Folia archeologica 18.

Tibor Kovács: Eastern Connections of North-Eastern Hungary in the Late Bronze Age

EASTERN CONNECTIONS OF NORTH-EASTERN HUNGARY IN THE LATE BRONZE AGE The studies devoted to the Late Bronze Age in Hungary concern almost without exception the problems of North-Eastern Hungary (Upper Tisza region and the Nyírség). A significant part of the Late Bronze Age hnds of the area is still unpublished and this is the main reason why in many instances contradictory views are published about the same assemblage of finds. An intensive study of these finds show that at the end of the Late Bronze Age the culture of the people living in the area of North-Eastern Hungary was different from the cultures of peoples dwelling in other parts of the Carpathian Basin.

1 Their studies are based on the unauthentic excavations of the cemeteries and on the hoards which are difficult to relate to these finds and thus the work may be considered as the initial steps toward the reconstruction of the history of the Late Bronze Age of North-Eastern Hungary. A brief survey of studies treating the finds of the Late Bronze Age of the Nyírség (mainly the finds from cemeteries and the hoards) in several questions provides the starting point for dealing with the hnds of the Berkesz-Demecser type. The finds of the urn cemeteries of Berkesz and Demecser got into the Jósa András Museum at the beginning of the century and it was N. Kalicz who first assigned these to the Egyek culture — on account of some vessel forms relatable to the finds of the Egyek type.

2 In his study dealing with the finds of the Felsőszőcs group, Kalicz concluded that the group existed throughout the entire Bronze Age.

3 He treats the hnds of the Berkesz-Demecser type (Berkesz, Demecser, Apagy, Hajdúböszörmény, Paszab etc.) as belonging to the Felsőszőcs group and he regards them as being characteristic of the late stage in the life of this group. According to him the cemetery of Berkesz belongs to the late Felsőszőcs phase while that of Demecser to a period of the Early Iron Age with strong survivals of the Felsőszőcs traditions.

4 In her study on the tumulus of Nyírkarász-Gyulaháza, A. Mozsolics examines the entire Felsőszőcs culture,

5 i. e. she evaluates the actual Felsőszőcs finds with deeply incised decorations (Felsőszőcs, Oláhlapos-Podanka, Panyola, Gernyeszeg etc.) together with the finds — closely resembling in shape the former — (e. g. Hajdúböszörmény, Nyírkarász-Gyulaháza) ornamented with thin scratchings or without any decoration. The joining of the finds, which are chronologically sequent and genetically related, into one cultural unit leads not only to conclusions built on several 1 These are called the finds of Berkesz

—Demecser type after the two most important assemblages of finds. 2 Kalicz, N., HOMÉ 2 (1958) 45—72. Kalicz, N., Arch. Ért. 87 (1960) 3—15. 1 Ibid. 12. 5 Mozsolics, A., Acta Arch. Hung. 12 (1960) 113—123.