Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. Az István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 20. 1980 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (1983)
Tanulmányok – Abhandlungen - Kralovászky Alán: The earliest church of Alba Civitas. p. 75–88. t. XXVII–XXXII.
THE EARLIEST CHURCH OF ALBA CIVITAS The architectural evidence and its use in evaluation In 1971, a limited number of architectural remains were observed and recovered during drainage work on the top of a sandy mound located at the highest point of the historical center of Székesfehérvár. The ruins may be found directly in front of the western facade of the more recent cathedral of the bishop (Kralovánszky 1972, 63). Building material: Foundation. Almost 90% of it is made of rubble comming from the nearby Velence mountains. The stones average 20 by 20 by 30 centimeters. Both the inner and outer edges of the walls are lined with 20 by 30 by 15 centimeters white limestone ashlars. To a lesser extent the same area contains fragmented Roman bricks. The whole foundation of the pillar was made of Roman bricks. Standing walls. Due to earlier destruction the site did not yield fragments which would have allowed the wall material to be identified with full certainty. Cementing medium: It is composed of a heavily limed substance of good quality mixed with yellow gravel. Construction technique: The foundation of the walls is based at a constant height of around +112.80 meters above sea level, embedded directly into the virgin sand. The foundation of the pillar lies at + 113.25 meters that is, 45 centimeters higher than the surrounding walls. This is probably due to the fact that the pillar had been less exposed to deformation caused by freezing since it was located inside the building. The lowest row of bricks forming the pillar is placed directly on the sand without any plaster. Both the stone walls and the pillar are very thick. The thickness of the binding material may be as much as 5 to 6 centimeters in places. These dimensions are characteristic of Byzantine technology. The walls and pillar are consistently approximately 115—120 centimeters in width. In addition, the precise leveling of stones and bricks and the carefully formed inner and outer lines of the walls are indicative of a careful foundation. Presuming that the stones of the building were carried away down to the building's floor level (as occurs in the case of Roman period and Medieval buildings from Hungary and several other countries) the foundation of the walls may be estimated as 95—115 centimeters deep, while that of the pillar may have reached a depth of 45—65 centimeters. The floor level may have been located at +114.75 to 114.95 meters above sea level during the course of the use and destruction of the building. Plan : Almost 28 meters of the approximately 40 meters long and obviously continuous wall of the building could be partially examined. On the basis of this investigation it became apparent that a central building had been discovered. The plan showed an approximately 10 by 10 meters square which was carefully oriented. This square had semicircular extensions attached to each side. The southern arch however, could not be found. It was destroyed by secondary use of its stones in the construction of a probably 18th century crypt and a 19th century drainage ditch respectively. Considering that the existence or lack of the southern arch may lead to different conclusions this question must be given special attention. In addition, the above —mentioned modern crypt and drainage construe75
