Budapest Régiségei 38. (2004) – Tanulmányok dr. Gerő Győző tiszteletére

Nagy Margit: Két késő római kori fegyveres sír az aquincumi canabae nyugati szélén 231-315

KÉT KÉSŐ RÓMAI KORI FEGYVERES SÍR AZ AQUINCUMI CANABAE NYUGATI SZÉLÉN the burial of the wooden bucket is Germanic custom. The nearest parallel of the bone-blades of the arch is from the grave in Vienna-Simmering. The question whether the objects identified as 'Bécsi Road 172 objects' could have come from the same grave can be answered affirmatively. The archer buried near the 3

rd

^i

th centuries Roman cemetery on the western side of the Roman road, similarly to the one in Simmering, could have been a barbaric soldier in the service of the Romans at the end of the 4

th

, beginning of the 5

th centuries. 42 BÉCSI ROAD, II. ÚJLAK The north-south, stone-plate grave was found north of the junction of Bécsi Road and Szépvölgyi Street in 1993, together with two other stone-plate burials that had been robbed. Near the western side of the Roman road, not far from the stone-plate graves a part of a 2

nd-3

rd centuries' cemetery made up of graveyards was also excavated. There is no description of the position of the finds of the second grave, but there is a sketch of the grave made on the site on the basis of which the reconstruction of the position of the finds has been attempted. (Figs. 11-12.) The finds of the grave are the following: a silver cross-bow brooch (Fig. 13.1), 3 silver buckles (Fig. 13.4-6), silver bar-shaped mounts (Fig. 13.7-18), a pincer-like strap-end (Fig. 15.1), rosetta-like fitting that had been joined to a silver strap-end (Fig. 15.2), bronze buckles (Fig. 14.1, 8), propeller mounts with incised decoration (Fig. 14.2-7), bronze astragalus pipes (Fig. 14.9), a worn follis issued by Galerius Maximianus in 309-310, belt tips with pipe-like edge with netted decoration (Fig. 15.3-10), a double bladed iron spathe with gilded, silver-plated, niello inlay grip (Fig. 16), two glass beakers (Fig. 17.6-7), bronze ink-pot (Fig. 17.2-3), and a sharp-edged bone plate (Fig. 17.1) The grave goods can be related to two groups: 1/ the ones placed into the grave as grave goods: glass beakers, ink-pot, bronze coin, spathe; 2/ the ones belonging to the garment: brooch, mounts of a strap, buckles, etc. The shorter glass beaker with chiseled decoration can be used for dating, it belongs to the half-egg-shaped, green glass cups, whereas its unique decoration relates it to the one with glass thread decoration in the child's grave in Untersiebenbrunn. The man buried at Bécsi Road is the second armed grave in Pannónia after the 275 LATE-ROMAN ARMED MALE GRAVES FROM THE NORTHERN EDGE OF THE CANABAE IN AQUINCUM 272 BÉCSI ROAD In 1943, a group of finds containing weapons became part of the Archaeological Collection, as grave finds. There is no surviving information about the circumstances of the finding of the grave either in the archaeological topography or in any other registers. The collection of finds is made up of the following items: Fragments of sheets used for busking an arch made of cattle's shoulder blade. The shaping is rough and slubbered, its traces can be clearly seen on the inner edges. No traces caused by use can be observed. (Figs. 2.2, 5.4). Rectangular, undecorated bronze sheet with sheared edge. Cast, somewhat protruding, round bronze piece with two rectangular openings in the middle, there is no trace of hanging on the back. (Figs. 2.5, 5.1). Fragments of the neck part of a thick-walled glass bottle (Figs. 2.3,5.2). Fragments of a straight iron band - to one of them a semi-circular iron plate was fixed. (Figs. 3.1-2,5.5-6). Fragments of an iron sheet. (Figs. 3.4, 5.7). A single-blade knife or razor (Figs. 3.3, 5.9) iron handle and piece of the iron band of a wooden bucket (Figs. 4, 5.8). The first aspect of our investigation was, whether they could have come from the same grave, i.e. if they do belong to the same group of finds. There are similar pieces to the openwork bronze disc among the Roman finds from the camps along the Limes. (Niederbieber, Stuttgart-Bad Canstatt, Ellingen, Oekhoven, Tüddern, Kreuzau). The farthernmost finding place towards east of this object - possibly a piece of a harness - is Aquincum-Bécsi Road. The pipe-like glass pieces can be interpreted as the neck part of a typical bottle shape of the jd_4th centuries. The form of the wide-blade knife or razor is well known from late Roman cemeteries. This type of knives occurs in graves from the second half of the 4

th century The bucket with iron bands widening towards its bottom is fairly rare. Burying these buckets containing drinks was characteristic of the upper layers of society, mainly the armed people. The bucket as a grave find is typical of Germanic cemeteries in northern and middle Europe in the early and late Imperial period. The custom spread among the armed people living between the Elbe and the Loire and in Britain. The most interesting piece among the finds from the grave at Bécsi Road is the complex arch, i.e. the reflexive arch covered in bone blades. Whereas the burial of the arch is typical of Huns,