Csengeri Piroska - Tóth Arnold (szerk.): A Herman Ottó Múzeum évkönyve 54. (Miskolc, 2015)

Régészet - Koós Judit: A fémművesség emlékei egy késő bronzkori települése: Muhi-3. kavicsbánya (Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén megye)

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Koós Judit

and undecorated variants of it between RB D-Ha B. A formal parallel can be found not only for the mould of the socketed axe, but also for the sickle with curved back among the sickles of the depot finds from Folyás-Szilmeg (MOZSOLICS 2000, Taf. 74. 9, 13). Their earliest appearances can be observed in sites from the RB D age of Transylvania and Northeastern Hungary, albeit with a rectangular cross-section (MOZSOLICS 1973, 38). Following the Ópályi Horizon, socketed axes were widespread in the areas of Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and even Carpatho-Ukraine (NOVOTNÁ 1970, 73-74; PETRESCU—DÍMBOVITA 1977; MOZSOLICS 1985, 32; KOBAL’ 2000, 39—43). Their production with an oval cross- section became common in the Kurd Horizon (Ha Al) and it continued as such in the Ha A2 and Ha B1 periods as well.

The third item is a spearhead mould [Plate 17. 3; Plate 20). A two-winged, flame-shaped and cordoned spear plate was carved into the mould. An interesting note about the mould is that its two halves did not fit together perfectly, meaning that liquid metal flowed between the plane of split while casting. Based on typology, the spearhead mould found in Muhi belongs to the group of socketed spears with a flame-shaped plate, reinforced with a rib, which was the most popular type of spear in the Carpathian Basin during the Late Bronze Age (MOZSOLICS 1985, 20-23; HETESI 2004, 58-59). Rihovsky, during the examination of the assemblage from Moravia placed similarly made and decorated spearheads chronologically in the Ha Al-Ha A2 period, with the addition that on their own, both the spear plate and the cordoned socket fit in the RB D-Ha Al-HaB2 horizon (RÍHOVSKY 1996, 6-10, Taf. 21 and 23).

The most common motifs on the ceramics from the Muhi assemblage are vertical or oblique grooving on the belly of the bowls, which is complemented with curved channeling. This type of decoration is known since the Koszider Period (KŐSZEGI 1988, 27—35). Its mass spread can be placed around the RB D-Ha Al period, from when its use became decisive (V. SZABÓ 2002, 23). In sites of the pre-Gáva period, garland patterns adorning the necks of vessels are also common, which is usually paired with oblique or vertical channeling of the vessels’ belly (Jánoshida: V. SZABÓ 2002, Fig. 21. 16; Jánosszállás: V. SZABÓ 2002, Fig. 35. 1, 2; Kömpöc; V. SZABÓ 2002, Fig. 35. 4). This pattern combination can be also found on ceramics of various sizes and types from Oszlár-Nyárfaszög’s assemblage dated to the Ha Al period (KOÓS 2013, Abb. 4. 1; Abb. 7. 1-2; Abb. 10).

It should be noted that the ceramic material from the settlement excavated at Muhi, despite its fragmented nature, still represents the characteristic features of the Great Hungarian Plain’s northern edges from the Late Bronze Age. There is a large amount of two-colour sherds in the assemblage (black on the outside, yellow on the inside), which hint at the use of a new kind of method for firing pottery. This culminated during the Gáva culture and became commonplace afterwards, in the first half of the Early Iron Age. Upon examining the ceramic material it is clear that the potters of the former settlement were not only good at making finely made, thin-walled, polished small vessels but also pots, bowls and large storage vessels for everyday use. The exceptional quality that is characteristic to the site’s material also shows on domestic wares, which were made with the same amount of attention to detail as fine wares.

The site Muhi-3. kavicsbánya is situated where the rivers Hernád and Sajó meet, near major water and trade routes (Fig. 1). Its inhabitants, due to the settlement’s favourable geographical position, could maintain relationships with distant areas; as a result, they had access to raw materials required for metalworking and metal casting. The site’s significance is largely defined by the moulds found in the area; however its exact chronological placement can only be determined by examining the assemblage as a whole. The site at Muhi is part of the pre-Gáva (RB D-Ha Al) material culture that ran along the line of the river Tisza, from Szeged to Polgár, which united pottery that formerly had regional elements via the spreading of familiar forms (V. SZABÓ 2004b, 84—85). In its assemblage, surviving Tumulus culture ceramic forms (RB B2-C period) can be found which preserve Tumulus cultural traditions in the form of bowls with inverted or peaked rims and knob decorations, as well as similarly decorated pots and round bottom cups (Plate 10. 1-3; Plate 14. 5, 15; Plate 2. 5-6). Characteristic elements of the late Piliny culture can be found in the settlement’s vessel forms and decorative motifs like truncated conical cups with raised handle (Plate 2. 8; Plate 12. 7), bowls with profiled necks and sharply profiled shoulders (Plate 11. 3; Plate 15. 3), and with the use of dotted decorations (Plate 11. 1; Plate 12. 1; Plate 13. 2). The shallower and wider channeling becoming common combined with its use on various pottery types as well as the use of the new pottery firing technique (black-yellow colour combination) dates the settlement to the Ha-Al period. Vessel shapes and their decorations do not bear the Gáva culture’s characteristic, defining signs yet, which were present at the area during the Ha A2 period; despite their fragmented nature however, they have many similarities with material from the Ha Al period found at the nearby Polgár-M3/29 (V. SZABÓ 2007, Fig. 5-6) and Oszlár-Nyárfaszög sites (KOÓS 2013, Abb. 7—8 and 10).

The site excavated at Muhi-3. kavicsbánya can be classified as a Late Bronze Age, pre-Gáva culture’s settlement from the Great Hungarian Plain’s northern fringe. In the northern region, a material culture started to take shape, similar to material from the same period, but with different relations due to its geographical situation (Bodrogköz region, Hernád region) (V. SZABÓ 2007,157, footnote 11), of which the assemblage from Muhi is also a part of. The effects of the Tumulus and Urnfield culture, characteristic to the Gáva period, are less noticeable in the pottery forms and decorations in Muhi; it’s the Piliny culture’s pottery traditions from the Ha Al period of the Late Bronze Age that serve as a more determining basis instead.

[Translated by Csaba Medve]

Koós, Judit