A Veszprém Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 23. (Veszprém, 2004)

Pintér László: Királyszentistván templom körüli temetője

THE CEMETERY SURROUNDING KIRÁLYSZENTISTVÁN CHURCH The village of Királyszentistván lies on the western edge of the Séd floodplain, on the south slope of a slight rise. The Reformed church stands at the western end of the village, alongside the Main Street (Fő u.). The church, with a triplevaulted nave linked to a semi-circular sanctuary and provided with a frontal tower, is Neo-classical at present, but graves discovered in spring 2003 confirm the assumption that the present-day church, built in 1839^42, may stand on the site of the mediaeval church. It may be concluded from the name of the village, that the parish church was dedicated to King Saint Stephen (István), and it may have been built in the second half of the 13"' century. No mediaeval references are known, just documentation on the parish priests has survived.

1 The cemetery surrounding the church is first heard of in 1962, when skeletons were found while digging ditches in the little square which broadens out along the axis of the main street. Even today, human bones are found while gardening in the forecourts of the plots close to the church. In spring 2003, graves were discovered while sewers were being laid in Petőfi Street, which runs behind the sanctuary. The ditch dug at that time ran right behind the church, around 5.5 metres from the sanctuary. The depth of the excavated graves is variable. Most of them lay 60-70 cm below the present pedestrian level, but in a few cases, the graves were found at a much greater depth. No connection has been perceived between the depth of the graves and the date of the interments. The deeper lying graves were located on the southern edge of the segment, which at the same time is the south edge of the cemetery. (The last grave lay 24,5 metres from the church sanctuary.) No trace of an encircling wall, surrounding the cemetery round the The place of discovery is registered in the Archaeological Topography of Hungary (MRT 2. 26/2.) church, has been found in the segment. The graves in the cemetery are positioned very closely to one another (as is typical of graveyards surrounding churches); there are many graves which were disturbed by later burials, and a great many scattered bones. Bones from earlier graves which were disturbed during later burials were collected together at the dug out graveside (skulls on one side, skeletal bones on the other) and then they were left in the grave. A great many „skull rows" of this sort, as well as heaps of skeletal bones have been found. In the earliest graves in the cemetery, „S"ended hair rings and necklaces made of cornelian beads were found, and in one case, a simple band ring was also on the deceased's hand. In the great majority of the graves, there were no find materials at all. In a child's grave belonging to the later period of the cemetery, a maiden's headdress was found. Traces of coffin burials were observed in several graves (fragments of coffins, coffin nails). The state of the skeleton in a few graves indicated that the deceased was buried wrapped in canvas or rushes. As scattered finds, many Árpád period and late mediaeval ceramics were discovered, which cannot be linked with objects. Other scattered finds are a 15"' century spur and a silver obulus which may be dated to the early 12"' century. The first graves of the cemetery are 11 "'— 12"

1 century, and discontinuation of the graveyard may be placed in the 18th century, or at the end of the 17"'. 142 objects were found on the site, 138 of these being graves or remains of graves. Besides the graves, two early Iron Age pits were also unearthed. The dating of two further pits was uncertain, due to lack of find materials. 114