Mária T. Biró: The Bone Objects of the Roman Collection. (Catalogi Musei Nationalis Hungarici. Seria Archeologica 2; Budapest, 1994)

FOREWORD

the course of building the railway line cutting through the Castrum of Brigetio. The majority of bone carvings has come from the camps of the limes like Brigetio (Szőny), Azaum (Almásfüzitő), Castra ad Herculem (Pilismarót), Ulcisia Castra (Szentendre), Aquincum (Óbuda), Campona (Nagytétény), Matrica (Százhalombatta-Dunafüred), Intercisa (Dunapentele). Even the finds registered from camps of the limes are in a minor part results of excavations. At Szőny it is only A. Radnóti's material from the cremation cemetery of Sörházkert opened in 1940-1942 together with his probes carried on in the area of the Castrum and L. Barkóczi's finds from the beginning of the 1950s that come from authentic excavations. This amounts to 20 per cents of all carvings from Szőny at best. Apart from the excavations at Szőny we have knowledge of E. Thomas' and A. Mócsy's rescue excavations at Százhalombatta respectively those of F. Fülep carried on at Nagytétény and Almásfüzitő. The bone carvings from Dunapentele are the only ones coming entirely from excavations. This is however but a fragment of the huge find material preserved today in the Museum of Dunaújváros. From excavations at Őrhely carried on by A. Hekler and E. Mahler primarily stone relics were published respectively the lute being a prominently interesting, representative find. Even later M. Alföldi's bone catalogue has laid in most cases more stress on descriptions, therefore it is now for the first time that the bone carvings of these excavations are actually presented in this catalogue. From within the province we should lay stress on A. Radnóti's explorations at Ságvár, Tömlöchegy. The other objects have mostly come to the possession of the Collection from purchases at the end of the last century from Keszthely, Kanizsa and Csákberény. Lastly, from our sites mention must be made of the geographical units which has been parts of the one-time Austro-Hungarian Monarchy respectively of historical Hungary like Sziszek, Pancsova, Vecel, Torda and Petronell. Here I should like to hint at the geographical names; I have registered all objects with the geographical name used at the time of the excavation respectively the acquisition. The present catalogue is completed by a detailed list of geographical names giving both the present name and their Latin administrative name prevailing in the province of Pannónia. The sites of the finest pieces of the Hungarian National Museum are of an even larger and more uncertain geographical unit. The find place of these relics and the collecting field of private persons, amateurs is even more unsteady. The collection of Provost Bitnitz, Canon from Szombathely contains most probably local material. The carvings from Koroncó are in the collection of Canon Ebenhöch. The Tussla Collection being the legacy of a merchant family from Komárom has come to the Museum in the 1950s. The richness of the Fleissig Collection is the result of the fruitful activity of an art collector of Jewish origin. Jenő Lázár the well-known mining engineer and amateur archaeologist has bequested his home museum on the Hungarian National Museum. His collecting area was the vicinity of Celldömölk-Sághegy. From this rich material accumulated during nearly 150 years, our aim was to present a summary which, even if it is not suitable to represent bone processing industry in a respective Roman settlement at a certain period, still, it is the best existing sampling of the provincial art and craft of bone processing comprising whole Pannónia.