Gyöngyössy Márton (szerk.): Perspectives on the Past. Major Excavations in County Pest (Szentendre, 2008)
(8th/7th century ВС- tote 1 st century AD)(1 st-4th centuries AD)(400-454 AD) An Avar cemetery at Budakalász (454-568 АО) (1301-1526/1686) (568-811/829 AD) The investigation of an Avar cemetery on a small mound overlooking the Danube opposite Luppa Island was begun by Sarolta Tettamanti in 1987 and continued between 1988 and 1992 with the excavation of 1566 graves by Adrien Pásztor and Tivadar Vida. The extensive cemetery, covering a roughly 22,000 m1 2 3 4 large area, was endangered by gravel mining. The excavation of the cemetery was one of the earliest large-scale archaeological rescue operations. The cemetery was opened at the beginning of the early Avar Age and remained in use until the later 8th century. One grave and its finds are dated by a gold solidus of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius and his son Heraclius Constantine, minted in Constantinople between 616 and 625. The coin had no doubt reached the Avars as part of the annual tribute paid by Byzantium in exchange for peace. In addition to the Avars from Asia, the cemetery was also used by a Germanic community (perhaps Gepids), a mixed Romanised population (in part of local ancestry and in part from the Byzantine Balkans), various Eastern European peoples and Slavs. Even though about 80-90 per cent of the graves were looted, most likely owing to the richness of the grave offerings, the surviving finds offer a rare glimpse into the amazing cultural diversity of the period between the 6th and the 8th century. The cemetery was opened by a Germanic community, whose men were often buried with lances, spathas and weapon belts. The grave goods from the female burials included Merovingian shoe mounts with elaborate punched decoration, alongside a rich array of pendants and amulet capsules. The pottery from these burials is characterised by grey wares with stamped and smoothed-in decoration. A few buckles, bullae and crosses can be associated with the one-time local Romanised population and the Balkanic-Byzantine 1. Openwork bronze disc with trefoil design 2. Byzantine brass pitcher decorated with hunting scenes 3. Obverse and reverse of a gold solidus minted by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius and his son 4. Gold buckle decorated with an interlace pattern of the Second Animal Style 4.
