Rajna András (szerk.): Múltunk a föld alatt. Újabb régészeti kutatások Pest megyében - A Ferenczy Múzeum kiadványai, A. sorozat: Monográfiák 1. (Szentendre, 2014)
Tettamanti Sarolta: Régészti kuttások a váci vábren 1998-2002 között
English Summaries Katalin Ottományi A Late Celtic Settlement on the Outskirts of Érd A late Celtic settlement lying by Akasztó Hill near Érd (site No. 9/18, Érd-Tepecs) was investigated during the salvage excavations on the M6 motorway in 2006. The settlement was probably abandoned because of the military operations along the limes during the early phase of the Roman conquest. The excavated area was about 16,000 m2 large and some 108 features were uncovered, most of which represented the late Celtic settlement (Fig. 1). Settlement Features Pits of different functions were accounted for the greater part of the investigated settlement features. Some were deep storage pits, others were shallow refuse pits or pits used for various activities. The one or two post-holes in the latter suggest that the pits were provided with some sort of a protective roofing. No. 1 is the beehive shaped storage pits (Figs. 2-4). Ten features could be assigned to this category. The pits had rounded sides and most had stones on the floor, often arranged in a semi-circle. Some contained animal skeletons as well as skull and horn fragments (pig, cattle, red deer). The fill of charcoal and burnt daub indicates that they were later re-used as refuse pits. The diameter of these pits ranged between 125—215 centimetres, their depth was between 100-130 centimetres, although one pit (feature No. 79) was 170 centimetres deep. No. 2 are the pits with postholes (Fig. 5). One or two post-holes were found beside ten round pits. In one case a post-hole was also uncovered inside the pit. The posts inside these post-holes most likely supported some kind of a protective roofing over the pits used as storage or work pits. No pattern could be observed in the positioning of the post-holes, which could lie on any side of a particular pit. No. 3 are the above-ground houses (Figs. 7-9). Countless post-holes were uncovered, many of which outlined buildings. Rectangular houses with a floor area of 15.8 m2 built around a framework of six upright timbers represented one building type (features No. 27-29, No. 38-40). Another type was represented by square buildings with four to six post-holes and half-roofs (features No. 4, No. 5, No. 7, No. 67). Post-holes arranged in a row probably marked the side of a larger house or its partition wall (features No. 31, Nos. 33—34, No. 23). The above-mentioned ground houses were constructed from upright timbers and resembled log cabins. No. 4 are the houses with ledge (Figs. 10-11). Some of the smaller sunken houses had an elongated ground plan and were provided with a ledge along their western side. Very few had associated post-holes. Their floor area ranged between 4.2 and 6.6 m2, only one was larger, covering 10.7 m2, and had one post-hole opposite the ledge (feature No. 20). The burnt daub fragments found in feature No. 20 suggest that these buildings had above-ground walls. These buildings were not residential in nature, but functioned as economic buildings and workshops as shown by their finds (quernstone fragments, ceramic bars). Most yielded a rich find material, including the most typical late Celtic pottery wares (painted and graphitic pottery). No. 5 are the sunken houses {Figs. 12-14; 4 features). Most sunken houses had an oblong or square ground plan. Several post-holes, storage and refuse pits could be associated with buildings of this type. A plastered floor could only be observed in one case (feature No. 52). Regularly spaced post-holes were noted in two houses (feature No. 52, with a post-hole in the centre of the eastern and western wall; feature No. 97, with a post-hole in the middle of the northern and southern wall). The house No. 61 had a single post-hole, while the house No. 48 was almost completely surrounded by post-holes. None of the houses contained a hearth or an oven. The floor area of these houses ranged between 12.4 and 17.6 m2.The burnt daub fragments with twig impressions suggest wattle-and-daub walls. None of these buildings had a row of densely spaced post-holes along their longer sides. One of the sunken buildings was round, with postholes along the sides and in the central axis. Its diameter was 3.6 metres (Fig. 12/5). The settlement was bounded by a ditch system at both ends. A wide ditch with a divided floor ran along the stream in the east {Figs. 15/1-3; feature No. 1), grading into a dark band towards the stream. A triple ditch system was identified in the west (Fig. 15/4-9). Settlement Layout The siting of the settlement partially along a watercourse and partially on a hillside is typical for the majority of the open Celtic settlements. In this particular case, the main consideration in the choice of the location was the proximity of Danube. The longish settlement was north to south oriented. (Only a small portion of the settlement, some 80 metres 171
