Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 34-35. (2014-2015)
Book Review
189 Orsolya Láng - Alexandra Nagy - Péter Vámos, The Aquincum Macellum. Researches in the area of the macellum in the Aquincum Civil Town (1882-1965). Applying news methods for old excavation materials. Aquincum Nostrum I.3., Budapest, 2014. 198 pages, 44 tables. Book review by Lóránt VASS There are several occasions when archaeologists confronts serious methodological and interpretative problems when trying to reevaluate the results of former, so-called “old” excavations. These excavations, carried out usually in the beginning of the last century or even earlier, reflect in general the current state of art, methodology and interpretation trends characteristic for the respective period. The different research methods, the slight focus on details and different aims of the old excavations, especially in the case of structures, buildings, provoke serious headache for future researches (missing or incomplete documentation, photos, records etc.). In these situations archaeologists try to rely on the latest results of fieldwork and investigations, and partially neglect the older investigations resulting thus an unfilled gap in the state of art. Fortunately, this unhappy situation is not valid for the archaeological synthesis of the macellum complex at Aquincum. One of the greatest merit of the present monograph is the considerable effort to link the results of the old investigations to the current interpretative and more refined research methods. The authors of the monograph are all specialists of the Aquincum Museum from Budapest with large expertise in the respective research domain. The collaboration of Orsolya Láng as an expert in the archaeology and urban development of the Civil Town from Aquincum, Péter Vámos, specialist of the ceramic production at Aquincum and Alexandra Nagy, researcher of the stamped pottery production from the same settlement resulted in a very complex analysis of the problematic. One should not forget the useful contribution of archaeozoologist Anna Biller either whose study on the archaeozoological material from the respective area conferred a strong interdisciplinary character to the research. As reflected in the title, the book presents the scientific evaluation of one the most emblematic urban complexes within the Roman Civil Town Orsolya Láng - Alexandra Nagy - Péter Vámos '"AQUINCUM MACELLUM Researches in the area of the macellum in the Aquincum Civil Town (1882-1965) Applying neiV methods for old excavation materials from Aquincum: the macellum and its area. Market places of provincial settlements in the western and Danubian provinces of the Empire are quite rare. For this reason, the researched area might claim for a distinct attention, although the period of the macellum is the least known chronological unit in the history of the whole area. On the other hand, this area of the Civil Town is the most intensively researched zone within Aquincum. Researches embrace a long period of time between 1882-1965, thus the accumulation of information and observations is considerable. Situated along the northern main road in the Civil Town, in a much agglomerated urban zone, the area of the macellum was an intensively used territory during time which was observed also by the former excavations. While the excavation of Bálint Kuzsinsyky from 1882- 1884 deals only with the building of the macellum, the tholos in centre housing the weights, and the
