Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 33/4. (2013)
Articles
160 E. Gáll In Chij-Mdnásfur: Graves 124-125,106 Däbäca- Castle Area IV: Graves 232-233 and 356-357, Däbäca-A. Tämas’s garden: Grave 35.A-B, Feldioara: Grave 4.A-B, Grave 42.A-B, Grave 43.A-B, Grave 93.A-B, Grave 66.A-B, Sighisoara- Dealul Viilor: Grave 25.A-B, Grave 28.A-B, Grave 31.A-B and Grave 81.A-B, Graves 133-133.A, Graves 135, 135.A and 136 a child and an adult were buried. Unfortunately, the anthropological analysis of the skeletons is not available for us, therefore we cannot know from a biological point of view if they were the mother or father of these children. In Däbäca-Castle Area IV: Graves 441-442, Feldioara: Grave 66 and Sighisoara- Dealul Viilor: Grave 103.A-B the skeletons of two small infants were found (and a third child was buried above them). 11.8. Unusual positions (PI. 30-31, Pi. 47.2) The burial customs observable in the cemeteries around the churches do not only give us usual information that can be used for making generalisations but occasionally they show unusual features, dissimilar to the ordinary pattern. These phenomena draw attention to the fact that besides the common Christian features even in the cemeteries around churches (micro)regional characteristics and certain pagan traditions that had been preserved from older times should also be taken into account. These add specific elements to the Christian Árpádian era and the Transylvanian Basin in the 11th-13th centuries. Skeletons laid on their right or left side in an almost shrunk position documented in different positions form one of the special phenomena in these cemeteries. In Grave 108 in Däbäca-CasfZe Area IV the legs were pulled on the left side, in Grave 424 the upper body was laid on its right side and the legs were pulled up at an angle of 45° on the right side. In both cases we can clearly talk about partial shrinkage .107 The legs of the skeleton in Grave 314 are apart and the legs of the skeleton in Grave 411 are slightly pulled up. In this case the person is supposed to have been buried with legs tied up. The ‘skull burial’ in Grave 400 is extremely rare and the only information we can find about it in the documentation is that ‘craniu izolat’, i. e. (a sole skull). We think that it might have been reburied when a grave was dug. According to its 106 In the grave from Cluj-Napoca-Mänäpur probably was buried a man. 107 Tettamanti 1975, 102. size it obviously belonged to an adult .108 A terrible case can be recorded in Grave 257: the skull must have been cut off the skeleton lying on its back and it was placed between the shoulders on its left side. Graves 414 and 235 are testaments to similar brutal deeds: in both cases the deceased or killed(?) person was thrown into the grave. The arms of the skeleton in Grave 414 must have been tied while pulled up and in Grave 235 the upper body of the person thrown in the grave turned to the right together with the skull and the legs were pulled up and tied. In this last case one can talk about a partially shrunk burial. It was interesting to map the locations of these irregular cases: these skeletons from Dábáca-Casí/e Area IV were mainly found towards the edges of the cemetery, which might refer to their exclusion from the community or the church or to some superstition of the pagan times. (Pi. 31) In the cemetery in Sighi§oara-Dealul Viilor, two similar phenomena have been registered. Four skeletons were buried in the common grave no. 119, which could have been thrown in the grave based on their positions. Their position in the churchyard - they were buried on the verge of the cemetery - highlights their peripheral social status. Grave 151 in Sighi^oara-Dealul Viilor might refer to the profession of the members of the community; however, without a deep anthropological analysis these remarks of ours remain hypothetical. The skull of the skeleton in the above mentioned grave is missing, which can be in connection with military actions or the warrior status of the person mentioned. 11.9. Oboli in the graves (Fig. 15-17; Pi. 3) Probably the most difficult task is the interpretation of different coin positions in the graves as oboli or as clothing accessories; i. e. as parts of the burial customs or as parts of clothing. Another question is when it appeared in the Carpathian Basin. According to P. Radomersky and B. Szőke the custom spread in the 11th century ,109 while others believe that it appeared through Byzantine influences ,110 or Frankish 108 On sole skull burials see: Tettamanti 1975, 102; Bálint 1978, 266; Révész 1996, 192, Pl. 58; Gáli 2004-2005, 371-372. As a Bulgarian parallel from the 10th-11th centuries, we can mention Grave 43 with stone frame and stone cover in Preslav, in which a similar skull with braided neckring was found. Dimitrov 1995, 42-70. 109 Radomérsky 1955, 3-7; Szőke 1962, 92. 110 Bálint 1976, 240.
