Balogh Zoltán – Fodor Miklós Zoltán (szerk.): Neograd 2013 - A Dornyay Béla Múzeum Évkönyve 37. (Salgótarján, 2014)

Régészet - Rácz Miklós: A sámsonházai vár régészeti ásatásának és falkutatásának eredményei

ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND BUILDING SURVEY OF THE CASTLE SÁMSON HÁZA

In this paper we are summarizing the results from the 2004-2005 research and architectural survey of castle Sámsonháza. Through the presented fieldwork it was possible to explore and document the archaeology of a castle that had been destroyed to a great extent and had hardly been investigated by historians and archaeologists.

The main results with the overview of written evidence were published by the author in 2006 (RÁCZ 2006).

The present paper continues the first publication, the data presented there will only be shortly summarized now.

The only written evidence about the castle at a time when it was probably already standing and not yet destroyed is dating from the year 1265, when "Feyerkw" is standing as a reference point to the border of a neighbour estate.

In 1402 for the first time and later a few times during the 15th century it was referred to as a deserted castle.

The main goals of the archaeological research were to reveal the arrangement of the castle and find information about its construction, use and destruction.

The two major parts of wall remains are standing in the north of the small hilltop, the outer wall surface is preserved, the inner one is already destroyed. Remarkable features of the wall remains are the hollows of timbers placed in the masonry in regular rows in order to strengthen the structure. We have been able to exactly survey the arrangement of these timbers. The rows of timbers had been placed at the levels or rows of masonry, but not at each level.

In the first year the building in the north side was investigated with a trench between the two standing parts of the outer wall. In the trench the floor of the lower level was found covered with a layer of ash and charcoal, over which there lay the debris of the walls. In the south wall the lower part of a window looking to the inner court of the castle was found.

At three smaller wall remains the outer surface was localized through excavation, a survey of the whole area and of the northern elevations was prepared.

In the second year a trench was cut through the peak of the hill, which was later extended until the outer walL Two further trenches were located in the south just outside the castle as well as the northern part of the outer wall.

At the top of the castle hill remains were found that could be associated with timber or half-timbered building.

In the filling of the foundation trench of the stone castle wall there was debris of burnt wattle-and-daub structure. The structure, perhaps a stove, from which the debris is coming had been demolished by the end of the construction of the inner wall of the castle.

As to the construction date of the castle closer archaeological evidence could not be confirmed, but with the general development in view it is probably not earlier than the mid 13th century. The destruction, based on the finds was not later than the early 14th century. Stratigraphy showed that it has not been rebuilt again.

A late medieval group of finds should be paid special attention. The finds could not be associated with any archaeological feature, but it could have relevance to historical evidence about the presence of Hussite troops in the mid 15th century in other deserted castles of the closer region. The late Medieval horizon of finds is probably coming from this activity.

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