Magyar Kálmán - Nováki Gyula: Somogy megye várai a középkortól a kuruc korig, 2005

Vm. CASTLES Ж THE MIDDLE-AGES IN THE PROVINCE OF SOMOGT (SUMMART) We consider Flóris Romer as the pioneer of the castle research in the Province Somogy He collected and made publication on archeological remains and monuments in the second half of the 19

th century We can be grateful to him for the first description and measures of the castle on the hill of Somogyacsa-Pogánydomb, for instance. We walked in other castles and fortresses all over the province like the one in Somogyvár; and he was also busy with the castle in Bát, Taszár. At about the same time Gyula Melhárd was also also doing castle research, especially in the area of the Southern- Balaton Lake. He was the one who made a very high level description of Bolondvár (Fool's Castle) in Balatonszemes and of the Friends' Table (Barátok dombja) in Nagycsepely He ran an archeological excavation at the castle of Marcali-Halom (Háromakol) in 1879. At the end of the 19

th century Mór W)sinsky made research in two castles in Somogyacsa and some small excavations in Pogányvár (Pagan's Castle) in the province, and had become well-known by his publication about the historical and archeological remains in the province Tolna. The excavation of Somogyvár-Kupavár between 1895-96 of Péter Gerencze was made under the Milleneum project. After this there was a 30 years pause in archeology, when in 1929 they started an excavation in Ordacsehi- Zardavár. The excavation was led by Ferenc Gönczi^ museum director of Kaposvár. For the initiation of György Boesak they did excavations in Fonyód in the 1920s and 1930s. He, together with Ferenc Gönczi and Sándor Gallus investigated the Castle Hill and the Lower Castle (Fácános) in Fonyód. For the sake of tourism, JenőFitz, director of the provincial museum in the Province Fehér led an excavation with significant result in the years of 1954-1957. We have knowledge about more castle-researches with the purpose to protect findings between 1950-1960. In 1950, József Csalog excavated a site in Főnyed-Vársziget, in 1954 Károly Kozák at the castle of Somogyzsitfa-Szőcsénypuszta, and in 1960 at the Castle of Babócsa. Since 1920 they had been uncovering in the territory of the Castie in Kaposvár several times, in order to protect the remains against the new settlement development and reconstructions, which were highly dangerous for them. Here, Nándor Parádi led a highly official and expertised excavation in 1959. Károly Sági uncovered the casde in Fejérkő in 1960-62. The territorial survey and other topographical projects gave an opportunity to have an overall review of the castles in the Middle Ages in the Province Somogy Here we have to mention the doctoral dissertation of Eva Kocztur that appeared in the years of 1960. At the same time Gyula Nováki investigated the castles in Kereki, Szőlősgyörök, KadarkútSzentimrepuszta and in Patosfa. Dénes Jankovich Bésán made a collection of all relevant material about the castles from the Middle Ages down the river Rinya in the first half of the 1970s. Kornél Bakay, László Horváth, János Makkay and Pál Raczky went through the casties in the region Marcali on behalf of the Archeological Institute of the Hungarian Science Academy and identified at least 6 casties from the Middle Ages in the 1970s. We have to mention one of our latest results of the excavation run by Csilla Aradi of the castle-ruins in Gálosfa-Kistótváros (Szerdahely). Gyöngyi Kovács uncovered one part of the Turkish plank-fortress in Barcs. László Költő made the remains of the MarótvárSomogysámson clear and organised while Károly Belényesi uncovered the Middle-Age refugium of the Kishegy in Balatonszárszó. In 2000 the remains of the castie in Kaposvár 294