Zalai Múzeum 14. Müller Róbert 60 éves (Zalaegerszeg, 2005)

Lőrinczy Gábor–Straub Péter: Alpi típusú övgarnitúra a Szegvár–oromdűlői 81. sírból

156 Lőrinczy Gábor - Straub Péter 1992, Taf. 48, 2). A similar wood cheek piece was found in Kunágota. The excavator gave account of a „needle case" -shaped silver object, but further excavation revealed a horse bit between the teeth of an inverted horse skull (LISKA 2000, 232). The circumstances of the finds indicate that the silver cylinder was not part of a silver goblet (LISKA 2000, 232) but rather it covered the wooden cheek piece. Similar decorations covered the cheek pieces of a horse bit from Bácsújfalu, where the ends of silver plates were trumpet-like and crescent-shaped. Dezső Csallány considered these finds as pendants of a horse bit (CSALLÁNY 1953, 139-140, Fig. 33, 14-15). It is considered here that the silver plates were part of a horse bit but not as pendants; rather, they decorated the upper end of the arched cheek pieces. Similar cheek piece covers are also known from Vörösmart. Previous researches have often considered similar finds to be ends of bracelets with a trumpet like end (HAMPEL 1905, Fig. 498, 1) or they were thought to be an end of a drinking horn (GARAM 1982, 192, Fig. 8; H. TÓTH-HORVÁTH 1992, 177-178). However, it is considered, that these finds from Vörösmart were also part of arched cheek pieces (CSALLÁNY 1953, 140; DIMITRIJEVIC-KOVACEVIC-VINSKI 1962, 7071). A wooden cheek piece with metal cover is also known from grave 1182 at Zamárdi (BÁRDOS 2000, 124, 137). The reconstruction of the position of the object is not presented accurately: instead of the cheek piece in the drawing the fragile metal object was placed into the holes of the horse bit. Horse bits with two rings in both ends are well known from the early Avar period, such as from Csengele-Jójárt (CSALLÁNY 1939, Fig. 8, 2), Bácsújfalu (CSALLÁNY 1953, Fig. 31, 7-8), Imrehegy (BALOGH 2002, 306). They were also common in the second half of the Avar period when this type of horse bit was equipped with iron cheek pieces. This type of horse bit is rare in burials from the 6-7

th centuries east of the Tisza. The rite of the examined burial (grave 81 SzegvárOromdűlő) i.e. tunnel grave, east-west orientation, fractional animal burial, separation of the dead from the sacrificed animals, skinning practice and dug/out coffin, show extensive relations with 6

th century steppe traditions. These practices were also characteristic of the burial habits of this period east of the river Tisza, although some of the grave goods show different relations and analogies. Alongside the belt set of the examined grave, the positioning and characteristics of the sabretache were different from the Avar type. This sabretache was worn on the right side and its bracing also shows similarity to German types. The glass bead is a rare example, although it belongs to a main type (glass beads with applied decoration) that shows a long life of use (PÁSZTOR 2001, 139-140). There is no common agreement in the literature about the denomination of the belt set found in the grave and it is often labelled as Eastern-Alpine, Bieringen, North Italian and Langobard type. The origin of the belt type is also in question and Roman (BONA 1963, 59-64; BIERBRAUER 1979, 354) or German (CHRISTLEIN 1966, 55; KOCH 1966, 28) origins have also been advocated. Recent interpretations could not determine the origin of the belt type either (RIEMER 2000, 140; BERTRAM 2002, 185). Within the Avar occupation there are several such finds that according to typology and other objects with which these belt sets are associated, suggest that there is an early horizon of this belt type which is good in quality (BONA 1963) and a later horizon with decreased quality (ZÁBOJNÍK 1990). The spatial distribution of Alpine-type belts shows an interesting pattern. The early finds are predominantly concentrated in Transdanubia (BONA 1993, 154), while the later belts (middle and late Avar period) are concentrated in the borderland of the Avars, within the territory of present Slovakia and Austria (Fig. 9). The characteristics of the earlier belt type are that the strap end of the belt is decorated with a mounting that looks like a beak of a duck. Moreover, the edges of the bolts are also decorated. Within the early finds, on rare occasions, are small square or fig.-eight shaped mountings. The later belts have mountings with dotted circle decoration, and the small auxiliary mountings have disappeared by this period. These belt sets were locally made (ZÁBOJNÍK 2000, 354) and for this reason the assortments are not always complete. István Bona classified the mountings of belt sets from an excavation at Keszthely-Dobogó. The circumstances of the finds, however, did not make it possible to fully reconstruct the structure of the belt type and assign a function for individual mountings (BONA 1963, 56). Researchers accepted Bóna's interpretation that from the loops of the trapezoid and triangular mountings small side belts or ribbons hung (BONA 1963, 56-57). The structure and function of belts with mountings resembling fig.-eight shaped decoration composed of stylised animal heads was hardly known before. Because the examined grave from Szegvár was undisturbed, the position of the belt mountings can be reconstructed with reassuring certainty. The most important observation was that the trapezoid mountings were positioned upwards with their narrower end (Fig. 3, 1-5). Of the four mountings one was found facing up and three were facing down.