A Nyíregyházi Jósa András Múzeum évkönyve 50. (Nyíregyháza, 2008)
Régészet - Istvánovits Eszter - Kulcsár Valéria: Az ún. „meót" típusú kardok/tőrök a Kárpát-medencében
WERNER 1956. Joachim Werner: Beiträge zur Archäologie des Attila-Reiches. Verlag der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, München 1956. WERNER 1959. Joachim Werner: Studien zu Grabfunden des V. Jahrhunderts aus der Slowakei und Karpatoukraine. SlovArch 7. 1959.422^138. ISTVÁNOVITS Eszter KULCSÁR Valéria Jósa András Múzeum Budapest Nyíregyháza H—1133 Pannónia u. 64/a. H^1401 Pf. 57. e-mail: hl3609kul@ella.hu e-mail: istvanov@jam.nyirbone.hu The so-called "Meotian" type swords/daggers in the Carpathian Basin Among characteristic weapons of the Early Migration Period the so called "Meotian" or "Micia" type swords (daggers) should be mentioned. These are short - 39^49 cm long - double blade swords with a shallow fuller and mostly rectangular cuts on the blade under the hilt. This swords traditionally called "Meotian" have nothing to do with Meots, a North-Caucasian tribe. Usually they are related to Alans. Most of the researchers agree that the birthplace of the type is in the North Caucasus. Swords/daggers with cuts under the hilt in the 4 lh century spread north and west, through the Crimea and the North Pontic steppe region, reached the Eastern Carpathians and appeared in the Carpathian Basin in the 5 LH century. Mapping of the sites shows the direction of Alanic expansion. In the Carpathian Basin we know 8 pieces. Only half of them were found as grave articles, the rest is either of unknown finding circumstances, or came from settlements. The piece from Keszthely-Fenékpuszta was unearthed in a storage pit, together with pieces of iron anvil, other iron tools and a human skeleton (sacrifical pit?). A newly published sword was found in the Danube. The same is the situation with two similar "Meotian" swords found in France, in the river Lot (Aquitaine, dep. Lot-et-Garonne). If we take into account not only swords/daggers found in the Carpathian Basin, but also those coming from the adjusting areas - the territory of the Cherniakhov Culture - we see that a relatively high number of these pieces was found at settlements or as stray finds. Taking into consideration the locus by Herodotus according to which Scythians practised the cult of sword, this circumstance made us suggest that "Meotian" swords could be used as sacrifices. Valéria KULCSÁR Budapest H— 1133 Pannónia u. 64/a. e-mail: hl3609kul@ella.hu Eszter ISTVÁNOVITS Jósa András Museum Nyíregyháza H^1401 Pf. 57. e-mai 1 : istvanov@jam. nyirbone.hu
