Gulyás Katalin et al. (szerk.): Tisicum. A Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok megyei Múzeumok évkönyve 27. (Szolnok, 2019)

Néprajztudomány - Örsi Zsolt: Kunhalmok a karcagi határban

TISICUM XXVII.

ZSOLT ÖRSI:

TUMULI ON THE BORDER OF KARCAG

If we take a closer look around on the Great Hungarian Plain, we can still find smaller and bigger mounds to this day, even though most of them had been destroyed. A mound like this is a so-called ’kunhalom’ (tumulus or burial mound), or as Gyula Illés called them, the ‘cathedrals’ of the Great Plain. Although ‘kunhalom’ is a literary name, it contains that much truth that they are mostly found in the region of Nagykunság. The word ‘cathedral’ is appropriate in the sense that they can be considered really great constructions of the Great Plain, where buildings of stone are unknown for natural reasons. It is important to know however, that these are one of the most ancient architectural remnants in Hungary and maybe in the whole of Europe that still stand today. Unfortunately, their deliberate and reckless destruction has been taking place since the 20th century, even though they enjoy nation-wide protection. The

origin of the mounds can be traced back to prehistoric times almost without exception. Many of them had findings from the Copper and Bronze ages, but the Avars and Cumans also used them for their burials, who opened their first public cemeteries here. According to István Györffy, there used to be more than a hundred mounds in the proximity of Karcag. Unfortunately, I was not able to identify all of their locations, but I corrected the inaccuracies of older works. To my great sorrow, I could not do field work, because I did not get the opportunity. In my paper I was able to identify more than a hundred mounds, although a part of them are double or triple mounds, or their belonging here is doubtful, but according to the witnesses in the charters of the period, they show up in the land of Karcag as rightful border.

1. kép: Az Ábrahám-laponyag és a Kolbászi-halom

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