H. Bathó Edit – Horváth László – Kaposvári Gyöngyi – Tárnoki Judit – Vadász István szerk.: Tisicum - A Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Megyei Múzeumok Évkönyve 15. (2006)

JÁNOS CSEH: ARCHAEOLOGIA SCYTHICA. ADDITAMENTA TO HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE TISZA REGION IN THE IRON AGE

JÁNOS CSEH ARCHAEOLOGIA SCYTHICA. ADDITAMENTA TO HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE TISZA REGION IN THE IRON AGE Abstract It is unaccomodating and difficult to prepare résumé about a work of such a nature as the present one, yet seeing/understanding to be obligatory, traditionally required, this must be performed. Reason of this that in the presence of the reader/inquirer there stands partly a rigorous finds, publication (1-Й), partly a catalogue of sites not good reading or quasi boring (III). The first passage is destined for making the professional public acquainted with features of the Scythian Age settlement which came to light in May-July of the year 2003 (besides archaeological relics dated to other prehistoric periods, e.g. to the nice and beautiful Tisza culture). The site is: Hillér in the fields of Fegyvernek, on such a loess terrace west of the village that had islet-like rised in olden times above the surroundings overrun by water. Until quite recently a monumental clayresp. sand-pit giving prehistoric mood/impression — as it were, so to say, the world of the „man with stone-axe"- has been working here; this called for the rescue excavations. Two such archaeological features appeared which we could determine as house foundations from the Middle Iron Age, the 6-4. centuries B.C., ca. 15 meters distant from one another (features С and E). In times past both ones had been building deepened into the ground. Only a trifle was left of the second for the posterity (it did not contain finds), brief description of the first hut remnant is as follows. The oblong-shaped, shallow dip/pit was 330x230 cm, with traces of the entrance(?). Its longitudinal axis faced towards southwest-nordeast. We managed to notice remains of fire-place in some spots. Fine-looking piece of the gathered wheel-turned pottery is a fragment of bottle with narrow neck and a sherd broken out of bowl being inside ornamented by polished lines. Barrel-shaped pots with laid-on plastic and pressed-in decorations give the significant majority in the hand-made sort to be more in number as anyting else. The finds figured on the tables are primarily rims as characteristic shards. A ribbed sole fragment is considered thing of interest/ambiguousity of the archaeological material. Among the other items we may mention a quasi spheroid spindle-whorl. Second part of the present compilation is taken up by that publication of archaeological finds which were come to light during the excavations managed by Zsolt Csalog in the year 1963, in Tiszaszőlős (site Csontospart III). General plan and sketches of settlement features are not at our disposal this very instant, their founding once again to be at any time expected. Notwithstanding, even in a torso form as this, their publishing is by all means justified, very well. Perhaps it is enough for the framework of this abstract to made a picking out: the pseudo-kylix because of its remote Greek connections may particularly reckon with interest of the research. Catalogue of the Scythian sites includes ca. 90 heads/entries taken as a whole. Approximately two-third of these permits to conclude settlements, one-third hints at cemeteries. Arrangement of the units or entries is the following: exact and entire site indication/name, as far as possible, afterwards year of the coming up (ifit is known), type of the finds (i.e. settlement or cemetery) and at last the literature relating to the subject. In this latter case we have endeavoured to collect every single one, notwithstanding there happen insufficiencies. Yet the list presenting the archaeological relics of our county from the (7-)6-4. centuries B.C. is the first undertaking in this respect, (translated by the author) 42