A Debreceni Déri Múzeum Évkönyve 2004 (Debrecen, 2005)

Régészet, ókortudomány - Horváth Ciprián: Special Rings Found in the Graves Dating to the Time of the Settlement of Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin

Ciprián Horváth SPECIAL RINGS FOUND IN THE GRAVES DATING TO THE TIME OF THE SETTLEMENT OF HUNGARIANS IN THE CARPATHIAN BASIN The most salient pieces in the sets of jewelry characteristic of the Hungarians moving into the Carpathian Basin at the end of the 9

th century are probably the so-called hólyagos [bullate] and négygömbös [quadruple bulb] rings. As far as I know, there are approximately fifty pieces of them in the whole of the Carpathian Basin. These rings are categorized according to the technique used for their production. The ones in the former group were made of metal sheets while the latter ones were cast. As regards the type of metal used as raw material for their production, silver seems to have been the most widespread, followed by a much smaller number of gold exemplars, whereas there are only two pieces available that were made of bronze. These rings could be afforded and were worn almost exclusively by more affluent individuals and there are only a few pieces coming from the circle of the general population. Both men and women used to wear them, yet they were more popular among the women. It should be noted that none has been found in children's graves to date. Regarding their chronological status, it seems certain that they were still in use in the first half of the tenth century. Whether they were or were not around at the end of the same century, however, cannot be proved beyond doubt. Parallel, or very similar, items have been unearthed from sites in areas across Eastern Europe from the Ural Mountains to the Carpathians. 148