Gaál Attila (szerk.): A Wosinszky Mór Múzeum Évkönyve 20. (Szekszárd, 1998)
László Bartosiewitz: Váralja-Várfő középkori állatcsontleletei
The Váralja osteological material is a good example of how poultry keeping in medieval Hungary was dominated by domestic hens. Bones of primitive hens regularly occur at sites from the Period of the Árpád Dynasty (Bone finds from the Buda castle dated to the 13 th-14 th century already display increasing variability that may be attributed to „breed" formation 26 ). A tarsometatarsus of transitional sexual character from Váralja may be interpreted as evidence for caponization. 27 Domestic geese were certainly kept in Hungary as early as the 11 th-12 th century, although it is not always possible to tell whether their bones originate from domestic goose or its wild ancestor. Of the eleven goose bones found in the material from the Váralja Castle, three measurable pieces of bone clearly fall within the size range of domestic geese. 28 Selection for white color was regulated by the 13 th century. 29 Of the domestic birds, hens may have been kept around the house in the castle. An eggshell fragment from this species indirectly supports this possibility. Geese would have needed large water surfaces, possibly not available within the habitation area. Red deer (Cervus elaphus L. 1758) and wild pig (Sus scrofa L. 1758) These two large artiodactyls are connected by their function as meat suppliers at this medieval site. Although their contribution to the diet may have been rather modest, the mere presence of their bones is of special interest. During the Middle Ages, hunting, especially for large game, was a codified royal privilege. In medieval England the king owned all the deer in the forest while noblemen had to purchase licenses in game parks. This ruling is supported by the fact that medieval deer bones mostly originate from castle sites. 30 The same tendency was observed in medieval Sweden. 31 The existence of such rules in Hungary may be indirectly concluded from an unusual decree by King István the Fifth in which he allowed the newly settled Saxon burghers of Ugocsa county to kill stags and wild boars in the Igfan Woods in 1272. 32 It is also very important that, although antler fragments fequently contribute to the assemblage of red deer remains, only a single piece of antler was recovered at Váralja. Even this specimen was worked into a band whose 13 cm long section (1.2 cm broad and 0.3 cm thick) was found. This slightly arched, polished fragment was fastened to some hard surface on its concave side with antler rivets, 3 could still be found wihin the section available for study. This artifact is most reminiscent of the decorative rim mounted on a peasant saddle in the ethnographic collections of the Ferenc Móra Museum in Szeged. Hare (Lepus europaeus Pall. 1778) roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L. 1758) These two, taxonomically distant small game species are represented only by a few bones in the material. They possibly shared a similar status: in Hungary, roe deer and hare could be freely hunted by common people in the surroundings of Túróc town during the 13 th century, while the killing of stags and wild boar remained a royal privilege. 33 The small neurocranium fragment of a young roe doe and a radius diaphysis splinter must be consiedred sporadic finds at this site. Similar remains of this species occurred within the context of high status meals at Székesfehérvár Sziget and Vác. 34 Bone fragments of hare and rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus L. 1758) can be difficult to tell apart. Domestic rabbits, possibly the latest domesticates in Europe, were mentioned from the Árpád Period levels at Visegrád. 35 The six Lagomorph remains at this site were classified as those of hare on the basis of their relatively large size and the indirect evidence of hunting. 26 BÖKÖNYI1963. 27 BÖKÖNYI and BARTOSIEWITZ 1983. 28 BACHER 1967. 29 MATOLCSI 1982,279. 30 GRANT 1988, 141. 31 STEN1993, 189. 32 ZOLNAY 1971, 186. 33 ZOLNAY 1971, 186. 34 BARTOSIEWITZ 1983, 1995b. 35 BÖKÖNYI 1974,335. 160
