B. Nyékhelyi Dorottya: Középkori kútlelet a budavári Szent György téren (Monumenta Historica Budapestinensia 12. kötet Budapest, 2003)

Abstract

The time span between the end of its use and throwing it into the well may have lasted even for years. It can be supported by the fact that on opening up the tapestry some parts were more rubbed than others - so we suppose that the tapestry may have been folded and stored somewhere for some time. It seems plausible from the texture, the technique and the fabrication of the silk finds of the well that they date back to an earlier period than the rest of the collection. They might have been left in token or simply forgotten somewhere at their owner's, and perhaps after their death or moving the useless and functionless pieces were thrown out with the waste. The loss of function may be a possibility in the case of the tapestry as the reusable lining had been taken off and the patchwork could not be used under the reign of King Sigismund because of its heraldry. This, however, may not be the case with the pieces decorated with oak leaves, as this motif - used on different objects - for example on oven tiles, came to use right in the years of King Sigismunde reign. These suppositions will remain preconceptions until - or even after - the whole material will have been thoroughly analysed. There is one certain fact: On the move of the Jews that probably coincides with the move of the royal court to Buda and the construction of the St Sigismund Church, or the smaller Church of the Holy Virgin Mary, these finds with a large amount of objects once used by the Jews were thrown to the waste, i.e. into the well. It is another unsolved problem, why the new owners did not continue to use the well - producing water even today - on the southern part of Castle Hill, that is known to be poorer in water supply. Perhaps the complete analysis of the finds of the given plot and the neighbouring plots can give us the answer. Further research can perhaps clarify which pieces of the find could have been related, whether it is possible that all the textile finds of the well belonged together. Hopefully future analysis of the silk finds will help us.