K. Palágyi Sylvia szerk.: Balácai Közlemények 1997/5. (Veszprém, 1997)

CSIZMADIA, GÁBOR - NÉMETH, PÉTER GERGELY: Roman Barrows in County Somogy - Római kori halomsírok Somogy megyében

GÁBOR CSIZMADIA-PÉTER GERGELY NÉMETH ROMAN BARROWS IN COUNTY SOMOGY This account gives a picture of the second step of the survey of Roman barrows in county Somogy. The results of the previous stage were shown at the Third Roman Tumulus Conference in Feldbach, 1993. Since then we have finished the survey and mapping of all the Roman barrow cemeteries. First we wish to present the results of the latest field surveys and then give account of the cemetery measurements. Both in Balatonszabadi Madarasi-dűlő and south-west of this in Sió-bozót-dűlő two barrows can be tracked respectively. The first ones may be identical with the barrows of the corresponding literature,

1 whereas the age of the latter, smaller barrows is impossible to state, but a lot of scattered Roman ceramic fragments could be collected over a large surface, so we can conditionally rank the barrows as Roman. At Felsőmocsolád a barrow-like elevation was recorded, called Királyasztala, which, however, is now invisible because of the ploughing, so we cannot decide whether it was a built mound or not. North of this place on the territory of Fiad, several smaller barrow-like elevations can be tracked in a forest, but it is strongly questionable, whether they are burial mounds or not. The surveys at Fonó, Kereki, Karád and Zamárdi have brought negative result. At Zala we could identify a solitary, possibly prehistoric mound. A record referring to larger cemeteries comes from Böhönye, Flóris Rómer mentions a group of 50 barrows.

2 The surveys make clear that the barrows have been destroyed through country planning. On the area between this and the river Rinya several larger findplaces exist, the finds come from the Bronze Age, Roman Imperial Age and the Middle Ages. We have data about a Roman settlement object uncovered here, so it is possible that the destroyed cemetery was Roman.

3 From the fields of Csehipuszta Károly Sági mentions 2nd century barrows after Mór Wosinsky. The survey here did not bring results.

4 Earlier we told about a the Roman cemeteries at Somogyaszaló, Juta, Orci and Mosdós and the results of the measurements at Somogyaszaló and Mosdós. Since then we have accomplished the measurement of two other cemeteries, at Edde and Somogyjád. Somogyjád Approx. 3 kms south-west of the village Somogyjád, in Apánkai-forest there is an extensive barrow field. Two tumuli were uncovered by Gyula Melhárd in the last century; in the cremation graves he found Samian ware fragments one of which was ornamented.

5 Rezső Pusztai, on his field survey in 1955 considered them as prehistoric, owing to their vicinity to nearby Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements.

6 The earlier statement, however, makes the Roman date more acceptable. It seems unfeasible that the cemeteries of both ages could be found at the same place because the structure is homogeneous. The axis of the cemetery can be drawn in north-east - south-west direction, an average of thirteen barrows are linked up in four rows. In the north-eastern and south-eastern part the cemetery was further arranged in south and north direction. In the south-western part a smaller group joins with larger mounds (average diameter 11 m; height 80 cm). Other larger mounds are situated at the edges, some fit in the main axis. In the northern part there is a smaller blank spot. The configurations of the terrain do not give reason and we do not know