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

P. Barna Judit: Sormás–Török-földek településtörténeti áttekintése. A középső neolitikum

Sormás-Török-földek településtörténeti áttekintése. A középső neolitikum 27 imported finds of the Malo Korenovo culture, helps to clarify the chronological relationship between these cultural groups. The site of Sormás-Török-földek is situated at an altitude of 182,5 metres on a natural elevation. Most of the southern plateau and downhill was occupied in an east-west direction 480 metres long. The motorway cuts the settlement in a width of 40 to 65 metres in NE-SW direction with a small bend. The excavation revealed a single-layered settlement of the Starcevo culture. The archaeological features of the Starcevo were low density and confined to the western part of the excavated area. It can be assumed that the settlement was occupied by a small number of people. Other characteristic features of Starcevo occupation are that it is situated close to water (but not right next to it) and the location of the settlement on a natural elevation in a north-south direction. The finds of Starcevo culture were found in 28 pits, but only 5 of them were closed pits (that is, contained Starcevo finds only). The refuse pits were middle-sized and round or oval in plan. Pit complexes and features indicating the presence of remains of houses (apart from some daub fragments) were not found. The majority of finds were ceramics, daub, fragments of clay weights (Pic. 3, 10-11) and lithics (blade, core and grinding stone). An important find was a leg of an anthropomorphic vessel (Pic. 3, 19 a-c). Animal bones were not found within the occupational area of the Starcevo culture. In the Starcevo culture, painting is present from the Linear A phase (DIMITRIJEVIC 1969, 45) and painted motifs provide a basis for dating. In Sormás, only one fragment was painted in black but the motif cannot be recognized, therefore the dating of the pottery can only be based on the use of black paint, and the form and the decoration of the vessels. According to the chronology compiled by Stojan Dimitrijevic (DIMITRIJEVIC 1974, 102-103), the settlement of Sormás can be dated to the beginning of late Starcevo culture. The uncertainty of the dating is caused by the fact that among the characteristics of the classical phase of the culture, such as round forms and barbotine decoration, features characteristic of a later phase also appear in the site. However, many characteristics of this later phase are not present, such as sharp biconical vessel shapes, slashed knobs, disc shaped knobs, applied finger impressed ribs and deep smoothed line decorations (KALICZ et al. 1998, 163-164). In Sormás, the following features show characteristics of the later phase: black monochrome painting; the shape of goblets (one of the goblets has an analogy at Becsehely I. and a second goblet is analogous to one from Vörs). The existence of bombshaped vessels in this site, which according to Stojan Dimitrijevic is one of the characteristic shapes of the Spiraloid A phase (DIMITRIJEVIC 1969, 47), indicates that the chronological position of the finds can be placed to the end of the classical phase. Katalin H. Simon considered this type as being representative of the transitional or rather the later — Spiraloid В — phase (H. SIMON 1996, 62; H. SIMON 2001, 21). Miniature vessels became characteristic from the end of the Early Neolithic (BÁNFFY 2004, 264). The late dating of of the find assemblage is supported by the sites where they appear: Gellénháza (H. SIMON 1996, Fig. 9/2), Pityerdomb (BÁNFFY 2004, 238, Fig. 140). The archaeological features of the Kesztely group of the Transdanubian Linear Pottery Culture in the settlement were middle-sized refuse pits. These were distributed within an area of 30 x 70 metres (2100 m

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) and were mainly situated within a round-ditch system, enclosure (round ditch I.) in the eastern part of the site. There were nine closed archaeological features which only had finds of the Keszthely group. A further 34 features and some parts of the two round ditch system (round ditch I. and II.) also had finds belonging to the Keszthely group but some of these finds were redeposited. The features of the Transdanubian Linear Pottery Culture were situated in such a way that they may indicate the site of a long-house (Pic. 1, 2, 4). The features on its eastern side appear to have been a socalled "Làngsgrube", elongated feature along the length of the house. The exact size of the house cannot be established because only its northern and eastern sides were marked by features. The orientation of the house was approximately N-NW, S-SE, which is a characteristic orientation of houses within the realm of Central European Linear Pottery Culture. The house was at least 5 metres wide and its length may have reached 25 metres. This length is not considered to be unusual during the period of Keszthely group (BÁNFFY 2004a, 68; HORVÁTH 2004, 87; OROSS 2004). There is a possibility that the house was situated at the very edge of a bigger settlement but it is more likely that the settlement of Sormás was a small, temporary farmstead that was suitable to maintain two or three generations (BÁNFFY 2004b, 10). This view is supported by a presence of a nearby settlement at Sormás-Mántai-dűlő, where during the period of Keszthely group, extensive settlement existed with many houses. It may be assumed that in this period the settlement at Mántai-dűlő was more important in terms of occupation than the occupation at Török-földek. The ceramic finds from the settlement have the characteristics of Keszthely group, both fine and coarse wares having the characteristic shapes and de-