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

Raczky Pál: Evidence of contacts between the Lengyel and Tisza-Herpály Cultures at the late neolithic site of Polgár-Csőszhalom : relationships between Central European and Balkan ritual practice and sacral thought in the Upper Tisza Region = A lengyeli és tisza-herpályi kulturális érintkezés régészeti emlékei Polgár-Csőszhalom késő neolitikus lelőhelyén : a rituális gyakorlat és a szakrális gondolkodás közép-európai, illetve balkáni eredetű elemeinek összefüggései a Felső-Tisza-vidéken 79-92

BUDAPEST RÉGISÉGEI XXXVI. 2002. PÁL RACZKY EVIDENCE OF CONTACTS BETWEEN THE LENGYEL AND TISZA-HERPÁLY CULTURES AT THE LATE NEOLITHIC SITE OF POLGÁR-CSŐSZHALOM (Relationships between Central European and Balkan ritual practice and sacral thought in the Upper Tisza Region) Following the first test excavations in 1957, comprehensive archaeological research at the settlement of Polgár-Csőszhalom began in 1989. This project reached a qualitatively new phase in 1995, when rescue excavations preceding the construction of the M3 Motorway allowed large surfaces to be uncovered. As a result of this extensive field work, as well as the use of interdisciplinary methods, it became clear that the well-known central mound, considered a tell site in the literature, had been surrounded by a 28 hectares large, single-layer, horizontal settlement. Aerial photographs and magneto metric surveys meanwhile clearly outlined a system of concentric circular structures that measured 180 m in diameter. It comprised five circular ditches and a triple palisade. These surrounded the tell and practically isolated it from the external settlement. On the basis of observations made during the excavation, it could be unambiguously concluded that the two settlement phenomena (i. e. tell and the horizontal settlement) formed a composite structure that functioned synchronously. Moreover, a number of archaeological data have suggested that it is not the tell and the pertinent concentric ditch system that should be considered a typical settlement, but the external, horizontal part of the occupation. According to this topographic interpretation, the tell itself is an area of distinguished function, isolated from the spheres of everyday activity The concentric layout of settlement features within, the central building^), special finds, and the unusually great number of decorated ceramic sherds of non-mundane function as well as the unusual spatial distribution of masses of animal bone confirm the communal/sacral character of the unit surrounded by concentric ditches.

1 Beyond the aforementioned results, the duality of the tell and concentric ditches seems to reflect a symbiosis between the Tisza-Herpály type tell settlements known from the Great Hungarian Plain and Lengyel ditch systems of Central European character, usually found in Transdanubia, in Western Hungary. These structural phenomena may also represent an 1 RACZKY ET. AL. 1994; 1997. ideological fusion between the underlying thought processes.

2 The macro-level analysis of topographic phenomena at the site of Polgár-Csőszhalom has, thus, revealed the coexistence of Lengyel as well as Tisza-Herpály cultural i. e. stylistic units at this settlement. It is also of great importance that the 28 hectares area of the Late Neolithic horizontal site at Polgár is characterized by settlement features of the Lengyel Culture, a unique occurrence in the Great Hungarian Plain during this period. This fact, in and of itself, allows conclusions to be drawn concerning the decisive role the Lengyel Culture played in the Late Neolithic of the Tisza Region. Similar cultural connections were already outlined in a previous studyby István Ecsedy. Although he did not carried out detailed research on this topic, he indicated the instrumental role strong Lengyel Culture antecedents and their inf luence played in the emergence of the Copper Age in the region of the Tisza River.

3 More recently G. Lazarovici has listed a number of points which support the existence of a closer cultural contact between the Lengyel Culture in Transdanubia (Western Hungary) and the Iclod Culture in Transylvania (Romania).

4 Marked but sporadic occurrences of the Transdanubian Lengyel Culture in the northern section of the Great Hungarian Plain may, in principle, be explained by the outstanding strategic and trade importance of this region in the northeastern corner of the Carpathian Basin. This significance is further accentuated by the geographical proximity of natural obsidian mines in the nearby Tokaj Hills. Evidently, it must have been these same features that played a fundamental role in the infiltration of the Lengyel Culture from the direction of Little Poland.

5 Strong tendencies reflecting the delineated system of contacts may be clearly recognized in the geographical distribution of stone tool raw materials recovered from Polgár-Csőszhalom and their own connection network.

6 2 RACZKY 1995; RACZKY-MEIER-ARENDT ET AL. 2002. 833-838, 840-849. 3 ECSEDY 1982.76, 91 4 LAZAROVICI-DRASOVEAN-MAXIM 2002. 11-12. 5 KACZANOWSKA-KOZLOWSKY 2001. 13-14. 79