Kovács Tibor - Stanczik Ilona (szerk.): Bronze Age tell settlements of the Great Hungarian Plain I. (Inventaria Praehistorica Hungariae 1; Budapest, 1988)

Judit TÁRNOKI: The settlement and cemetery of the Hatvan culture at Aszód

THE SETTLEMENT AND CEMETERY OF THE HATVAN CULTURE AT ASZÓD Judit TÁRNOKI THE SETTLEMENT OF ASZÓD-MANYIK A small sounding was conducted by Ilona Stanczik on the mound called Manyik at Aszód in May, 1968.

1 The small, circular settlement, about 40 m in diameter lay on top of the ridge alongside the Galga river, in the parish of Iklad. The site is also mentioned in Kalicz's register.

2 It was encircled by a well-discernible, wide fortification ditch from three sides (Fig. 1). Numerous sherds can be found in the area beyond the ditch which marks the unfortified, outer settlement. This type of settlement organization has been noted also on other Hatvan sites.

3 The excavation covered an area of 8x4 m (the first 4x4 m trench was later enlarged by another on the eastern side). The 8x4 m sounding revealed a sequence of three levels with clearly separable floors, although the western profile was found to be completely disturbed by a recent trench. Three pits (1—3) cut through the floors, and a further seven pits (4—10) were outlined in the humus under the Bronze Age layers. The material recovered from the site belongs exclusively to the Hatvan culture. Humus layer preceding the Bronze Age1.2 m (Fig. 2.1) Pits 4-10 belonged ;to this level, but only a few (pits 4,5,8) yielded some scanty material. Levelii! - 1.12 m (Fig. 2.2) A NW-SE oriented well-preserved house-part has been found in the eastern half of the excavation area. The floor was renewed or replastered three times and formed an uneven surface. Only a small part of the fire-place could be uncovered beside the northern profile. A floor fragment was noted in the eastern half of the excavated area, it may have belonged to the neighbouring building. The smallest distance between the two floors is about 1.6 m which corresponds to the usual width of the alleys in the Hatvan settlements.

4 Two pits had been dug from this level. Pit 2 was 0.82 m deep (Fig. 4) and beehive shaped, plastered with a 2-3 cm thick layer of clay. Its bottom was plastered twice. It contained a burnt, ashy deposit with sherds, animal bones and a small lump of bronze. The small pit 3 was filled with yellowish-grey earth (Fig. 6, eastern profile). Material Level III and the humus under it yielded but scanty material (35 sherds). Many of the pottery fragments are undecorated, others are broom-stroked ('Besenstrich') or textile-impressed. Many fragments seem to have belonged to jars or amphorae. Amphorae are represented by the thick wall fragments with partly broom-stroked or textile-impressed, partly smoothed surfaces (PI. 1:5, 7). Even though this ornamentation can be found in the case of other Hatvan forms as well (e.g. jars with wide mouth), the extremely thick walled amphora fragments can be easily distinguished. Levelii -0.75 m (Fig. 3.1) The undisturbed floor of a NW-SE oriented house part has been uncovered in this level. The well preserved quadrangular floor was made of stamped clay. It was 5.5 m wide and 4.1 m of its length has been uncovered. The edge of the house was indicated by postholes and debris mixed with daub fragments. In the middle of its shorter side a larger posthole has been located which was possibly made for the forked pole supporting the purlin. Thus the house may have had a gabled roof. A characteristic habitation level composed of ashy debris lay alongside the house. The house belonging to level II lies nearer to the centre of the site than the building of level III, but both are similarly oriente d

. A fragmentary hearth was detected almost exactly in the middle of the house. It was of oval form, made of clay and replastered many times, thus it rose above the floor level (Fig. 4). The floor was cut by the later pit 1.