A Nyíregyházi Jósa András Múzeum évkönyve 46. (Nyíregyháza, 2004)

Régészet - Mikhailo Potushniak: Data the question of the Stračevo/Körös Culture dwellings in the Upper Tisza Region

Data to the question of the Starcevo/Körös Culture dwellings in the Upper Tisza Region Mikhailo Potushniak In the second half of the 1970s and in the 1980s the author investigated two settlements of the Starcevo/Körös (Cris) Culture (SKC) in the Transcarpathian Region. By this time, the settlement of Méhtelek-Nádas and a number of other sites was known in the northeastern part of Hungary. The question of their ethnocultural attribution has been discussed for a long time (KALICZ-MAKKAY 1976; KALICZ-MAKKAY 1977). Sites investigated in the Transcarpathian Region definitely supported the suggestion about the direct presence of the Starcevo/Körös communities in the Upper Tisza region, and showed that the whole of northeastern valley of the Tisza river belonged to the SKC (POTUSHNIAK 1985). Zastavne-MalaHora/Zápszony-Kishegy The first settlement was researched at the village of Zastavne, site Mala Hora. The site is situated in the central part of the Kosino-Zastavne Highland of volcanic origin that emerges independently in the Transcarpathian Plain, in the southwestern part of the county. The southern end of the highland is situated on the territory of Hungary. Cultural remains of the settlement could be registered at a surface not larger than 1-1.5 hectares, along the western side of the site, situated at the lowest part of the highland. The cultural layer could be traced 0.3-0.6 m deep from the modern surface. At several spots it was disturbed by deep ploughing. About 1200 sq. m of the site were investigated divided into squares and test trenches placed at different parts of the site. During three excavation campaigns (1976-1977,1982) we researched five dwelling assemblages: three subterranean and three semi-subterranean houses. In the following we offer the short description of the investigated features. Subterranean house la/76 (fig. 1) was represented by an elongated oval pit dug into the subsoil and cut by pits of different shapes and depths. The axis of the house was directed from north to south. It was 12.4x6.1 m large, 0.7-1.8 m deep from the level of registering the pit. The deepest part was in its northwestern sector. Taking into consideration that the upper part of the pit was cut to 0.2 m by deep ploughing (it could be traced by the strong appearance of the cultural layer on the ploughed surface of the soil), the original depth of the house could be 0.9-2 m. In the process of the cleaning the dwelling, we could trace two horizons: the upper one belonging to the semi-subterranean house (1/76 - fig. 2) and the lower one belonging to the subterranean house (la/1976). The base of the subterranean house could be traced after the cleaning of the semi-subterranean house. As it became clear later, the whole northern and partly the southern part of the subterranean house was basically reconstructed. Only its central part remained almost untouched. All the deep bases of the subterranean house were covered by yellow subsoil clay, the colour of which hardly differed from the subsoil of the pit. At first, this circumstance caused certain NyJAME XLVI. 2004. 53-69.