Szekessy Vilmos (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 62. (Budapest 1970)

Éry, K.: The skeletal remains of a tenth century population at Dunaalmás, Hungary

ANNALES HISTORICO-NATURALES MUSEI NATIONALIS HUNGARICI Tomus 62. PARS ANTROPOLOGICA 1970. The Skeletal Remains of a Tenth Century Population at Dunaalmás, Hungary By KINGA K. ERY, Budapest In 1958, graves had been discovered in the course of sand-winning near the road to Tata, at Dunaalmás (Com. Komárom). Excavations subsequent to the notification of the authorities were made by A. KRALOVÁNSZKY (BÍRÓ & KRALOVÁNSZKY, 1959). During the earthwork all graves still intact were successfully exposed as well as information received concerning the site and number of the destroyed graves. The earstwhile cemetery lay on the plateau of a c. 8 m high promontory, rising near the southern bank of the West-East reach of the Danube, where the southern tributary Tata and the northern tributary Zsitva join the Danube. This point had at all times been a crossing site of the Danube, and one of the west-eastern main traffic Unes along her banks. The cemetery and the settlement lay therefore at an important strategic point, since colonists in this place could invariably control water and land traffic. As was found during the excavations, the W-E graves of the cemetery were situated largely along a North-East-South semicircle, with, in the centre of the circle, an oval hearth contemporary with the cementery. During sand-winning, it was the Nort-East section of the cemetery which had been disturbed, but excavations still succeeded to expose in this area the graves and partially the osseous remains of six individuals (Graves 1, 2, 3, 6, 12, and A). The East-South section of the cemetery remained undisturbed so that the excavations could bring the graves of seven individuals to light (Graves 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11). Thus a total of thirteen graves became known from the cemetery, and this number may be nearly identical with that of the originally interred individuals. No more than one, or possibly two graves (probably graves of children), might have been destroyed, since the sand-winning activities have been under the regular observation, ever since the discovery of the graves, of G. LENHARDT, Dunaalmás. The antropological material is deposited in the Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, the archeological findings in the Domokos Kuny Museum, Tata. The archeological material of the population at Dunaalmás dates the cemetery as originating from the first half of the tenth century, the findings being the characteristic pieces of the material culture of the Conquest period: belt with mounts, hatchet, arrowheads, knives, strike-a-lights, decorated plate disks, earrings, cowrie shells and beads. Beside the characteristically pagan findings and burial rites, however, a small bronze encolpion found in one of the female graves (Grave 1) probably testifies on Christianization. In view of the geographical position of the cemetery and the cultural level of the archeological findings, the population at Dunaalmás may probably have belonged to the Conquering tribes occupying the Transdanubian lines of the Danube and presumably representing, as to its social status, the middle stratum giving military service. * * * Of the 13 graves of the cemetery, the osteological material of 11 individuals have been excavated; however, the skeletons of 3 individuals are represented by merely some fragments (Graves 2, 3, 5). Representation values, indicating the state of