Ilon Gábor: Százszorszépek. Emberábrázolás az őskori Nyugat-Magyrországon (Szombathely, 2007)

Ilon Gábor: Bevezető

Introduction The idea of this exhibition was born during a conversation in a coffee house on the 24

tn April 2007 following a celebration of the 60

tn birthday of an archaeologist friend from Zala County, Dr. László Horváth. For this occasion, to commemorate his work a volume was published that was introduced in Nagykanizsa. Dr. Judit Kvassay archaeologist, Prof. Dr. Pál Sümegi geologist, Tibor Frankovics head of department, and myself were sitting at a table... The idea of the exhibition was also bolstered by another event that happened in 2006. That was when my friend's 60

tn birthday celebration took place in Nagykanizsa. At the same time an excavation at the Neolithic and Copper Age site at Szombathely-Oladi plató (Vas County) was carried out under my leadership. At this excavation several fragments of human representations came to light, which now comprise a considerable part of this exhibition. It is also important that around the same time as the birthday celebration the post delivered the seminal monograph of Prof. Dr. Svend Hansen about early human representations*. His work was also an inspiration to make a human representations exhibition and prepare this catalogue. This exhibition shows human depictions from three different western Hungarian counties: Gyôr-Moson-Sopron, Vas and Zala. This regional exhibition represents plastic human representations from the Neolithic to the Copper Age. The majority of the exhibited material came to light from large-scale excavations carried out in the last few years; for example during arch corrections of the railway at Nagycenk; building constructions of an extensive residential district at Szombathely; and the rescue excavations prior to the M7 motorway construction in Zala County. The finds of these excavations are here presented to the archaeological world and to the wider general audience. We believe this exhibition is strong evidence that refutes the false accusation that the scientific work of the county archaeologists is slow. Apart from these new finds we also selected from finds that have been known for decades and also internationally choosing with the degree of completeness. For this reason the figurines of Becsehely and Becsvölgy are also presented. As a reference to the research of Sé in the near past from the 124 figurine fragments that were found there only the most spectacular ones are shown. The representation of the 'Venus of Sé' and the pair of figurines from Nagycenk provides a parallel for delight and comparison. I have been lucky as an archaeologist to have the privilege of leading an ongoing excavation at the part of the Sé settlement that extends into the border of the neighbouring village of Torony. Excavation work there prior to building constructions of a new residential district revealed the second human representations of the Transdanubian Linear Pottery Culture found in Vas County. The systematically planned excavations, now 'almost forgotten', of Szentgyörgyvölgy and Zalaszentbalázs, which have been previously published, have also provided figurines for this exhibition not just the newer rescue excavations. The plastic representations of humans played a very important role in the everyday life and belief system of prehistoric people who were closely connected to them. The characteristic of the figurines is that they were purposefully made in such a way as to be easily fragmented. Their systematic fragmentation and their apparently increased number in the Late Neolithic Lengyel culture all require separate studies. At the same time their artistic execution, incised decorations and painting increase our admiration. In the light of the presented figurines it is clear that during the Late Neolithic and Copper Age there were some changes within gender roles. Male figurines became more common, perhaps showing that males had an increased social role within the communities. After the Great Hungarian Plain (Szegvár-Tűzköves, figurine V. Tisza culture**) the 'God with an axe' also appeared in Transdanubia. The fragments of his attribute shown in this exhibition came to light from the Szombathely-Oladi plató. This indicates that males of the Lengyel culture were not 'lagging behind' the males of the Tisza culture in gaining control over the power of the sky and the earth. At the exhibition 178 objects are on display from which 154 are human representations. Some of the main highlights of the exhibition are from the site of Oladi plató from which 95 figurine fragments are exhibited. From these 95 figurines, 65 came to light from one feature (ceremonial place?)

. Dr. Nándor Kalicz who is acknowledged as one of the most knowledgeable on this period and subject has provided the introduction to the figurines. He excavated several of the sites from which figurines are also displayed in this exhibition. From new radiocarbon dates, the detailed descriptions of the figurines and their photos, new results of vessel paint analyses of the Lengyel culture aims to provide a more comprehensive picture of the period. The castle building of Egervár in Zala County (which is the main monument of Egervár and used to belong to Vas County), the Museum of Kőszeg castle, the Balatoni Museum of Keszthely, and the István Széchenyi Memorial Museum in Nagycenk are popular tourist attractions. For this reason we found them appropriate locations to provide a temporary home for a travelling exhibition that shows the results of our extensive regional archaeological research.