Savaria - A Vas Megyei Múzeumok értesítője 16. (1982) (Szombathely, 1983)

Fr Kőszegi: World history and the Urnfield culture

The rather increasing tendency of the Late Bronze Age finds from the northern regions in themselves signify that the times are of a time of prosperity, when the population increases and more and more ethnic groups move to the south for a better living, in the hopes to Chit it ridh. It is this recognition that prorated some experts to 'presume that the leauge of (the Sea People, causing destruction oauld have included eleimentes of Danubian origins but at least these historical events somehow were related to the evolution of the Urnfield culture in the north in an enormous area.

2 Even if the campaign of the Sea People finally -collapsed their early achievements in the Méditer raenean are not to be doubted. The disaster series 'hitting the contemporary Greek world during the decades .around the turn of the 13th ,and 1.2th century B. C. is of special significance to us. It is a well known fact that the booming development of the power

1 of the Myeaenean world was due to their extremely efficient foreign trade. And the stagnation and later decline of this particular trade to be experienced from the last decade of the 13th century В. C. mark the economic and political decline of the Greeks of the mainland. The economic recession was only part of the general collapse.

3 As the topographic surveys also show, the density of the population peaked by the 13th 'century B. C. thus it is not surprising that the earlier, well organized administration could not ensure provisions for the masses.

4 Safety of traffic and transport could be less .and fess quaranteed by the once strong central power. Both foreign iand domestic enemies weakened the Myeaenean kingdoms. It is the time of the Trajan war and according to 'some theories the mentioned economic recession prompted the Aohaian kingdoms for this desperate move to break through the blockade

1 of the league of the Asia Minor people with Troy, blocking northern trade by arms. Regardless of how it happened, nobody doubts the historicity of the Trojan war and if we can believe Homer, its conclusion favoured the Greeks, the victory, however, not bringing much good for them. They could not avoid .the final disaster either, and the storms of the decades following the turn of the century swept along 'the Greek mainland and islands as well.

5 In any case the 12th century В. C. was the least stable period of the Aegean, characterized by marauding campaigns and pirating expeditions. The (basic characteristics of the so called dark age .are the general impoverishment, a complete decline of civilizlation and culture. Smaller and larger groups of refugees, induding adventurers as well, set out at the beginning of this unstable period and moved or sailed to all directions of the compass, the traditions evidencing this as well.

6 The Sea People most certainly must have played a role in the shock of the Aegean, disaster could have reached the Achaian kingdoms fjust as well from the north, ,as from iboth the mainland and the sea. Several historical and archaeological 'evidence are known of this attack of several idirections, and the ones proving the theory of the northern oppressors seem to attract the most attention.

7 It is well known that 'there are data of several such finds or find groups from the Aegean with long standing problems concerning their provenance. Some consider most of these to have come from some northern part of the Balkan, others speak of Italy or even the Danube area as their originating point. To mention only a few characteristic items, some previously unknown piece of apparel shows up in Greece, like the fiibulae, the flange hilted sword of Sprock26