Szakáll Sándor - Fehér Béla: A polgárdi Szár-hegy ásványai (Topographia Mineralogica Hungariae 8. Miskolc, 2003)
A polgárdi mészkőbányák története (Simon Hajnalka)
Topographia Mineralogica Hungáriáé Vol. VIII. 19-28. Miskolc, 2003 A polgárdi mészkőbányák története History of limestone quarries in Polgárdi, Hungary SIMON Hajnalka 8152 Köszárhegy, Széchenyi u. 21. Abstract The geological research of the Paleozoic limestone on Somlyó Hill and Szár Hill began in 1870. There are still open questions due to the uncertainty of the relative position and the age of some of the formations. Many drillings and several rather old quarries used since the Roman times promoted the increase of the geological knowledge of the area. Quarrying gained industrial significance in the beginning of the 20 th century. At present the large quarry plays an important role in providing the surrounding area with limestone products. The Paleozoic "mountain" range consists of two parts: Somlyó Hill (226 m) and Szár Hill (228 m). It is situated between Polgárdi town and Szabadbattyán village, southwest of Székesfehérvár. Köszárhegy village lies on the southern foot of the Szár Hill. The Somlyó Hill has already been quarried down almost fully, at present the quarrying is in progress in the western part of the Szár Hill. The area of the Somlyó Hill belongs to Polgárdi town, whereas the quarries of the Szár Hill are situated in the territory of Köszárhegy (Figs. 1-2). The oldest archaeological finds of the surrounding area are known from the Somlyó Hill, these are Neolithic tools. Archaeologists of the Hungarian National Museum created a comparative raw material collection (Lithotheca) from rock samples suitable for making stone tools. The crystalline limestone, marble and skarn specimens of Polgárdi are also parts of the collection, but no tools made of these rocks have been found yet by archaeologists. There were important Roman settlements near Tác and Szabadbattyán villages but on the Somlyó and Szár Hills only a military establishment existed. Many Roman coins and a silver quadripus (four-legged stand) were found in the area. The Seuso treasure (silver tableware) must come from the same place. The Somlyó Hill is very rich in archaeological finds, especially in medieval ones. A church, a cemetery and a village are known from the 9 th11 th century. Written sources also prove the existence of a medieval village called Bökénysomlyó. This village and further estates called Bathyan and Polgárdi belonged to the Bökény family. In 1382 King Sigismund confiscated these estates because of disloyalty. Later, in 1398 the King donated the settlements to György Kövágóörsi who changed his surname to Batthyány after the village. Since the 16 century wine production has had significant role on the Somlyó Hill. The area of the Szár Hill belonged to Szabadbattyán village until 1931 when Köszárhegy (on the foot of the Szár Hill) was detached from Szabadbattyán. In the first half of the 20 th century the quarries provided jobs for the inhabitants. The number of quarrymen culminated in the 1970s when about 150 people worked in the quarries. Then the number of workers decreased gradually, at present down to 65 people have employment in the Somlyó Hill quarry. On the Somlyó Hill the quarrying began in the early 18 th century. In the 1910s three quarries operated there (Fig. 3), then the separate quarries merged into a single one, as the quarrying advanced towards the Szár Hill. The quarry owner was the Count Batthyány family until the nationalisation in 1950. In the middle of the 1950s the large quarry spreading from Somlyó Hill reached the western part of the Szár Hill. There are many disused quarries (Fig. 4) on the Szár Hill. In the beginning of the 20 lh century each of these
