Savaria - A Vas Megyei Múzeumok értesítője 16. (1982) (Szombathely, 1983)
Fr Kőszegi: World history and the Urnfield culture
of the Balkan but firoim a region which imust haive (been a part of itlhe great Central European UrnfieM coine. The appearance of the somewhat different knolbbed Anatolian —'Triojan pottery that is currently being considered of .coming from the typical southeastern European Coslogeni —Fsenieevo —Bafaadag cirdle can .also be included into these lines of thoughts. 15 This means at the same time that (the users of .this pottery could leatrn to (know the Anatolian representatives of the M'editerraenean culture, Troy and her associates of Asia Minor. The characteristic southeastern branch of the Central European UrnfieM culture, including the (mentioned Bafaadag, extended to at least as huge an area as its western relation, the central Danubian Urnfáeld culture. The focus of which can be looked for in the Lower Danube area, in the southern Great Plain and the joining southern areas. 16 Virtrop, Plopsor, Babadag, Csórva, Belegiis, to mention only some of the important ones faring light to the beginnings of the southeastern. European culture when concurrently along with the western neighbours the knobbed ware of Bronze Age traditions, the so typically early Umfield characteristics icrop up the wide, slanted fluting of the pottery. This ornamental charaoterstic, however, is only one in the line of connections which join these two Urnfield regions to each other and which suggest a mutual historical background in more than one area. 17 The second book of the Iliad which includes the so called catalogue of ships is perhaps the most important historical source of the late Myoaenean world. The listing of the different Greek contingencies gives a true picture of balance of power in the Greek world, about the hierarchies of power. The same place provides us with information concerning the allies of the Trojians ,as well, but much 'more briefly. It is of special interest to <us that the Thracian tribes of the European side of the Bosphorus can also be found among them, like the Paionians, Kikonans, etc. 18 If we believe in the source value of these lines, many of the southeast European Thracian tribes have got involved into the warfare effecting the Mediterraenean countries, and among these, .primarily, north of the Aegean sea the Thracians of the Lower Danube and Black Sea area could have represented the link to the north. It is very likely that northern Thracians either as mercenaries, or lallies played an important role in the creation of the southeastern European culture, they themselves learned about the Mediterraenean war machine, considered modern in the north, and passed it on to itheir western neighbours. Following the finding of a bronze cuirasse found in one of the Caka graves scholars have begun revising similar finds coming to light in the temperate areas of Europe. 19 The western Slovakian example comes from a grave unit of exact dating, thus it has become clear that the fragments of these cuirasses, dated earlier to a rather late date, can be paced to the beginning of the Urnfield period but by no means' later than the first part of the 12th century В. С and along with other defense arms, like helmets, greaves, ;and shields suggest Aegean prototypes. 20 There is no doubt that these earlier rather unknown defense weaponry found their way Ito the north in that historic period which has been considered the outforming Of the Urnfield culture and are the acoompaniements of such economic prosperity which initiated basic changes both along the social and political lines. 21 Notwithstanding it would not be fair to charge the mentioned Mediterraenean initiations with the change related to the evolvement of the Urnfield culture since it is well know that signs of these have come up much earlier as
