A Herman Ottó Múzeum Évkönyve 46. (2007)

B. Hellebrandt Magdolna: Mályinka-Dédestapolcsány-Verepce-vár és Miskolc-kőlyuk I.-barlang vasleletei

found that the length of the prehistoric fortified settlement was 2075 m in a north-south direction and that its greatest width was 860 m in the area known as Vásárhelyi-parlag, meaning that it covered a roughly 123 hectares large area.

2 Nováki interpreted the hillfort as a major centre.

4

~

5 The finds collected in the area of the hillfort were assigned to the Piliny and Kyjatice culture.

6

"

8 The Verepce-vár hillfort was built deep in the Bükk Mountains and it undoubtedly had a defensive function. The Bán Valley to the north

3 and the iron ore deposits could be controlled from the hillfort. László Dobosy surveyed the sites, where slag had been found.

9 The iron deposits in the Uppony Mountains lying some 10-15 km from the hillfort were probably exploited during the Early Iron Age.

10 Iron deposits could also be exploited in the Rudabánya area a little farther to the north." Its transportation could be achieved by animal-drawn wagons. The finds from Miskolc-Kőlyuk I Cave (Fig. 14) József Regős found a socketed iron axe and an iron knife in the cave in 1999. The finds were presented to the museum together with a spindle-whorl and various pottery sherds (Figs 14-16). Evaluation of the finds The axes from Verepce-vár are 12.9-16.7 cm long, their weight ranges between 0.52 and 0.705 kg. The axe from the Kőlyuk I Cave is 11.8 cm long and weighs 0.42 kg. A comparable iron axe was found in a robbed tumulus burial in the 1880s near Doba.

20

~

22 Sándor Gallus and Tibor Horváth dated the axe to the Hallstatt С period, i.e. the 7th century ВС. Similar iron finds are know from the Celtic fort at Plavecké Podhradie,

23 Zemplén

24 and Alsómislye.

24 The date of the latter find has been recently revised and it is now assigned to the Hallstatt D/La Тёпе A period (5th-4th centuries ВС) instead of the earlier Hallstatt D

3 period. Iron axes have also been recovered from Celtic burials and settlements

26 most recently at Sajópetri-Hosszúdűlő.

27 Tivadar Lehoczky had suggested that iron axes had been used for felling trees and crushing stones (as well as for carving quern stones),

28 while Róbert Müller believes that these axes were used for forest clearing.

29 Although the iron axe from the Kőlyuk I Cave is smaller than the pieces from Verepce-vár, it represents the same type with one straight and one slightly curved side. The same typological features can be noted on the knives, probably owing to their manufacturing technique. Awl The iron awl (Fig. 8. 7) found at Verepce-vár has pointed terminals. It is 7 cm long. Mihály Párducz found similar iron awls in Grave 83 of the Scythian cemetery at Tápiószele, dated to the mid-6th century ВС.

30 Awls with pointed terminals have been recovered from Celtic cemeteries too, e.g. at Hetény

31 and Csővár-Sportpálya.

32 The piece from the latter site measured 7.8 cm. Chisel The iron chisel (Fig. 11. 1) is a stray find from Verepce-vár. Its length is 15.8 cm. Comparable pieces are known from Austria.

33 The finds from the metal workshop uncovered at NagyberkiSzalacska included three socketed chisels, measuring 9 cm, 15 cm and 24 cm in length.

34 Kálmán Darnay's collection too contained one socketed chisel from Vindornyaszőlős and three from Somlyó.

35 Lehoczky found a 12 cm long socketed chisel set in a spade at Munkács,

36 and he also published 9.5 cm and 10.5 cm long pieces from other sites.

37 A chisel resembling the one from Verepce-vár can be quoted from the hoard brought to light at Stary Kolin.

38 Knives We found several iron knives with a curved back using a metal detector in the MályinkaDédestapolcsány-Verepce-vár area (Fig. 8. 11, 16) and one in the Miskolc-Kőlyuk I Cave (Fig. 35