Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. Az István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 16. 1975 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (1978)

Tanulmányok – Abhandlungen - Makkay János: Excavations at Bicske. I, 1960. The Early Neolithic – The Earliest Linear Band Ceramic. p. 9–60.

of the finish. Only a very few sherds have a wall thickness of under 5 mms (for example Cat. Nos 71, 89 — 91, 115). The greatest number of thin-walled sherds were found in pit „a" from trenches I —II. 1974. These thin-walled sherds, however, all have motifs from the earliest phase of the Notenkopf Pottery Culture (Cat. Nos 246-257). In general the pottery always contains organic temper with some sort of inorganic temper. This technique is quite different from the temper found in the thin-walled fine pottery of the earliest phase of the Transdanubian Notenkopf pottery culture. Fig. 4: Plan of pit 1. in trench III. 1976, „A to B" = location of this profile is seen on Fig. 5; A, B, C, D, E are post-holes from the Sopot-Bicske culture. common combinations of tempers is that of organic and micaceous sand mixed with crushed pebbles, followed by organic temper with finely broken pebbles, and less frequently whole pebbles and organic temper. The finest pottery rarely may even utilize a combination of organic temper, micaceous sand and whole pebbles (Cat. Nos 8 and 47). This combination occurs more frequently in the coarse ware (Cat. No. 66). Pottery types also occur using organic temper, broken pebbles and whole pebbles, but no micaceous sand (Cat. Nos 5-7, 86, 282-285, 288-289). Another unusual form is that containing only micaeous sand (Cat. Nos. 26, 41, 52, 46, 60, 89-91, 115). In such cases the mica flakes are very fine and come from fluvial deposits. In a few cases the chaff and straw particles occurring on the surface of the vessels were burnt out in the course of firing, and only small depressions remain. In those cases where they were preserved, they may be seen on the inner surfaces of the vessels, since the outer surfaces were washed or slipped and this fine solution of well-cleaned clay contained no organic remains, but rather micaceous sand. H however, this slipped surface was polished or slightly burnished, The most commonly used organic material was chaff and more rarely, finely chopped straw (as in the case of a large storage vessel, Cat. No. 87). Only very infrequently do vessels contain only organic temper (probably Cat. Nos 72-77, 82-83, 105109, 116—117). Similarly, one finds that nonNotenkopf pottery is only very infrequently totally lacking in organic temper (probably Cat. Nos 26 — 27, 41, 42, 46, 60, 89-91, 115). These non-organic tempered sherds mostly belong to finely smoothed or highly polished pottery, having either slightly impressed lines or normally incised lines. The most Fig. 5: Profile of pit 1. in trench III. 1976. impressions of chaff and mineral inclusions are visible through the slip. It was also possible to see holes which occurred on the vessel surface either when the organic particles pushed through during the firing or else after firing, when the slip was pressed into holes produced in the lower surface by the same organic material burnt out in the firing. Some times superficial impressions of chaff may also be seen in the slip. (Such depressions from chaff are on the inner side of vessels: Cat. Nos 11, 13, 56, 166 — 172, 176, 298, etc. ; on some outer surfaces of fineware vessels: Cat. Nos 11, 59, 78, 103, 129, 132, and even on burnished vessels: Cat. Nos 142—145.) One can see a depression made by a whole grain (Cat. Nos. 141, 234). One may also see surface depressions caused by pebbles or mineral particles which fell out from the vessel wall, and sometimes mineral particles or small pebbles can be seen on the surface, even on highly polished sherds (Cat. Nos. 168—169). Even in the fine ware vessels, surface unevenness may be caused by a large piece of groundup pottery or pebble in the temper. This unevenness is emphasized by polishing (the best example of this is Cat. No. 8). Other roughness may result from de18