Budapest Régiségei 23. (1973)

TANULMÁNYOK - Nagy Margit: A Fehérvári úti avar temető 59-87

female grave has yielded some remarkable finds. Beside the right tibia a wooden bucket was found ; it is made of the wood of a yew-tree and has copper hoops. Regarding its shape and the hoops ornamented with two rows of pouncing its nearest parallels come from the Avar cemeteries of south-estern Slovakia, represented mainly by the objects found in the cemeteries of DevinskáNová Ves. (Fig. 19 no. 1; Fig. 24 nos 1-3.) In grave 8 a large strap ending, made of plumbcovered bronze plate, having a pounced ornament, and some small strap endings, pressed of silver plate, were found between the feet. (Fig. 19 nos 2-7; Fig. 25 nos 2-7.) The parallels of the large strap ending, having a jointed structure, are known from the cemeteries of Várpalota - Public School and Mezőbánd, groups of graves dated to the first half of the seventh century. This dating is confirmed by the remaining finds of grave 8 : a whorl with no ornament, grainy paste beads, iron knife and a silver ring for its suspension, and a bronze chain with number 8-shaped links. (Fig. 19 nos 8-11 ; Fig. 25 nos 8-12.) The finds of the north-western group of the cemetery may be attached to the archaelogocial material of the "griffin and tendril" cemeteries of the late Avar period. Among the male graves the only set of belt ornaments has been preserved in grave 39. To the filigree, large strap ending with a tendril ornament and the cast, small strap endings also with a tendril ornament there were added a buckle with a bronzeplated belt-fastener and a pounced aigrette cut out of bronze-plate. (Fig. 21 nos 1-6.) In the despoiled grave 24, among the bones thrown about, we have found a cast aigrette with a tendril ornament and plumb mountings with a filigree decoration. (Fig. 22 nos 6-14.) There are conspicuously few arms in the cemetery, only one iron dagger with a wooden sheath and two arrow heads were uncovered from graves 39 and 43. (Fig. 21 nos 8-9.) The typical finds of the female graves are : iron chains, earrings decorated with bronze balls or beads, melon-seed shaped beads, bracelets with open ends, whorls. The pair of bronze earrings of grave 35 is outstanding, being a cast copy of a Byzantine basic form with an originally granulated ornament. (Fig. 20 nos 16-17.) The pair of earrings from grave 38, having a spiral pendant, are important for the chronology of the cemetery. (Fig. 20 nos 11—12.) In the cemetery of Nővé Zámky this type of earrings has been found in grave groups datable to the end of the eighth and to the beginning of the ninth centuries. Regarding the uncovered groups of graves and the earlier known stray finds, and also the situation of the graves in the territory unearthed so far, the cemetery of Fehérvári út may have consisted of cca 450 to 500 graves, of which hardly one tenth is known to us. Judged by the finds of the early group of graves, the cemetery may have been begun in the first half of the seventh century, used continually to the beginning of the ninth. 87