Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 32/2. (2012)
Articles
A Perished Medieval Settlement in Udvarhelyszék 159 the old estate which was now owned by the town (SzOkl 1,282-283). The witness accounts given during the lawsuit reveal a lot of interesting information about the old villages inhabitants and its boundaries. The Berkes, Balázs, Nicolaj, Szentimrei, András, Péter, Móré, Kőműves, Kovács families were serfs of the Prince, Benedek Kertész was the Prince’s gardener, and Márton Székely was György Bethlen’s servant. Even if we only consider the above mentioned householders, we already have a community of up to 60-70 people, but that number could have also been a lot higher. The records also reveal the fact that the town left open lands and wastelands in the possession of the Szentimre villagers. Another inhabitant of Szentimre began to complain when he is asked to stand as witness in a lawsuit concerning a piece of land on the edge of Udvarhely (Odorhei). According to juratus examinatus fassus Mihály Faber, 200 forints worth of land and 20 forints worth of forests were taken from him and in return he only received land yielding about two stacks worth of hay (SzOkl ú.s. I, 34). The villagers from Szentimre, who had been moved into the town, did not grow to like their new home, so we find out that in March 1600 they wanted to move back to their old homes. The town turned to the Prince for help, who commanded the villagers of Szentimre to stay where they had been moved. Furthermore, we find out that the Berze family was still unsatisfied with the exchange, result of which it had received four families of serfs as well as a sum of 63 forints (SzOkl ú.s. Ill, 273). In the end, the primipilus family accepted their new lands and settled in Säncrai. Throughout the 17th century records we find in this village: in 1614 Balázs Berze and Péter Berze, in 1627 Balázs Berze (SzOkl ú.s. IV, 321, 786), in 1635 Balázs Berze and his son András (SzOkl ú.s. V, 254), and from 1692 onwards András Berze (SzOkl ú.s. VIII, 326). Following the closure of the lawsuits, there were still occasional cases of unevenness. At least this is what Transylvanian Prince Gábor Báthory’s 1609 decree to Boldizsár Kornis Ruszkai and John Petky Derzsi indicates, as it stipulates that they are to defend the town and the two villages annexed to it from any trouble makers (SzOkl 111,185). Following this decree no other sources on the village or its inhabitants can be found. Later on, mentions of the deserted village show up in the works of many local historians such as István Lakatos in 1702 (Lakatos 1990, 8), and then John Szeles (Szeles 1898, 388), but Balázs Orbán also makes reference to late Szentimre (Orbán 1868, 44). The village’s memory is kept today by different names of surrounding places and the actual spot where it used to sit is now called Puszta (Waste). Verőfény Valley The largest site near Odorheiu Secuiesc is situated 2 km south-east of the town. The archaeological site, covering 4-5 hectares, sits in a valley with very good potential, and is surrounded by hills. It is quite rich in water sources as it sits at the intersection of several creeks: the Mórum coming from the south, Nagyszeg from the east and Ágy creek and Verőfény creek merge to form Varga creek. The valley is surrounded from the north by a steep hill line, by a wide valley stretching from south to east and by rolling hills toward the east (PI. 1/2). At the beginning of the research of this area which is highly favourable for human settling, one could already speculate that we would find traces of several eras and cultures. The archaeological surveys began in the spring of 2000 and continued until 2006. One part of the valley is still
