A nyíregyházi Jósa András Múzeum évkönyvei 53. (Nyíregyháza, 2011)

Régészet - Istvánovits Eszter - Pintye Gábor: Az alföldi Barbaricum mécsesei

Az alföldi Barbaricum mécsesei Lamps of the Barbaricum of the Great Hungarian Plain The study would like to draw attention to an object type that has been neglected by researchers. We did not intend to compile a complete catalogue of the finds, our aim was to represent all the types on our disposal. We assumed that Roman Firmalampen (Fig. 1-3) are very rare in the Barbaricum of the Hungarian Plain. Candelabra (Fig. 4; 5:1) known from two graves must had been prestige gifts. Animal shaped lamps are unique (Fig. 6-7). Among the latter, in the case of the pieces made of clay (Fig. 10), it was suggested that they, with only some exceptions (Fig. 9), got into the features of the Roman Age secondarily, being products of earlier periods. Four boat shaped iron lamps (Fig. 1112) belong to the same type; all of them are dated to the late-4

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h century. To determine the origin of shoe shaped lamps (Fig. 13-17) rare in Sarmatian milieu, the future research should take into account beside Roman provinces also the Pontus Region (Fig. 19). „Iron" and „boat" shaped finds (Fig. 20-22) are traditionally considered to be lighting facilities. We consider as a variant of this type the oval lamps with spouted rim (Fig. 23-26). Representatives of the type belong mostly to rare finds of the Late Sarmatian (Hun Age) settlements. In the case offlat bowls (Fig. 27-32) and small vessels with cylindrical body (Fig. 33-34) we suggest on the basis of ethnographic data that they could be (also) used for lighting. Among them we should take into account mainly the ones with traces of smut and/or burning. In the case of two-part vessels (Fig. 35-38) these traces are regularly observed, so in all probability they belonged to the means of illumination. Most of them can be dated to the 2

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d cc. Already earlier it has been suggested that angular vessels (Fig. 39-43) could be used as incense-burners, similarly to the small bowls with perforated walls (Fig. 44). We suggest that they can be related to the use of narcotics (cannabis) known in the world of beliefs of Sarmatians (Herod. IV,

74-75). Similarly to the two-part pieces, the majority of angular vessels appear in the materials dated to the 2

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d cc. Both variants belong to the archaic object types of the freshly immigrating Sarmatian population. The so-called „Dacian cups " (Fig. 45-46) seem to be the most common lamps of the Sarmatian Barbaricum. In the Great Hungarian Plain they were continuously used from the Late Iron Age up to the Hun Age. Small handmade bowls with handles (Fig. 47) are somewhat similar to the Dacian cups, but cannot be included into the classical type. Finally, we can find smutted pieces that could be used as lamps on the basis of ethnographic parallels, among pottery that once was broken and the edge of the breaking surface was polished. No scientific examinations were conducted at any of the represented finds. In the future we consider it to be an important step forward to make analyses of the traces of burning. They would bring us closer to the determination of function of lamps and incense vessels. Translated by Valéria Kulcsár Eszter ISTVÁNOVITS - Gábor PINTYE Jósa András Múzeum Nyíregyháza H—4401 Pf. 57 e-mail: istvanov@jam.nyirbone.hu • pintyester@gmail.com 111