Achaeometrical Research in Hungary II., 1988

PROSPECTING and DATING - Balázs ERDÉLYI: Data to the chronology of the history of a settlement: thermoluminescent dating of Tapolca chuchill

the original castle. Excavations need to proceed in the present school-yard in order to clarify this question. The story of the Tapolca Fort's end also needs to be elucidated. It is sure that it still played a part in Rákóczi's War of Independence, and its destruction may also have taken place at that time. The age of Sample 5 and the observed burned layer also support this hypothesis. To date, the results of the excavations as well as the writings of Sámuel Rotarides and Mátyás Bél also support these statements. The pit-fall was also filled up at this time, as is shown by the great number of finds. At the beginning of the 18

th century, the stones of the fortress-walls were removed down to the foundations and carried away by the population of the town. Most of these inhabitants were peasants who entered into a contract with the Veszprém Bishop in 1723. According to the date obtained, we can speculate wether the building of the fonner cantor's house (currently a museum) was built at that time (i.e. before 1726) by utilising stones from the southern wall of the fort (TÖRŐCSIK TVMK 2. 1991: 289). We may thus consider the TL-dating program performed at the site of TapolcaChurchill to have been successful. Hopefully, both the excavations and the scientific, archaeometric research will continue in the near future. References Erdélyi, В. and Kása, I. (1990): A tapolcai templom-domb ( Plébániakert) neolitikus településrétegének termolumineszcens korhatározása. (Thermolumineszenz alterbestimmung der neolithischen Siedlungsschichten im Tapolcaer pfarrgarten auf dem templom-domb). A Tapolcai Városi Múzeum Közleményei 1. 1989 (Mitteilungen des Tapolcaer Stadtischen Museums), Tapolca: 131-134. В. Erdélyi, I. Kása, F. Burillo and Z.Király (1989): Thermoluminescence Dating of the „Mas de Valero" Site (Formierte Bajo, Teruel, Spain). In: Y. Maniatis (Ed.), Archaeometry, Proceedings of the 25

th International Symposium. AmsterdamOxford-New York-Tokyo. 27-33. Törőcsik, Z. (Ed.) (1988):.Feltárul a tapolcai templom-domb. Tapolcai Füzetek (Külön kiadvány - Supplement). Tapolca. Törőcsik, Z. (1987): A XIII. századi Tapolca történetének vázlata (Überblick der Geschichte von Tapolca im Xlll-ten Jahrhundert ). A Veszprém Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 18. 1986. Veszprém: 159-195. Törőcsik, Z. (1992): Egy megmentésre váró középkori műemlék Tapolcáról ( Ein zu Rettendes mittelalterliches Baudenkmal aus Tapolca ). A Tapolcai Városi Múzeum Közleményei 2. 1991. (Mitteilungen des Tapolcaer Stadtischen Museums ). Tapolca: 187-201. 60