A Herman Ottó Múzeum évkönyve 49. (2010)

Csengeri Piroska: A szakáiháti kultúra települései Mezökövesd-Nagy-fertőn és Mezőkövesd-Meleg-oldalban. Előzetes jelentés

light. The settlement and the finds of the Baden culture have been published by László György (György 2008). At the time of the excavation, we believed that the Neolithic settlement section was occupied by a Szakáihát community; however, the examination of the finds after their cleaning and restoration revealed that the outennost feature (Feature SI 18) on the north-western side of the excavated area could be assigned to the ALP. This, in turn, meant that the exact chronological position of several features devoid of any finds, which had been assigned the Neolithic occupation, became uncertain. The post-holes of three north-west to south-east oriented above-ground houses were uncovered (Features 1-3). The post-holes were arranged into rows of three post-holes each. None of the uncovered houscplans was complete. Houses 1 and 2 lay by the southern side of the excavated area. Most of the small pits (Features S54-S58, Feature SI 16) lying north and north-east of the buildings could be assigned to the Szakáihát culture. The smaller pits, post-holes and various longish features found near House 3 could not be precisely dated: Pit SI 18 lying south-west of House three could be assigned to the ALP, while Pit S77 and a storage jar found in situ (Feature S60), as well as a pit with an oven by the house's western corner (Feature S98), a pit complex with an oven in part bounded by the post-holes (Feature S89-S90-S91, Fig. 5) and Pit S82 could be dated to the Szakáihát culture. A child burial containing Spondylus shell, deposited in a proper grave (Feature SI 20), lay 7.2 m south-east of the south-eastern corner of House 3 (Fig. 4; cp. also Csengeri 2004). A larger cluster of settlement features lay on the northern edge of the excavated area, northeast and east of the houses. None of these could be securely assigned to the ALP. Two clusters of post-holes were also excavated; however, these did not outline a houseplan. One of the largest features, an irregularly shaped pit used for clay extraction (Feature S40), lay north-east of these postholes. The pit yielded an impressive amount of Szakáihát pottery, both fine wares and household ceramics. Pit SI 14, containing the burial of an adult man and his pottery grave goods in its upper part, lay in this area. The pottery from the features yielding finds of the Szakáihát group included wide-mouthed pots and larger storage jars decorated with a row of impressions under the rim, and large storage jars with a tall neck, decorated with finger or nail impressed ribs on the neck and the body. Vessels were decorated with nail impressions arranged into various patterns, pinched and incised designs (Fig. 7. 3-6). Some vessels were decorated over their entire surface (Fig. 7. 7-9). The fine wares from Mezőkövesd-Nagy-fertő are dominated by dark bowls with carefully polished interior and exterior, bomb shaped vessels (Fig. 9. 5) and wide-mouthed cups. Deep bowls decorated with incised meander designs filled with stabs (Fig. 8. 2) occur in smaller number, as do pieces adorned with incised spiral patterns filled with short lines, bundles of lines and linear patterns made in the Furchenstich style (Fig. 9. 4). Globular vessels with tall neck and a spout or a pseudo-spout, usually described as amphoras, often have an elbow handle set on the vessel body. The pottery finds also include vessel types which have not been earlier reported from the culture's sites. Many fragments come from dark polished vessels with a tall neck and globular or sharply carinated wares, decorated with pointed or round knobs on the belly (Fig. 7. 2). These vessels recall the tall-necked flasks of the ALP 2-3 period and the Tiszadob group (Kalicz-Makkay 1977, 31, and Taf. 170. 12; 39, and Taf. 172. 3), although in contrast to the latter, they are undecorated. Few import pieces came to light. Eight fragments represent the Bükk culture (Fig. 7. 1, early and classical Bükk culture), while three fragments come from vessels of the Zseliz I phase (Fig. 10. 4). The more notable finds include the rim fragment of a face pot with cylindrical neck (Fig. 8. 1), which comes from the pot shaped variant of face vessels described by Katalin Sebők and Katalin Kovács in a recent study (Sebők-Kovács 2009, 82-85). Other noteworthy find include the clay imitation of a heavy Spondylus shell bracelet (Fig. 10. 2) and the clay imitation of pendant made from Glycymeris shell (Fig. 10. 1). The pottery wares and their decoration, as well as the other ceramic finds date the settlement section uncovered at Mezőkövesd-Nagy-fertő to the classical phase of the Szakáihát culture. 32