Tálas László szerk.: The late neolithic of the Tisza region (1987)

Hódmezővásárhely-Gorzsa (F. Horváth)

HÓDMEZŐVÁSÁRHELYGORZSA A settlement of the Tisza culture [F. HORVÁTH] The site lies in the environs of Hódmezővásárhely, at the confluence of the Tisza and Maros rivers. However, the archaeological site is not identical with the detached farmstead of Corzsa shown on road maps; it lies some 10 km to its southwest. The settlement lies on a natural elevation that rises to a height of 4-5 m above its surroundings, and had, prior to the regulation of the river in the last century, been surrounded by streams and morasses belonging to the drainage network of the Tisza. The one-time Kéró stream - whose deep channel can still be seen - formed a direct link to the Tisza, to Lake Hód near Hódmezővásárhely, to the Száraz stream winding its way through the bogs and marshes of this area, and also to the Maros through the creeks and rivulets flowing under the Lebő mound. The broader environment of the site in which elevations and ridges suitable for settlement and agriculture alternated with lower-lying meadows, running and stillwaters (creeks, lakes, bogs and marshes) was equally suited to hunting, fishing and gathering, as well as to a sedentary way of life based on agriculture and animal husbandry. The geographic environment thus offered excellent possibilities for sedentism. Timber from the oak woods and ribbon forests' willow, poplar and alder could be used in the construction of houses and for heating, their branches and twigs for the wattling reinforcing the walls, reed for thatching, and the abundantly available yellow clay for daubing and the manufacture of pottery. The strongly varied topography also offered excellent hideaways in times of danger. The site is marked as Földvár (earthwork fort) on 18th and 19th century maps. This name still crops up occasionally, but has since been replaced by names preserving the memory of the former owners of the modern farmsteads founded on the elevation (Konstantin tanya, Keleti tanya, Cukor major, etc.). The name Földvár probably coincides with the Medieval name of this area, presumably given by Slavic settlers, since the meaning of Gorusa, the Old Slavic form of Gorzsa, is 'mound, elevation', and it is used to denote the entrance to a hillfort in modern Russian (MOOR 1932, 16-18). According to an old description the remains of "a fortified castle built in olden days" were still visible on the islet "to where the inhabitants of the area fled in times of Tartar and Turkish raids. For being surrounded by rivers and marshes on all sides, it remains forever closed to strangers" (BÉL1980-81,12, 47). 31