Balogh Csilla – P. Fischl Klára: Felgyő, Ürmös-tanya. A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Monumenta Archeologica 1. (Szeged, 2010)

The animal remains from the Avar cemetery at Felgyő, Ürmös-tanya

Felgyő, Ürmös-tanya avar temető ál latcsontmellékletei 409 Most amulet sets were deposited on the outer side of the leg or the inner side of the lower arm and hand, i.e. between the thigh and the lower arm. This also holds true for the astragalus and sheep tooth amulets, which also lay by the upper end of the thigh. The single exception is Grave 159, in whose case the position of the amulet was not recorded. Some amulets were packed away together with the earth and thus it could be clearly observed that the bones lay extremely close to each other, suggesting that they had been strung together or kept in a pouch. The position of the bones in the grave confirms this interpretation. The amulet bones were found lying on the inner side of the hand, suggesting that the bones had perhaps been tied around the wrist, although in this case, some of the bones would undoubtedly have lain on the outer side of the hand. The traces of wear on the metatarsals indicate their use over a long period of time. At the same time, wearing the bones in this manner would have proved impractical in daily life and would have resulted in breakages and other damage. It seems to me that these amulets were strung on a cord and suspended from the belt around the waist. While traces of having been strung on a cord and indications of wear can be observed on the hare metatarsals from Grave 119, there are no traces of wear on the other bones. It is therefore possible that the domestic goose and hare amulets were not part of the same set. The cattle patella from Grave 109, a child burial, and the cattle calcaneus from Grave 158, a male burial, were more likely attributes rather than amulets. WORKED BONE AND BONE TOOLS The worked bone finds from the cemetery were in part tools and in part ornaments. 37 worked bone finds came to light from 21 graves (the five pieces from Graves 7, 59 and 84 have sadly been lost). The stray finds include a bone mouthpiece and a bone needle. Fifteen graves contained a single worked bone, six graves contained two worked bones, one grave contained two, one grave contained four and one grave contained five worked bones. The lost finds from Grave 59 were two polished bone plaques and a needle-case. Grave 7 had contained a needle-case. Grave 84 a bone plaque for fastening a pouch (Table 10). The worked bone finds were made up of seventeen bone plaques (46 per cent), ten needle-cases (27 per cent), five mouthpieces (13.5 per cent), two disentangling hooks (5.4 per cent), a double flute (2.7 per cent), a comb (2.7 per cent) and a needle (2.7 per cent). The bone plaques were predominantly used for fastening pouches and they were all recovered from male burials (the only exception being Grave 59). The disentangling hooks found in two male burials (Graves 83 and 167) were made from red deer antlers. A pair of bone mouthpieces came to light from Graves 108 and 119, while one was a stray find. Eight of the graves yielding bone artefacts were female burials (Graves 15, 23, 39, 59, 143, 163, 177, 230). Ten bone artefacts were recovered from these graves, each containing one, with the exception of Grave 59. A bone comb was placed in Grave 39 and bone needle-cases in the other graves. Grave 59 also contained two polished bone plaques in addition to the needle-case. Most of the bone artefacts were recovered from male burials: twenty-two artefacts placed in eleven graves, six of which contained a single artefact only (Graves 84, 121, 165, 184, 215, 227). Graves 83 and 225 yielded two bone artefacts, Grave 157 contained three artefacts, while Graves 197 and 108 contained four and five artefacts respectively. The burials in Graves 7 and 119 could not be sexed; the former had a bone needle-case, the latter two bone mouthpieces. The double flute came to light from Grave 157, a male burial. According to the description and the grave plan, the flute lay on the right side of the skull. In his study on similar finds, György Csajághy noted that flutes were generally deposited in this region in other Avar burials too. In his view, the flutes were part of bagpipes, and their position in the burial reflected the way they were used (CSAJÁGHY 1998, 28). According to Dénes Jánossy and István Vörös, the flute was made from the tibiotarsal of crane. POSITION OF THE ANIMAL BONES IN THE GRA VES The animal sacrifices and animal food offerings were usually placed near the deceased's feet in Avar burials. The animal remains in the burials of the Felgyő cemetery were, for the greater part, placed downward from the pelvis. The same was noted in the cemetery at Szekszárd-Palánk, where the animal remains were generally deposited downward from the knee and lay either between the legs or around the feet (KÖRÖSI 2007, 233 234, Fig. 3). A few animal remains were found by the head or in the region of the shoulders and the chest. Different types of animal remains were found in different parts of the grave with varying frequencies. About 84 per cent of the cattle food offerings lay by the pelvis and the outer side of the legs or, more rarely, on or between them. Three cattle food offerings were laid by the right shoulder and three by the upper arm. The cattle skull was placed by the outer side of the right thigh. At Szekszárd, a cattle skull was deposited in the lower left corner of the grave (KÖRÖSI 2007, Fig. 3), while at Székkutas, the remains were placed in different parts of the grave (KÖRÖSI 2005, 230, 237). About one-half of the sheep food offerings were placed around the feet; other sheep remains were found beside other bodily parts. The sheep sacrifice was deposited by the left upper arm. The sheep sacrifices in the Szekszárd cemetery lay in the left corner of the grave pit near the left foot (KÖRÖSI 2007, 233, Fig. 3) and beside the legs of the deceased in the Székkutas cemetery (KÖRÖSI 2005, 229-242). The hen sacrifices were most often placed in the region of the legs, although in a few graves, the remains were deposited on either side of the skull and on the left upper armbone. Hen sacrifices were found on the right leg in eleven cases and on the left leg in eight cases. Pig food offerings were found in various parts of the grave pit without any apparent pattern. With the exception of two specimens, the eggs were generally placed below the pelvis, in the region of the hands and legs, usually on the outer and inner side of the left leg (in two-thirds of the cases).