Kisné Cseh Julianna (szerk.): Tatabányai Múzeum 2013 - Tatabányai Múzeum Évkönyve 3. (Tatabánya, 2013)
Groma Katalin: A tatabánya-alsó-vasútállomási kora vaskori temető
38 Groma Katalin low. The recognizable forms were irregular circles in 3 graves (10., 13. and 14. graves), irregular squares in 2 cases (4. and 15. graves) and other irregular shapes in two further graves (7. and 8. graves). All graves were covered with limestone-packings, so it is possible that little tombs were raised upon them. But these were soon destroyed. We know similar stone- constructions from early Iron Age sites from Trans- danubia, SW-Slovakia and Austria, as well. The deceased were cremated in costume, and potteries were layed next to them in the graves. Among them the big vessels with frustum of cone shaped neck were typical. Most probably they were used for storing some drink. Cups or little plates of frustum of cone or hemispherical shape were placed in the graves usually in 2-3 pieced sets. Very often they were close to animal bones, so it’s possible, that originally some food for the deceased was placed in them. Besides the above mentioned types, the typical pottery sets were the following: wide mouthed deep bowls with or without handle; plates with rims bending inside and rough cooking pots which were often decorated with knobs or plastic lines with finger-pressed motifs. In most of the cases the graves contained 6-9 potteries, but in six cases they contained only one or two pieces. The graves of the cemetery were also short of metal findings and other ceramic objects. The only attire-element was the harp-shaped fibel (1/3) from the first grave. A knife with arched blade (1/4) was also part of the same collection. It can be interpreted as a tool for cutting the meat in the grave or a multifunctional object which hanged from the belt in the life of the deceased as part of it’s costume. We know iron rings from the 2. and the 4. graves (III /8 and IV/10). Similar pieces were revealed from tombs and flat cemeteries as well. They might have symbolized the harness or they might have been part of the costume, too. The spindle weight from the 12. grave (VIII/4) and the crusted pyramid formed clay weight from the 13. grave (VIII/8) may also be symbolic. They may suggest that the deceased was a woman who practiced spinning and weaving. Finally, the sandstone column from the fourth grave (IV/9) might have been an object used for whetting some weapons or tools. The pottery and metal findings suggest that a poorer community used the cemetery. They might have lived in a village-like settlement, the exact location of which is unknown. It is hard to determine the exact chronology of the flat cemeteries, because they usually contain very few metal findings. In general, we can put them between Ha C-Ha Dl. Being a late Bronze Age tradition, the harp-shaped fibel could suggest the beginning of this period, but the tendencies of the ceramic-forms—like soft profiles without sharp breaks in the big vessels with frustum of cone shaped neck and wide mouthed deep bowls with or without handle—reflect to the end of the Ha C and Ha Dl as a chronological position of the Tatabánya-Alsó-Vasút- állomás cemetery. Translated by Szilvia Vad
