Kőszegi Frigyes: A Dunántúl Története A Későbronzkorban (BTM műhely 1. kötet Budapest, 1988)

Időrendi és történeti áttekintés (The history of Transdanubia during the late bronze age.) Bilingual-bilingvis.

The last stage of the Urnfield Culture coincides in Greece with the agile, eventful period of the Doric invasion, with the new period of the sub-Mycaenean burials, the development of the Protovillanova in Italy. It is a period to outline brand-new trends for Europe in its economic and social developments. It happened during the last two centuries of the second millenium B. C. that the level of development, more or less, balanced between the Mediterraenean and the continental zones of Europe. The archaeological finds of western Hungary from this period clearly prove that this is not only a presumption, but a fact. The expansion of the culture of the people with the slanted fluted vessels had reached its peak during this time of the second phase, roughly at the beginning of the HA1 period. Its expansion is widest in the western region of Central Europe, however, its influence can be traced further on. Northern Austria, far beyond the Viennese Basin, the closely joined southwestern Slovakia, as well as the southern section of the area between the Danube and the Tisza, the pottery called Baierdorf-Lednice-éaka-Mosonyszolnok-Csorva, the Wöllersdorf-Drslavice continuing Riegsee traditions, furthermore the Kurd metallurgy including the areas south of the Drave, all belonged to its sphere of interest. This sphere of interest got considerably more limited during HA 1. The people of the culture were completely expelled from southern Moravia by the Velatice Culture with strong Tumulus traditions or quite overwhelmed and smelted into their own. The same fate was to come to the population of northern Austria and Burgenland. Somewhat later a new culture the Vál Culture appeared in southwestern Slovakia and Transdanubia. In the area between the Danube and the Tisza the Gáva Culture put an end to the rule of the Csórva group. Although these events took place within the frame of the early UK, the third phase in Transdanubia can be considered a transitional phase between the early and the late UK. The question is very complicated, since in our Kurd hoards belonging to the early UK, there are many such objects which come up in the material of the new culture, e.g. in the Velatice I grave (three rib hilted swords, Friedrichs ruhe cup, etc.) furthermore the products of the same Kurd and Gyermely metallurgy are used in the early phases of the Vál Culture.

523 In any case, this is the period of the third phase as far as Transdanubia is concerned marking the end of the early UK and at the same time the transition into the new period as well, most likely at the beginning of the HA2 period already. The appearance of the Urnfield elements responsible for the Carpathian Basin facies of the Velatice Culture falls to the third phase already and the ethnogenesis of the Vál Culture links on the one hand to these, on the other to the íaka —Mosonyszolnok basic stratum. The developed Vál Culture, noticeable in the large cemeteries already is the product of two cultures and perhaps the cohesion of the two populations. The historical development of this period is exceptionally variegated and complex, since the two cultures with similar exterior characteristics, but of different ethnic features lived side by side in Transdanubia during the same period, thus the process of their unique amalgamation continued. The earlier phase of the Vál Culture, Vál I can be parallelled with this historically important period, inspite of the fact that its basic pottery characteristics link it to the early UK. In spite of several formal similarities we face a new culture of new economic conditions, consequently of new social formations as well. During the third phase of the UK the certain decrease of sites could already been sensed in Transdanubia. This somewhat changes for the time of the fourth phase when some increase can be experienced in the Danube Bend, elsewhere although the UK finding sites continues to decrease. Perhaps only the region along the Danube in south Transdanubia is exceptional, where Urnfield settlemenets are still strong. In the Balaton region and the joining Zala area the decrease however, is considerable.

524 The fourth phase is the flowering of the late UK at the same time and in the northwestern region it was indeed the time of the development of the most important bronze industrial center of the Late Bronze Age in Central Europe, primarily at Velemszentvid, but workshops in well défendable areas like at Sághegy came also to light. Some objects of the treausre finds coming to light in these latter sites, furthermore part of the scattered bronzes are still identical to the youngest types of the Kurd level, the majority

, however, represent the younger Romand horizon within the late Urnfield period. Whereas the products of the Kurd bronze industry show regional characteristics in each case (e.g. treasures of Somogy and Baranya counties), the objects of the later, the younger Urnfield hoards, the Romand type find circle are proof of a uniformization much wider than the Carpathian Basin. The number of the individual type variations in the bronze material of the later UK decreases considerably; e.g. the sickles with handle, the socketed axes, or in the case of knives could this be experienced. This phenomenon makes us conclude to the new structure of the flourishing bronze workshops of the last phase of the Late Bronze Age which differs from the earlier metallurgies. Although in the case of the Kurd and Gyermely bronze industry we could not have thought of each settlement being a workshop as well, the number of the late UK bronze industrials centers were expecially limited within the Carpathian Basin

, moreover, in the whole of Central Europe. As far as Transdanubia is concerned we only know about Velemszentvid and Sághegy for certain, and it is quite possible that these were the only two providing the people of this region with products, or perhaps provided export for a much larger area as well. These bronze industrial centers, especially from an archaeological data providing aspect, the Velem settlement, is; very significant; with its mass production it became the base of commerce as well. The fortified, terraced Velem