Szőllősy Csilla - Pokrovenszki Krisztián (szerk.): Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis - Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei. C. sorozat 44. (Székesfehérvár, 2016)
Tanulmányok/közlemények - Régészet - Orha Zoltán - Pozsgai Helga - Savanyú Bálint: Egy 10 - 11. századi teleprészlet különleges objektuma Székesfehérvárról
Orha Zoltán — Po^sgai Helga — Savanyú Bálint: Egy 10-11. századi teleprészlet különleges objektuma Székesfehérvárról Zoltán Orha - Helga Pozsgai - Bálint Savanyú Special artefact found in Székesfehérvár during the excavation of a 10-11th century settlement In the summer of 2014, the King Saint Stephen Museum conducted a preventive archaeological excavation in the western outskirts of Székesfehérvár, at an archaeological site located between Székesfehérvár — Hosszéri-dülő and Ezres-puszta. In the explored area, which extends over more than 33,000 m2, in addition to artefacts originating from the Middle Bronze Age, the remains of a settlement have been found, which is dated to the early period of the Árpád Dynasty’s rule. Out of the buildings of this settlement from the early Árpád Era, the study deals with a large, 11.5 meter long and 4.5 meter wide, pit-house (ID: SE 382), found along the route of the frontage road running parallel to the bypass. This pit-house is outstanding both in terms of dimensions and architectural features. A small portion of the object extends beyond the expropriated area, thus a complete excavation was not possible. The base of this semi-subterranean building is 80-85 centimetre in depth (from the levelled ground); on the inner side, a hollow can be observed which was used to hold the inner lining that supported the rammed-earth walls. Remains of the posts that supported the roof structure could not be found. Subsequently, after the house had been abandoned, two storage pits were dug, and the burial site of a child has also been unearthed from the deposited layers of material. A few buildings of similar size are known to scientists in Hungary: one was found at the Balatonőszöd (Temetői-dűlő area) archaeological site and dated to the 11th/12th century; another was found at the Ordacsehi — Bugaszeg site and dated to the 12th/13th century; the third was found at the Győr (Vagongyár area) site and dated to the 12th/13th century. There is an ongoing debate about the function of similar buildings. The find unearthed in Ordacsehi was classified as a rammed-earth pen for animals. The buildings in Balatonőszöd are believed to have been used as storage facilities and rammed-earth pens according to the scientists who first published an article about these finds. The structure found at the Győr (Vagongyár area) site was defined as a storehouse or the storage room of a normal house (i.e. not dug into the ground). As regards the building remains excavated in Székesfehérvár, the most possible definitions include storehouse or storage facility of a normal house. Pieces of cauldron rims as well as several sherds of a pot with ornamented inner rim and of a pot with ribbed neck have been unearthed from the hollow that served as the base of the building, and from the material deposited in the pits dug there. Ceramics were typically ornamented with incised wavy lines, spiral lines and/or pinched (indented with the fingers) and were made on a manual potter’s wheel. Based on the carbon-14 (radiocarbon) dating of the animal bones contained in the object, it originates from 1020 to 1040. No metal artefacts have been found that would have allowed us to establish the age with certainty. After the investigations, it can be stated that the finds unearthed from the two pits can be dated to the first third (or half) of the 11th century, while the building No. SE 382 is likely to have been used in the 10th century or the first few decades of the 11th century. 46
