Belényesy Károly: Pálos kolostorok az Abaúji-Hegyalján (Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén megye régészeti emlékei 3. Miskolc, 2004)

PAULINE FRIARIES IN THE ABAÚJ HEGYALJA REGION

which was also documented by geophysical survey. He located the monastic site to this latter area.

78 It was György Györffy who called attention to the Barátok field. On the estate map of Regéczke, originating probably from the end of the nineteenth century, there is a road marked by a dark line, which leads towards the hill on the left bank of the Huta stream, through the territory called Barátok. About 400 meters left from the road, a pentagonal terrace is depicted among the regular fields, which does not fit into the system, moreover, the author of the map depicted a group of trees there (Map 22). The estate map of Háromhuta from 1911 also emphasizes the importance of this territory (Map 23). On this depiction the above mentioned terrace appears separated from other plots on the hill. What is more, there are no trees but a stylized ruin on the pentagonal area. On the Third Ordinance Survey and the modern 1:10000 scaled map of the area, this particular piece of land is fenced by brushwood. Not only the once bed of the brook can be clearly identified from the line of trees that were grown into it, but also the mouth where this brook reaches the stream in the valley can be detected. The road, depicted on all maps, was identified as well (Maps 9 and 17). Before the fieldwork, it was assumed that the ruins of the monastery could be located to that area. The Monastery The road, leading from Óhuta towards the top of the smaller hill is inaccessible, therefore it has not been used for a long time. Following the line of the bushy vegetation, the territory was found west of the road. The ruins were identified among the group of trees, on a seemingly natural terrace (Fig 1), of which eastern border was marked by a narrow, long line of bushes (Fig 2). Opposite this territory, an approximately ten-meter wide entrance was observed. Here we found the stream, whose bed was closed by a dike near to the spring (Fig 3). East of this spring, a group of trees stood on one to two meters high debris. This feature was the ruin of a square building, constructed of local tufa stone material. The humps of the walls were partly visible on the surface, and in some places the faces of walls were observed (Fig 5 and 6). Shreds of mortar were also collected. The direction of the once walls was detected by the lines of the trees that grew exactly on the walls (Fig 7). The extension of the building complex was roughly 25m x 25m. Its western and southern sides are bordered by a fence. The southern line of the enclosure turns, then This survey was carried out in the frames of the Upper Tisza Project (henceforth UTP) goes toward west, and disappears after some meters, but the western wing can be followed till the dike. On the southern part of the building complex, a narrow, regular square shaped heap of stones was found, and another regular object was observed north of it (Fig 11 and 12). These protruded from the inner structure of the ruin complex in northeastern direction (Fig 9). Their shape and direction suggested that they were buttresses. Consequently, the church of the monastery was identified in the southern part of the complex. Other buttresses were presumed on the northwestern corner of the building (Fig 13), north of which the place of the vestry is surmised (Fig 14), which is followed by another room (chapter room?). In the northern wing, a long rectangular room was documented, parallel with the natural slope of the terrace. The large pan, covered by undergrowth in its central part was interpreted as a cellar (Fig 7). No traces of a western wing were observed, which allows to infer that no stone buildings were constructed on this side of the monastery. Finally, west of Ohuta village, in the Barátok field, a square-shaped ruin complex was identified. The arrangement of the buildings points to the fact that the church stood on the southern part,

79 and further buildings were located north of that (Fig 10). The extension of the remains indicates that a small sized hermitage existed there. Its parameters allow putting this complex into the context of other studied monasteries of the order. Numerous similar monasteries can be found with small churches and building complexes north from it, such as the hermitage of Toronyalja

80 (Fig 15). With regard to the presumed number of monks living there, the Regéc monastery belonged to the minor communities. The size of the ruin complex suggests that four to six Pauline monks might have lived there.

81 The Landscape of the Ruins and the Archaeological Material from the Site In the close neighborhood of the ruins a small dike was observed, which closed the stream right after its spring (Fig 16). Behind the dike a 20 x 20 m, oval bed was documented whose bottom was filled with water, forming a small lake. The bank is slightly hollow, which is probably connected to the default of the sluice. The spring's water presently flows under the embankment. During the survey, significant amount medieval pottery was collected.

82 The greatest part of the material Considering the presumed size of this object, it could be preferably called as a chapel. This correlates also with the early documents about the community. Mikós, 1997,42-51. Hervay, 1984, 165. Although this project was carried out before the law of 1997 about the obligatory announcement of archaeological fieldwork came