Madaras László – Tálas László – Szabó László szerk.: Tisicum - A Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Megyei Múzeumok Évkönyve 9. (1996)

László Madaras: The Question of the Early Avar Niche Grave Population's Continuity in the 8th Century (A korai avar fülkesíros népesség továbbélésének kérdése a VIII. században)

tions (early Avar people and the Tótipuszta-lgar Group) which had practised the same form of burial in the same area of the Eastern European Steppe for centuries and which in addition, continued practising this form of burial in the same restricted area within the Carpathian Basin. Knowing the methodology and the results of archeology the probability of this theory is very low. We should also take into consideration the assumption- bearing in mind the law of convergencethat the same form of burial was used on two different parts of the steppe, independently from each other, supposedly with the same religious and ritual background. Since the Eastern precedents have not been revealed yet, we can take sides neither with, nor against this assumption. It would be a miracle in every respect if two groups of people had settled down in the same restricted area with a gap of more than a centurybetween them. And it is a historical fact supported by the researches that the Size of the area has not changed in Spite of the fact that Dezső Csallány excavated 73 graves at 14 sites while Gábor Lőrinczy has opened up 400 graves at 35 sites. What solution may be offered, then? I think that the solution lies somewhere in the changes occuring within the Avar Empire. In my opinion, which is supported by the finds, a group of people

, which had been using niche grave burial, arrived in the Carpathian Basin together with the peoples led by Kagan Bajan. This group of people settled down in the region bordered by the Rivers Tisza and Kőrös and Maros and Aranka. In a wider sense they setteled down in the SE part of the Trans-Tiszanian territory bordered by the River Tisza in the West, except in Васка (Backa Sokolac) where the western border of the area was over the Tisza. About a century later, this group of people, together with the groups of the newly arrived Tótipuszta-lgar Group which settled down in this area, helped to forming the ethnic and archeological picture of the Carpathian Basin of the 8th century. The newly-arrived population played an important role in this process as it assimilated the local population. The changing of the grave-goods and the orientation of the niche graves reflect this assimilation. The root of the niche grave burial custom remained unchanged (the technique of the digging of the grave and the niche, burial with horse, placing animal bones into the grave) but the orientation of the graves and the finds show the process which resulted in the homogeneous "griffin and tendril" art form. However, the fact that two or three generations later, the traces of the past were still present in the burial custom of the seemingly homogeneous population characterized by griffin and tendril decoration, is proven by niche graves. Furthermore in spite of the differences, more and more homogeneous finds, together with more and more homogeneous burial customs, mark this period. This assumption is supported by the decreasing number of niche graves. It is enough to think of the number of niche graves dating from the Early Avar Period, linked to the Tótipuszta-lgar Group, and with a set of cast belt-mounts. The recognition of this process is important not only because we cannot rely on written sources in connection with the changes occuring within the Avar Empire but because this process is represented only by the finds and the technique of the digging of the niche graves. Only archeological observations can throw light on this process from an historical point of view. I think this is the essence of archeology. Bibliograph Bálint 1989 Bálint, Csanád: Die Archäologie der Steppe Wien—Köln 1989 Bona 1984 Бола István: A népvándorlás kor és kora Csallány 1939 középkor története Magyarországon. In: Magyarország története. Szerk. Székely György, pp. 265—373. Garam 1987 Bóna 1986 Bóna István: Szabolcs-Szatmár megye régészeti emlékei I. In: Szabolcs-Szatmár megye műemlékei. Szerk. Dercsényi Dezső, pp. 76—91. Csallány Dezső: Kora avar kori sírleletek. Grabfunde der Frühawarenzeit. Folia Archaeologica I—II. (1939) pp. 121—180. Garam, Éva: Pferdergräber des awarenzeitlichen Gräberfeldes in Tiszafüred. Angaben der spätawarenzeitlichen Pferdestattungen. Alba Regia XXIII. 1987. pp. 65—125. 143