KOVÁCS TIBOR: TUMULUS CULTURE CEMETERIES OF TISZAFÜRED / Régészeti Füzetek II/17. (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum Budapest, 1975)

III.Some considerations on the cemeteries

Shoulder of grave 172 (Pl. 17); the cups which are different of those of the native inhabitants of grave 258 (PI. 24); and the urn of grave 308 (PI. 29) determine the dating of these burials to the Late Bronze Age. We did this in spite of the fact that by number there are more metal types of the Middle Bronze Age. The cup of grave 161 (PI. 15), which contained also Koszider type metal objects, the Middle and Late Bronze Age decorations are thoroughly mixed. For this reason we can link this only hypothetically to the Late Bronze Age cemetery. We would like to refer here to some other disturbed graves of some difficulty

: graves 17 (PI. 2), 67 (PI. 6), 113 (PI. 10), 125 and 128 (Pl. 11), 191 (PI. 19), 231 (PI. 22), 296 (PI. 28), pitcher marked B (PI. 7). The continuous mutual influence of the natives and the newcomers can~be seen in those graves where the dead wore the traditional apparel of both people to the same extent: graves 66, 256 (PI. 24), 342 (PI. 31), 354 (PI. 33). The same development can be noticed in the already mentioned graves 172, 258, 308, where next to the traditionally worn Middle Bronze Age jewels they placed characteristically late Bronze Age vessels (PI. 17—17^/1—2, and PI. 24-258/1-5) or the cremated body was buried in an urn (PI. 29-308/1). If we look at the Koszider objects by types we get a very interesting picture. We only find one weapon, the pick of the disturbed grave 20 (fig. 4.).

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9 Most of them are jewels, and for instance the bracelet decorated with the so called Fischblasenmuster occurs in three graves (176, 256, 359); a funnel-shaped pendent in graves 66, 258, and a sickle-shaped pin in graves 341, 342.

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0 Two graves contained cone-headed pins (graves 188 and 359)

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, one a discheaded pin (grave 256)

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2 and five graves contained bracelets with spiral discs (graves 181-182, 220, 253, 258).

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3 Relative to the low number of occurrance it is remarkable that the so called horse-shoe-shaped pendent can be found in 11 graves (graves 56, 143, 160-161, 172,176-177, 247, 258, 272, 308). This Koszider type jewel in known from several cemeteries and hoards, like Zsadány—Orosipuszta, Hodejov, Vcelince, but they most probably were produced only north and east of the Danube.

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4 This may be the reason for their use in the Late Bronze Age in this area in the Carpathian basin.

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5 Among the graves containing Koszider type metalware there are some which give a good starting point for the chronological arrangement of the products of potters. This is valid for grave 56, since its urn (PI. 5—56/1) is covered with such decoration which have been common during the Koszider period.

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6 The shape of the stemmed pitcher of grave 172 (PI. 17—172/1), but especially the decoration on its neck is a good representative of the similar vessel type of a large territory of the Koszider period.

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7 The bronze and pottery finds of these two graves kept the traditions of a previous period, and their simultaneous occurrance provides a solid base for dating. To take these as a basic point, other burials containing similar objects can be dated safely among the Late Bronze Age graves of the cemetery. Grave 58 provides a different but equally important relationship. The shape and especially the decoration, the bowed ribbed scores of its urn (PI. 5—58/1) shows a connection with the similar finds of the Magyarád culture. The same applies to the dish with flat knots on its rim (PI. 5—58/2—3) of the grave. But we find such pseudo-braided motives on the shoulder of the handled cup (PI. 5-58/3) which was characteristic to the people of the northwestern Carpathian basin during the Koszider period. The appearance of this special decoration at the northern part of the Great Hungarian Plain, compared with other data, determines the direction of the invasion of the Tumulus Culture into the Carpathian basin.

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8 According to the tendril like shaped ribs of the four band handles of the urn grave 55 can be placed among the early burials of Tiszafüred (Pl. 5). The pottery of the Tumulus Culture used vertical ribs on a relatively large territory this motive is still used shortly after the conquest in the Carpathian basin, but we find it more often on the relatively later, but not on the youngest finds.

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9 Several variations of this can be noticed on different vessels in the Tiszafüred cemetery: on urns (PI. 9-90/2; PI. 12—141/1; PI. 13—146/1; PI. 21—217/1; PL 29-308/1), on mugs and jars (Pl. 19-193/1; PI. 28-300/ 3), on dishes (PI. 6-76/2; PI. 10-106/1; PI. 13-150/2; PI. 14-154/2), on pitchers (PI. 2-13/3; PI. 22-226/1; PI. 32-356/1; PI. 33-354/5), on cups (PI. 6-76/3-4; PI. 29-313/1; PI. 32- 343/1) as well.

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0 From these listed, according to its pitcher with archaic decorations, grave 141 (PI. 12) seems to be the oldest burial, but considering the motives similar to the previous ones of the urns, graves 150—151 can be dated among the early burials of the cemetery (PI. 13—14). Good proof to the chronological situation of grave 217 is provided by the extremely rare boat-shaped plate decorations (PI. 2—217/5—6).

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1 C) We find several such metal and pottery objects which are identical or very similar to finds of the Tumulus Culture outside the Carpathian basin. Their brief examination provides more data to the chronological arrangement of our cemetery. The cone-necked urns with a double cone frustum-shaped body and two handles over the shoulder is probably the most common vessel shape of the Middle European Tumulus Culture. The bored band handles on the bulges of urns occur in the Czeck-Oberpfalz circle from R BB

2 period (see PI. 3-30/2; PI. 20-196/1; Pl. 22-238/1).

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2 The oval dishes with perforated decoration (so called Schlitzschüsseln) are found mostly among the oldest finds of the culture (see PI. 18—172/2)

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3 like the variation of the vessels with bent out rims, standing on a tubular base.

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4 There are some similar ones among the vessels of Tiszafüred (like PI. 9—100/2; PI. 20—210/2). The dish of grave 354 can be listed here also (PI. 33—354/3) but its decoration shows the motives of the native inhabitants.

65 Dishes with flat knots on their rim of upside down cone frustum shapes are common for the western part of Central Europe, dated to the R BC period (see PI. 11-118/1 and 131/1, PI. 13-147/1, PI. 10-102/2, PI. 21-216/2 and 217/2).

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