Műtárgyvédelem 26., 1997 (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum)

Ráduly Emil: A váci Fehérek temploma kriptafeltárása

13 Vö.: V. limber Mária: Az. egri Rozália Kápolna cipői. Folia Archeologica XIII. 1961., 251-266.

14 .flór kapczc'n az meg hóit testre vettem... " Schramm Ferenc: Vác népének szellemi kultúrája 1686 és 1848 között. Levéltári Szemle. 1963/3. 627-581., 649.

15 Duray Kálmán: A váci céhek. Vác, 1912., 140.

OPENING OF THE CRYPT IN THE DOMINICAN CHURCH IN VÁC

Abstract: The crypt in the Dominican church on the Main square (Fő ter) of Vác was opened between December 1994 and March 1995. The crypt of the former Dominican church continuously functioned as a burial place for citizens and members of the clergy between 1731 and 1808. Then it was walled-in and forgotten. The entrance to the crypt was uncovered during the reconstruction of the church. The crypt was opened by a team from the Tragor Ignác Museum in Vác including museologists, restorers and anthropologists. In towns of the 17-18th centuries, it was common for citizens to bury their dead in the crypts of the churches, especially if they had been founded by an order. In addition to monks and priests, this burial type was also chosen by their relatives, people who gave donations to the church and their family members and also wealthy citizens adhering to this Baroque mentality and the example of landed aristocracy.

Two hundred and sixty-two coffins and the skeletal parts of 40 more deceased persons in the ossuary were uncovered in the crypt. A hundred and sixty-six persons could be identified by name from the Latin, German or Hungarian inscription on the coffins and data from the contemporary register of deaths. The analysis of the grave goods, remains of costume and burial customs revealed that the majority of the dead buried here were citizens of Vác, tradesmen, craftsmen, local officers and physicians, while a minority was composed of members of aristocratic families from the neighbourhood and also strangers who had died in town.

The advantageous microclimate, temperature, ventilation and other factors in the crypt resulted in a natural, partial or total mummification and desiccation of the majority of the corpses. In the same way, the coffins, costumes, funeral prerequisites survived in large numbers and in good condition often even preserving their original colors.

This find assemblage is the largest among Hungarian crypt burials opened with complex scientific methods in terms of the number of the coffins and the long period of burial (1731- 1841). The opening afforded a unique chance to document each available detail of a practically undisturbed crypt and to take the whole assemblage from a burial site sentenced to abandonment to a museum collection for further analyses.

Szerző cime/Author’s address:

Ráduly Emil muzeológus/curator Néprajzi Múzeum/Ethnographic Museum 1055 Budapest, Kossuth Lajos tér 12.

27