, 2-30 +x) in cemeteries. In the cemeteries of the period of the Hungarian Conquest and of Árpád Age 1 (NN 5, 7, 9, 26), 1+x (N 10), 2+x (N 3) and x (N 30) burials with horse were found. In the graves with horse there were buried 51 men, 14 women and 1 child. In 16 sites of 38 also so-called "burials with horse-harness" were found, a total of 26+x. The situation of the parts of sacrificed horses' bodies could be studied in 42 cases (fig. 4-6). In 22 burials with horse hide, the head and the feet of the horse were found left (north) of the buried person or right (south) to it, on the same side; in 10 graves the head of the horse was beside the dead and its feet beneath the feet of the deceased person (east); in 3 graves the head and the forefeet of the horse were found beside the dead, the feet part of the hind legs in front of the feet (east) of the dead person. Among the burials with horse hide there were the following types: "stuffed" hide - 7 cases (fig. 6: 9), mát folded beside the dead - 15 cases (fig. 6: 10), hide folded at the feet of the dead - 9 cases (fig. 6: 11) and the spread hide - 4 cases (fig. 4: 4; 5: 10, 12; 6: 12). Burial with horse, but without hide occurred in 6 graves (fig. 6: 12). According to the remains that could be determined, 10 horses were mares. Their age is the following: 1 of'juvenilis age (29/8), 9 of adultus age (5/199, 23/1, 2, 29/1, 3, 6, 10, 12, 13) and 3 oimaturus age (22/I-II, 25). Their height is the following: 4 low (5/199, 23/1, 29/6, 8), 5 medium small (25, 29/1, 10, 12, 13) and 2 medium large (23/2, 29/3) (Table 2). In 14 graves of 7 cemeteries sheep and cattle remains were found as grave-food. Sheep humerus/femur bones were deposited beneath the head/shoulder and feet of the deceased. Sheep and cattle lumbars do not belong to primary grave-food. Other animal remains are amulets made of horse, cattle, fox and wolf teeth and animal attributes (?): horse o. ph. I. A headless skeleton of a young cat was found in Ibrány-Esbó halom (N 5), grave 224. Dog burials are known from the Árpád Age part of the Ibrány-Esbó halom cemetery, and at the southern part of cemeteries Rakamaz-Túróczi part (N 21), Rakamaz-Strázsahalom (N 22), Bashalom-II (N 29). Translated by Valéria Kulcsár István VÖRÖS Hungarian National Museum Budapest H-1370 Pf. 364.