Tanulmányok Budapest Múltjából 31. (2003)

RÉGÉSZETI ÉS RESTAURÁLÁSI ELŐZETES JELENTÉSEK - Végh András: A Szent György utca 4-10. számú telkek régészeti ásatása : előzetes jelentés 167-190

VÉGH ANDRÁS Archaeological Excavation of 4-10. St. George Street (1998-2000) (Preliminary Report) Between 1994 and 2000 as part of the reconstruction works of St George Square a comprehensive series of archaeological investigation was conducted to support the planning of the reconstruction and to unearth and save the treasures hidden under the earth. Due to the research the outlines of a whole mediaeval city quarter was discovered and new insight was achieved concerning the modern period city quarter. From 1998 to 2000 I had the opportunity to do archaeological excavations at four plots on the western side of the former St. George Street, where the houses had already been pulled down. Alongside with my research there were other excavations on the neighbouring plots. The whole project was coordinated and organized by the Mediaeval Department of the Budapest Historical Museum. Due to the large size of the territory and the strict deadlines the work was done by a large number of workers and technical people. At an average there were 3035, sometimes even more than 40 workers and helpers and a machine at our help throughout the three seasons of the archaeological research. The following study is the first summary of the results of the excavations. It serves as a base for a further thorough investigation of the whole material. Archaeological research has proved that the plot-system made up of tiny units registered in the first detailed map of Buda made by Joseph Hauy (1687) was only the result of constant wars, as the surviving buildings came into use individually. This was not the case before the Turkish period. It is also apparent that the first description of the plots (1696) reconstructed the original mediaeval plot-system, though introduced some necessary corrections as well. Thus the size of the plots in St George Street today matches that of their mediaeval antecedents, and they fit in with the system of plots in the whole castle area. Although the excavated stone walls of the houses can mainly be dated back only to the 14

th century, traces of buildings from the 13

th century provide a sufficient basis to prove that the plot system did not change in the course of the centuries after the foundation of the city. From this point of wiew the most important objects are cellars running up to the border of the plots as can regularly be observed. Mediaeval wells found at the border of the plots also underline the coincidence of the plot system in the Middle Ages and today. Thus written and archaeological sources claim the same: In the western side of St. George Street there has been a recurring plot system for 750 years. 190