Budapest Régiségei 38. (2004) – Tanulmányok dr. Gerő Győző tiszteletére

Nagy Margit: Két késő római kori fegyveres sír az aquincumi canabae nyugati szélén 231-315

KÉT KÉSŐ RÓMAI KORI FEGYVERES SÍR AZ AQUINCUMI CANABAE NYUGATI SZÉLÉN The parallel of the sword grip from Bécsi Road is known from the abounding late-antique armed burials at Cibilium/Cebelda 1 in the Caucasus area. The grip of the spathe from Wien-Leopoldau II. Verwahrfund was decorated by grooved silver plate. On the brass plate covering the grip of the sword from the Valerianus grave in Hîrçova on the lower Danube region there is a good wish bearing the owner's name incised. A cast bronze grip is known from the fortress of Mrus/Krivina. Among the eastern type swords having a quillon it is the one found in Beja, Portugal the grip of which is decorated by nails. The cover of the grips made up of ribbed bands was imitated on the sax-grips after the Hun period in pressed form. (Fig. 32) The eight pieces of tube-like strap-ends found in the grave could not have belonged either to the bronze belt set or the much better quality silver made balteus set. C. von Carnap-Bornheim separated two groups of tube-like strap-ends: the western type comprises the strap-ends and mounts where the tube is on the wider end, whereas for the eastern type, the tube is on the shorter side. From the 3

rd century onwards, the eastern type of strap-ends spread in Eastern Europe up to Western Siberia. (Fig. 31.2) Some of the eastern-type, undecorated, tube-like strap-ends were made of gold: the earliest pieces of the group come from the Mesaksudi find in Kherch from the second half of the 3

rd century. The medium of the typological row, the 1:1 proportion of the width and height can be found with the golden strap-ends. This proportion is true of a known golden example of the eastern tube-like strap-ends known as found in "Buda". The golden strap end and the cross-bow brooch placed in the Hungarian National Museum in 1886 and the golden buckle published first in this paper, considering the relationships of the burial finds of grave 2 Bécsi Road, could have come from the same grave, (cf. Appendix and Plate 38) The eight pieces - originally possibly even more - strap-ends with netted decoration could not have belonged either to the belt or to the footwear. The silver strap-end of the Berkasovo find is the best analogy of the tube like strapends from Bécsi Road, however, the silver plates of the mouthpiece from the Berkasovo find were made in the style of the balteus strap end and its bar-shaped mounts of the balteus from Bécsi Road. On the basis of the similarity, the strap-ends from Bécsi Road are said to be parts of a harness. Several identical strap-ends were used on the festive saddlecloth of the officers' harness and the pendants of the 3

rd century harness of Illerup. A saddlecloth decorated with strap ends is represented in the Stuttgarter Psalter around 830. (Fig. 37.1-5) The man buried at 42 Bécsi Road could have been a cavalry officer of barbarian descent who also had an office that needed his writing skills. His military gown, metal mounted wide belt and silver mounted sword with eastern-type grip and his balteus were buried with him. The metal objects of the grave are the products of Late-Roman workshops and they are similar to the ones used by military leaders from the middle of the 4

th century to the first decade of the 5

th century, from Britain to the northern area of the Black Sea. His tools referring to his writing job, his glass beakers and part of his harness were also placed in his grave. He was buried on the turn of the 4

th and 5

th centuries, or in the first third of the 5

th century when on the edge of the canabae of Aquincum, on the western side of the Roman road a couple of smaller graveyards consisting of just some graves were made for the military leaders and their families. Apart from the arrowed and sworded fighter at Bécsi Road the scattered "Buda" grave with golden goods also shows that Aquincum was the station of several high-rank soldiers of barbarian descent before the Huns' invasion. 277