A Veszprém Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 22. (Veszprém, 2002)

S. Perémi Ágota: A Lesencetomaj–Piroskereszt Keszthely-kultúrás temető övveretes sírjai

9. /. Belt mountings cut out of bronze metal sheet. The mountings from graves 67, 95, 227 and 293 may be classified as the variant cut out of bronze metal sheet. All four are of different character. In grave 67 there were oblong mountings strengthened with five large-headed rivets. The ones in grave 227 were similar, ornamented with filigree of opposing triangles. Besides these, oblong mountings with ring pendants and oblong hole guards were also discovered. The oblong mountings cut out of bronze metal sheet were in use at the end of the middle Avar period and the beginning of the late Avar period, as were the mountings ornamented with filigree triangles and the mountings with ring pendants. The Lesencetomaj belt mountings cut from bronze metal sheet also fit this date. The round mountings from grave 95 can be said to be very rare. Mountings similar to these, decorated with a traced arc and a row of punched dots, are known from only a few sites. Grave 95 can be dated to the beginning of the late Avar period. The belt of the child resting in grave 293 was decorated with only one mounting. This grave can also be dated to the late Avar period. 9.2. Belt mountings pressed from metal sheet The greatest number of belt mountings discovered were of pressed metal sheet (graves 96, 122, 222, 223, 342, 388). Of these, the mountings from graves 223 and 342 are similar, with regard to their mode of ornamentation. Due to plundering, only a fragmentary section of one mounting remained in each of graves 222 and 388. In the case of grave 122, also plundered, the situation is somewhat better, as some of the mountings could be reconstructed. Based on parallels and the accompanying finds, the square mountings from grave 96 may also be placed in the late Avar period. Unfortunately, the mountings from grave 122 are only fragmentary. Similar examples pressed from sheet metal are not known, but they show some similarity with the pieces decorated in the centre with precious stone inlays discovered in the Zamárdi graves 10 and 187. The pieces from grave 122 may be later copies of these. Small strap ends, two almost complete and one totally fragmentary, were also found here. In one of them, there was a wooden underlay supporting the pressed metal face. Because of the disturbances, only fragments of the mounted belts remained in graves 222 and 388. In the former were the face and reverse of a small strap end pressed from bronze sheet, an iron belt loop and a square iron buckle. Based on parallels, the small fragments of metal sheet work from grave 388 can be dated to the second half of the 7

th century. The two Lesencetomaj graves saw the light of day in the section of the cemetery dated to the late period of the Avar age. The belt mountings found in graves 223 and 342 were decorated with an engraved, square plaited ribbon pattern. The plait pattern engraved in the tin-plated bronze metal sheet from grave 223 was angular, decorated inside with punched dots. The decoration of the belt from grave 342 was somewhat different. The plait patterns decorated with tiny punched dots linked the rivets in the four corners together in two rows, with a square pattern in the centre, or an X pattern in the case of one mounting. The rivets are surrounded by a circular plait pattern. Based on their production type, the mountings can be dated to the final third of the 7

tn century, the middle Avar period, whereas the graves are from the beginning of the late Avar period. In grave 204, little belt mountings threaded between melon-seed shaped beads were used secondarily as necklace decorations. Reviewing the bronze metal sheet belt mountings, it is striking that among the metal sheet belt sets found in Avar cemeteries of similar age, small strap ends are found much more frequently than in Lesencetomaj. It is even more remarkable, and almost characteristic of the Lesencetomaj belt sets, that large strap ends are completely lacking. The composition of the belt sets is relatively simple: mountings, hole guards, small strap ends, belt loops, and buckles. Based on both form and decoration, the production time of the belt mountings, either cut or pressed from metal sheet, may be fixed as the early Avar period, with the observation that these were worn over a long period of time. The latest of the graves with these belt mountings were uncovered close to the grave with the griffin-tendril materials, dated to the late Avar period, on the edge of the late, western section of the cemetery. 9.3. Cast bronze belt mountings Until now, there has only been one case in the Lesencetomaj cemetery where griffin-tendril belt sets have been discovered, in grave 240 in the late, western section of the cemetery. The grave can be dated to the late Avar period, as can the small belt mounting fragment kept in a pouch from grave 237. SUMMARY The 11 graves with belt mountings in the Lesencetomaj cemetery comprise less than 3 % of the 394 graves excavated to date. This proportion is not unusual in the Keszthely culture cemeteries. Furthermore, the larger number of metal sheet belt sets compared with the cast mountings is not a unique feature of the Lesencetomaj cemetery, as the material from the other cemeteries also shows a similar picture. It can be determined on this basis, that graves containing belt mountings are not at all typical of the cemeteries containing pure Keszthely culture material, and of those that do, principally the belts sets dated to the middle Avar period are notable as the most frequently occurring. In spite of the differing hypotheses, the reasons for this must be further investigated. Based on the relatively small amount of find material discussed above, it is clear that no far-reaching conclusions can be drawn. The graves with belt mountings may be considered important and by no means negligible supplementary material alongside the results obtained from the examination of other object types. 96