Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. A Szent István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 30. 2000 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (2001)

Tanulmányok – Abhandlungen - Éry Kinga: A short anthropological description on a Late Roman Period population at Herculia (Tác-Margittelep). p. 21–35. t. XVIII–XXII.

As far as adults are concerned, the relative paucity of males is conspicious: their ratio to women is 128 to 151. Since numerous cases of battle related trauma occur on the male skeletons of this cemetery, it may be assumed that the absence of men should be explained by their death and enterrment, as soldiers, in far away places. This hypothesis may be reconfirmed by the fact that the number of skeletons is especially small in the case of 20 to 34 year old males. Traumatic and pathological cases

2 Evidence of violence The unique feature of the Tác-Margittelep population was the high number of sword blows observable on the skulls and postcranial bones. Such a high frequency has never been encountered in any historical periods within the Carpathian Basin, disregarding the 16

lh century mass graves of the Mohács battle-field (Zoffmann 1982). A short survey of these instances, their presentation on pictures, as well as their presentation within the cemetery cannot be omitted even in this short study. Sword cuts on the skull. No. 174: three lethal cuts were observed on the cranial vault of a 34-38 year old man (Plate XVIII, Figs 1-2, Plate XIX, Fig.5). - No. 180: the cranial vault and the face of a 53-57 year old man bears also three lethal cuts (Plate XIX, Figs 6-7). -No. 186: a 43-49 year old man died by one cut on the cranial vault (Plate XVIII, Figs 3-4). - No. 237: three lethal cuts hit the cranial vault and the face of a 44-48 year old man (Plate XX, Figs 8-10). - No. 243: the nasal bones of a 54-58 year old man had been cut across, however, the wound healed. - No. 250/a: the cranial vault of a 30-60 year old man was sliced through by a single lethal blow ( Plate XX, Fig. 11). - No. 276: a somewhat healed cut was discovered on the cranial vault of a 13-14 year old boy, suggesting that he survived this violent trauma for some time (Plate XXI, Fig. 12). - No. 383: the cranial vault of a 51-55 year old man was hit by two lethal cuts (Plate XXI, Fig. 13). - No. 402: the cranial vault of another boy (10-12 years) was cut through by a lethal blow (Plate XXI, Fig. 14). - No. 415: a cut hit the surface of the skull of a 49-53 year old man. Although this trauma was not lethal, no signs of healing can be seen along the cut. Therefore it may be assumed, that the man died of some other wound suffered during the same clash (Plate XXI, Fig. 15). - No. 417: the mandible of a 46-52 year old man was hit slicing off the right angulus mandibulae. Although this trauma could not have been lethal as well, the lack of healing signs makes it obvious that the man died at The detailed description of all cases are presented in the cited study Éry (2000).. the time this violent trauma occurred (Plate XXII, Fig. 18). - No. 432: two small, parallel cuts were observed on the surface of the right zygomatic bone of a 64-68 year old man with no evidence of healing. However, the post mortem origin of this damage, may not be ruled out

. b) Sword cuts on the postcranial skeleton. No. 170: the marks of cuts were identified on the right humerus, as well as on the right and left radius and ulna of a 18-20 year old man. These traumas showed no sign of survival (Plate XXII, Fig. 16). - No. 180: a short transversal cut damaged the anterolateral surface of the femur of a 53-57 year old man. Given the lack of a healing reaction it seems probable that this wound was inflicted at the same time as the man's skull was also hit by lethal blows. - No. 189: surfacial cuts on the right radius and left ulna of a 63-67 year old man showed no evidence of healing. - No. 261 : the left ala ossis ilii of a 4448 year old man bears a shallow cut on its back side with no sign of healing. The os ischium of the same individual is damaged by a small rhomboid-shaped perforation with no evidence of healing either. - No. 312: the right femur of a 54-60 year old man suffered a cut in its middle portion that reached the cavum medulläre. No sign of healing indicative of survival could be observed. - No. 383: the distal end of the left ulna was shaved off by a blow of a 51-55 year old man, whose skull was also hit by cuts. - No. 398: the upper edge of the right scapula displays a healed cut in a 54-58 year old man ( Plate XXII, Fig. 17). Summarising above data, there were sword blows causing immediate or almost immediate death in the case of 14 individuals. All of them were men, among them two aged between 10-14 years, one 18-20 years old, one person between 33-38 years, the other 10 individuals over 45 years of age, probably veteran soldiers. Their age composition as well as the fact that their bodies were lying in the cemetery of the settlement indicate that they lost their lives defending the settlement or fighting at a location close to the place. The position of their graves shows certain grouping within the cemetery (Fig. 1'.) Graves of the deceased nr. 170, 174, 180, 237 and 312 were close to each other at the eastern part of the cemetery, individuals nr. 250/a, 261 and 276 were in the middle and the persons in graves 383, 402, 415 and 417 were on the western part of the cemetery. These groups can suggest warfare at different time periods; another possible explanation could be that the families buried their relatives at certain parts of the cemetery. This hypothesis is supported by the spatial autocorrelation of high stature individuals within the graves (Bocquet-Appel - Ery 1988). c) Wounds on the skull. Healed wounds attributable to a variety of causes were identified on the skulls of 14 men, 3 women as well as on a 10-12 year old individual. - Wounds on the postcranial skeleton and their implications were found on 14 men, 3 women and 3 children. 22