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 THREE – Archaeological, anthropological and radiological data
had been taken out, but ‘in one of the corners of the rectangular hole that had been dug out, a casket could be seen, which could only be excavated after the well’s completion.’ (City Council minutes 1848, 1596; Pauer 1849,2). Item 4509 from the City Council minutes from December 5, 1848 describes the discovery and opening of the first marble sarcophagus ‘20 and 30 feet away from the artesian well in a southeasterly direction’. The minutes describe the discovery of the ‘fragile bones of a human body’, which ‘according to the doctors’ analysis, was found to be the remains of a 40-year-old woman, next to her were ‘a simple silver crown weighing 15 carats’ and ‘fragments of a gold-threaded silk veil’. According to the resolution passed on this case, the circumstances point towards Árpád Dynasty remains. Notary Ede Eischl was tasked with bringing the items to the National Museum (the voucher number was 4573, the recipient was Ágoston Kubinyi, who took the findings as a gift). Eischl brought a letter to János Luczenbacher (János Érdy), secretary of the Academy, and the Defence Committee on ‘this interesting find’ and the fact that there seemed to be another grave next to the one that had been unearthed. The ‘nationally renowned expert on artifacts’ (János Érdy) was invited to the excavation of the other grave. Meanwhile, at the request of Mayor Hadhalmi, doctors in the city examined the first skeleton on December 5, at 2 pm in the afternoon. Mihály Marbik, Károly Hellensteiner, Ferenc Say, Ferenc Hanekker, János Schealler and József Aschner described a ‘woman of advanced age’, who had been buried ‘six hundred years prior’ (City Council Minutes 1848, 4510). Érdy entered the jewellery brought to Pest into the record of acquisitions on December 6, under Number 61. Starting from December 12, the records document the work of János Érdy and his 58
