Miklós Kásler - Zoltán Szentirmay (szerk.): Identifying the Árpád Dynasty Skeletons Interred in the Matthias Church. Applying data from historical, archaeological, anthropological, radiological, morphological, radiocarbon dating and genetic research (Budapest, 2021)
CHAPTER ELEVEN – SUMMARY
CHAPTER ELEVEN ZOLTÁN SZENTIRMAY SUMMARY 1. Evidence supporting the identification of skeleton 11/52 as Béla II 1. Archaeological data. The grave marked 11/52 was 40 centimetres deeper than Béla Ill ’s grave, suggesting an earlier burial. The man resting in the grave laid in a coffin made of carved sandstone, which was placed on poles stuck into the muddy soil. The burials circumstances point toward the grave being one of Hungary ’ s 12 th century Kings. The grave marked II/52_3 was located directly next to Béla Ill ’s grave, which, bearing contemporary burial customs in mind, suggests a close family relationship. In the 12th century, only Kings and their families were buried inside the Royal Basilica. So when determining family relations, only Kings that died earlier could be considered: these were Béla II (t 1141 ), Géza II (+1162) and Béla Ill ’s brothers, László II (+1163), and István IV (+1165). Béla Ill ’s brothers were pretenders, and thus it is unlikely that Béla III would have been buried next to one 207
