Dr. T. Tóth szerk.: Studia historico-anthropologica (Anthropologia Hungarica 16. Budapest, 1979)

ANTHROP. HUNG. XVI. 1978-1979. Data on the anthropology of the population of North-East Transdanubia By Ildikó PAP Anthropological Department, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest Abstract. The author examines the osteological material of 308 graves of the llth-12th century cemetery of the Esztergom Railway station. First a general characterization of males and females is given, then the occurring anatomical variations and abnormalities. The results of the evaluations of primary and secondary taxonomical characteristics are published with a comparison to other Hungarian series. The published anthropological material originating from Arpadian age findpots is 33.1 % of all the published historical palaeoanthropological material

(Éry 1968). Of course, this figure might have changed, because there have been several publications since 1968. The territorial distribution of cemeteries is rather irregular. While some counties are well studied, others are quite neglected. Up to now there has been not even one cemetery from the territory of Komárom county that has been dealt with from the aspect of anthropology. We hope that this study on the cemetery of the Esztergom Railway station will provide new data for a better knowledge of the his'torical population of this area. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE EXCAVATION The church of Kovácsi - a former miniers' village - and a few graves of the cemetery around the church were first found when the Esztergom railway station was being built in 1891. Eight graves were opened at the time according to the report of Ferenc Brenner (1891). Twenty years later, in 1911, when the station was being enlarged, the cemetery was again discovered in the course of digging.Then Géza Supka (1913), later József Wollanka and Albin Balogh had a commission from the Hungarian National Museum for partial excavations (Esztergom évlapjai 1926). However, many graves had remained under the ground both between the walls and around the church. The territory was devastated during the Second World War. In 1953-54 inhabitants of the neighbourhood began to carry away the stones of the church and thus the cemetery was again disturbed. It is a pity that the number of uncovered and destroyed graves cannot be stated because not even one of the contemporary reports mentions the fate of the osteological material. In 1954-55, rescue excavations, led by László Zolnay, were started Western side of the railway station. Some 127 West-East oriented llth-12th century graves were opened up (Zolnay'

s report: MNM Rég. Adattár. 109/E. III., 1957, 1965). In the summer of 1956 György Szabó, member of the National Historical Museum, continued the excavation and opened up some more 11th-12th century graves South of the Esztergom-Kovácsi church-ruin (Szabó 1958). As also Zolnay referred to it, the documentation compiled by Gy. Szabó cannot be obtained since 1956. Without the excavation diary, the number of dug up graves cannot be determined either. It is to be noted that the church could not be dug out completely because the rails of the station are running just on the church's nave and chancel. It is imaginable that there are some more graves under the railway bed. This supposition is supported by the fact that when