Folia archeologica 53.

András Markó: The Upper Palaeolithic Site at Szob

12 MARKÓ ANDRÁS Altogether 12 cores are known from the lower layer, two of them are atypical pre-cores made of Middle Slovakian limnic quartzite. Five of the seven single-platform cores are exhausted ones of conical shape, with edge-shaped or cortical back and extended striking surface to the sides. They were made of Middle Slovakian limnic quartzite (Fig. 3.5.), Carpathian 1. obsidian (Fig. 3.2.) and racliolarite (Fig. 3.4.

). A single platform core of limnic quartzite (Fig. 3.1.) and a fragmentary piece was made on a flat pebble. A larger double-platform blade core of prismatic shape was abandoned in the advanced stage of the exploitation, finally two 90° cores of racliolarite and a pre core of limnic quartzite pebbles have to be mentioned. The blades of the 'lower laver' are generally non-cortical ones, with punctiform, linear or (in the case of the pieces of quartzite) cortical striking platform. Most of them are whole blades or proximal fragments, with triangular or trapezoidal cross-section, with parallel edges and straight or irregular profile. About half of the specimens wear traces of use wear retouch, but only four pieces were transformed into tools: two end scrapers of Ziar basin-type limnic quartzite, a burin and a backed bladelet of limnic quartzite pebble. The majority of the flakes wear pebble cortex only on a limited surface (below 25%). They were made of limnic quartzite pebble dominating over the Middle Slovakian limnic quartzite, quartzite, andesite and nummulitic chert; single pieces were made of Cserhát-type limnic quartzite, radiolarite and chalcedony. All the three obsidian flakes were transformed into tools. The six burin spalls belong to the first series. Four pieces were made of'limnic quartzite, one of chalcedony phase probably also of the same raw material and one of Slovakian obsidian. Only 25 retouched tools are known from the lower layer (Table 4.). The end scrapers constitute the most numerous group. Two pieces made on short flake-like blades of Middle Slovakian limnic quartzite (Fig. 4.2-3.) have convex and asvmmetric working edge, regulated bv fan-shaped retouch. The three end-scrapers were made on flakes of limnic quartzite pebble, Slovakian obsidian (Fig. 3.6.) and Middle Slovakian limnic quartzite (Fig. 3.3.). hydrothermal radiolarite Nummulitic obsidian Total chert jj 3 1 Middle Slovakian Cserhát с black/red grey yellow U G 1 end-scraper 6 7 1 14 burin 2 1 1 1 1 1 7 backed bladelet 1 1 retouched flake 1 1 point 1 1 chopper 1 1 Total 9 7 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 25 Table 4.Tool types in the 'Lower laver' excavated before the Word War II High scrapers are made generally on blocks of meso- or extralocal raw materials (obsidian, Middle Slovakian limnic quartzite: Fig. 3.7.) bv removing lamellar retouches. The working edge is often facetted, sometimes the ventral face is thinned from the proximal end.