Horváth M. Ferenc (szerk.): Vác The heart of the Danube Bend. A historical guide for residents and globetrotters (Vác, 2009)
Tartalom
Scythian and Sarmatian Meander-patterned seal (PMMI-TIM 77.29.3) WHAT THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDINGS TELL US outskirts of the town. An urn with a handle and an embossed bowl might have been pieces of cremation grave accessory. Only a few traces of their settlements have been found up to now, mainly on the surface of the ground. In the second half of the Late Bronze Age West Hungary was dominated by the Umfield Culture, while in the eastern part of the country there were several peoples of varying cultural levels. In Vác western “orientation'was typical at that time: the town and its vicinity were popu-Urn with handle (PMMI-TIM 60.5.4) lated by the umfield people, who were named after their large cremation cemeteries. Two sites of the culture in Vác are worth highlighting. One of them is the site in Derecske Field mentioned above, which covers several periods.The undamaged vessels found in the local sand quarry suggest that they were grave accessories. The fibula of Vác An article found in the 19th century represents the metallurgical technology of the age. South of the town, at the mouth of the Kis-ér (Little Brook) running from Hétkápolna (Seven Chapels) into the Danube, the ground was hiding a bronze safety pin (Lat. fibula) and a mug with a broken handle. 900/800 BC, the beginning of the Iron Age, is considered the period of a new historical era in the Carpathian Basin.The history of the Early Iron Age shows differences between the western and the eastern parts of Hungary: Transdanubia belonged to the Hallstatt Culture of Central Europe, while the people living in the Great Hungarian Plain and the Northern Medium Mountains became part of the Pre-Scythian - later Scythian - culture originating from the east European steppes. The greatest achievement of the new era was the use of objects made of iron, which was highly boosted by the raw material sources in Western Hungary and the Northern Medium Mountains. Once again the unique geographical position ofVác gained significance: the town, as well as the Danube Bend lay on the eastern edge of the range of the Hallstatt Culture, while the finds of the Scythian culture can also be found here. The Scythians, who belonged to the family of Iranian languages, were the first warriors
