Fitz Jenő (szerk.): The Celts in Central Europe - István Király Múzeum közelményei. A. sorozat 20. A Pannon konferenciák aktái 2. (Székesfehérvár, 1975)

I. Bognár-Kutzián: Some new early La Téne finds in the Northern Danube Basin

SOME NEW EARLY LA TÈNE FINDS IN THE NORTHERN DANI RE HASIN

One of 1 he main problems of research into the role of Celts in Hungary — very much like any other region of the Eastern Group — is to clarify the circumstances of their appearance and to determine the date.

Research has come to the general conclusion — controversial as it may be in some details — that certain elements of the La Tène Culture appear as early as in phase A or some A type elements emerge in early B. The appearance of the Celts, however, cannot be put before phase B. In other words, in the late 5th century or somewhat later sporadic phenomena can be revealed at two or three sites in the norht-western part of the Carpathian Basin, whereas the much richer phase B finds show up in the western part at the end of the first or in the second third of the 4th century. According to I. H u n y a d y La Tène B covered only Western and Northern Transdanubia and its appearance East of the Danube is attested only by the nearby sites of Vác and Püspökhatvan(1 ). Recent finds and the reinterpretation of old ones have considerably extended the sphere of diffusion in the Carpathian Basin. I only refer to the density of B (even Bj) sites in Western Transylvania(1 2).

Whereas in the first horizon the issue of the ethnic provenance is undecided, in the second great many archaeologists look upon it as the outcome of a wave of the historically substantiated Celtic migration in

(1) L. Márton, Die Frühlatènezeit in Ungarn. AHung, XI, 1933, 65, 112- 114; I. Httnyady, Kelták a Kárpátmedencében. DissPann, 11/18, 1944, 3, 5, 20, 24.

(2) M. Rttsu, Das keltische Fürstengrab von Ciunteşti in

Rumänien. BRGK, L, 1971, 267 — 296; V. Zirra, Beiträge zur Kenntnis des keltischen Laténe in Rumänien. Dacia, XV, 1971, 171 —238.; Id., Nouveaux points de vue sur les Celtes et leur civilisation en Roumanie. ËC, XIII, 2, 795 — 820.

the early 4th century, though some challenge this view. Even the problem of the ethnic continuity of A and B arises in the Eastern Group(3).

The Pilismarót —Basaharc cemetery, when fully analysed, may turn out to be an essential contribution to explain the problem at least as far as the appearance of the Celts or their culture and the question of the ethnic continuity in Hungary is concerned. This is the reason why I have chosen this site as a starting point in spite of the fact that at present I can discuss only a few characteristic features of the cemetery. The cause is that the restoration of t he finds, the anthropological and the zoological investigations as well as the identification of the find assemblages and the mapping of the cemetery are actually under way.

The site is situated east of Esztergom in the western outskirts of the village of Pilismarót (Komárom county), on the right bank of the Danube. The aim of the excavations led by the late N. F e 11 i c h between 1959 and 1968 was to unearth the Avar cemetery. The excavations brought to light the finds of the La Tène Period from more than 100 graves(4). The biritual cemtery contained mainly Early La Tène finds and also some Middle La Tène ones while some finds of the site seem to date from the Late La Tène phase. In connection with burials the stones

(3) H. P. Lenze, Zur Frühlatènezeit in Oberpfalz. BVB, XXIX, 1964, 116 — 117; J. Filip, Le problème de la double origine des Celtes en Europe Centrale. ÉC, XIII, 2, 583 -594.

(4) 111 graves according to N. Fettich, Pilismarót - Basaharc. Keltisches Gräberfeld, Opfergruben aus und nach der Awarenzeit. Zehn Jahre archäologische Forschung 1958 — 1968, Budapest, 1970, 121 — 125; Id., Das awarenzeitliche Gräberfeld von Pilismarót- Basaharc. Studia Arch., Ill, Budapest, 1965; V.