Budapest Régiségei 36. (2002) – In memoriam Rózsa Kalicz-Schreiber (1929-2001)

T. Bíró Katalin: New data on the utilisation of Buda hornstone in the early bronze age = Új adatok a budai szarukő korabronzkori hasznosításáról 131-143

BUDAPEST RÉGISÉGEI XXXVI. 2002. KATALIN T. BÍRÓ NEW DATA ON THE UTILISATION OF BUDA HORNSTONE IN THE EARLY BRONZE AGE The territory of Budapest and its immediate environs are relatively poor in good quality raw material resources. Among the rocks in primary geological position, disregarding the Sarmatian limno-opalite lens of Rákos-Railway cut, only the "Buda hornstone" was suitable for making chipped stone artefacts. It can be still observed and collected in the Buda hills within the outcrops of dolomite of Upper Triassic age, for example at the Ördögorom inn or on the slopes over the Farkasrét cemetery This rock is well known in geological technical literature. One of the oldest piece stored in the comparative raw material collection of the Hungarian National Museum originate from here, collected and analysed by E. Vadász.

1 It is also mentioned in regional geological studies concerning Budapest.

2 Detailed mineralogical and petrological investigation of the material was published by Erzsébet Károly in 1936, modern mineralogical revision of Buda hornstone was recently performed by Viktória Kiss.

3 The importance of Buda hornstone is also remarkable in the archaeological material, though this feature was recognised relatively late and with some contradictions. The first expressed opinion on the occurrence of Buda hornstone in the archaeological material was published by István Dienes in the petroarchaeological study of the Erd Middle Palaeolithic material.

4 Dienes found two main components in the lithic material of the settlement, i.e., quartzite from nearby "Helvetian" pebble beds and Upper Triassic (Buda type) hornstone. These latter were used for the more elaborate tools.

5 In course of the systematical raw material surveys performed in the 1980-ies at the Hungarian Geological Institute, the outcrops of the Buda hornstone were visited several times. The most important data became known to us from the notifices of Zsolt Baló who found fragments of a mining tool made of antler at Denevér street, just behind the Budapest-Farkasrét cemetery As the territory of Budapest is within the cognizance of the Budapest Historical Museum, the 1

L88/006., Vadász Elemér gyűjtése és általa készített vékonycsiszolat; VADÁSZ 1960; BÍRÓ-DOBOSI 1990 2 WEIN 1977 3 Kiss in press 4 DIENES 1968 5 DIENES 1968 finds were sent there. Former observations of Elemér Vadász also indicated the presence of an extraction site here therefore Veronika Gábori-Csánk started excavations at the Denevér street site, attesting the presence of a "flint mine" here. The results of the excavations were published in the form of short reports only

6 In her opinion, the mine would be dated to the Middle Palaeolithic period supported by a 14

C date and as indirect proof, its Middle Palaeolithic utilisation (Érd). Several experts expressed other opinions of the age of the extraction site, some of them were already published.

7 Vörös quoted the following 14

C dates concerning the exploitation: GrN15567 40,350±950 BP on charcoal B 4709 3,470+80 BP on antler The latter date correspond to, according to recent chronological periodisation, Bronze Age.

8 Probably the mine was used in several periods as it is frequently happening on prehistoric extraction sites. The traces of different pre-industrial exploitation are very difficult to differentiate. Indirect proofs (utilisation and settlement structure data) can be used for the assessment on the periods of extraction activity. Evidences on much more recent prehistoric exploitation of the mine started to accumulate by the end of the 1980-ies.

9 As we were getting detailed information on the prehistoric raw material stock and distribution of the individual types on archaeological sites, apart from the Middle Palaeolithic, another important periods of use were delineated for the Buda hornstone, namely that of Late Copper Age and Early Bronze Age. It was found to be the dominant raw material of the Baden and Early Bronze Age sites in the territory of Budapest and its immediate surroundings. This statement could be made first on the material excavated by Rózsa Kalicz-Schreiber, at Csepel-Hollandi street.

10 After this, Buda hornstone was located in the material of Late Copper Age (Baden 6 GÁBORI-CSÁNK 1985,1989 7 BÍRÓ 1998; VÖRŰS 2000 8 End of Early Middle Bronze Age; KOVÁCS 2000 9 BÍRÓ 1991; BÍRÓ 1998; CSONGRÁDI-BALOGH 1992; CSONGRÁDI-BALOGH 1993 10 SCHREIBER 1974; BÍRÓ 1991 131