Cristian, Virag (szerk.): Neolithic cultural phenomena in the Upper Tisa Basin (Satu Mare, 2015)
Katalin Kovács: The Role of Bodrogzsadány int he Late Neolithic Evolution of the Bodrog Valley
is Polgár-Csőszhalom-dűlő covering an area of 38 hectares.11 A geophysical survey was carried out at Sárazsadány, where the part of the settlement showed the densest Late Neolithic pottery scatter. The survey demonstrated deeply buried rows of structures 8 x 5 m in dimension, which were probably the remains of dwelling-houses.12 The current paper will deal with the excavations conducted at Bodrogzsadány- Templomdomb among the three sites. Altogether there had been four excavations at the settlement, of which three will be introduced here: Excavation conducted by József Petróczy in 1941 József Petróczy opened trenches on two distant sections of the mound (Pi 2: 1). There were three smaller trenches and a 1-0.8 m wide, 2 and 4.5 m long, L-shaped trench on the northern side; and a 3.3x3.1 m large trench on the southern side. The northern area was already disturbed due to road works in 1940, when 1-0.8 m thick soil was extracted from its surface. This destruction was so severe that there were no undisturbed areas in the smaller trenches, and the top 40 cm of the L-shaped trench also proved to have been disturbed. No features were opened during the excavations, only stratigraphic observations were made. After the disturbed stratum of the L-shaped trench, which contained finds belonging to the Bronze Age, a 39 cm thick layer was excavated with fireplaces and ashy strata. Here the find material of the Late Neolithic was found mixed with Bronze Age fragments. A 29 cm thick layer followed below, with stroke-ornamented and painted sherds. The lowest stratum was 38 cm thick and contained burnt fireplaces, with white-on-red painted ware and pottery from the Bükk culture found between them. In the trench dug in the southern side of the mound, again the strata were analysed without excavating any features. Altogether 7 layers were observed in a thickness of 190 cm (PI 2: 3), where the top I-IV layers contained Bronze Age material; below these layers the halves of both the western and northern sections of the trench proved to be previously removed soil. In the following V and VI layers, alongside the Bronze Age material, the Neolithic finds also appeared: flat-knobbed, red-painted sherds. However, a part of the southern half of the trench only contained Bronze Age material, where presumably a Bronze Age pit had been excavated. The bottom layer VII contained find material typical of the Bükk culture; this layer extended across the trench borders towards the north and the east. Excavation conducted by Sándor Gallus in 1943 Five different trenches had been opened during the excavations (PI 2: 1, 4). The first trench was 2x8 m, containing a single Late Neolithic pit (Feature I). Several pits were excavated in the 2nd trench (5x10 m), which can be dated to the Middle and Late Neolithic, Early Copper, and Bronze Ages based on their finds. In the centre of the trench, the burial of a child was found without any grave goods; there was a 1 cm thick red ochre layer below, and the skeleton of a dog. Among the features dug in the surface, the only Late Neolithic pit (Feature VII) connected to a round fireplace with daub fragments. Trenches 3-5 had varying dimensions as they were designated between fruit trees. Important stratigraphical details were recorded in Trench 3 (2x2,5 cm) (PL 2: 2): here, above a pit (Feature II) belonging to the Bükk culture that sank into the subsoil, a Late Neolithic daub layer was unearthed, which may also have connected to a kiln (Feature I). The daub rubble probably indicated the remains of a building. Another Bronze Age fireplace (Feature III) was also excavated in the trench. Trench 4 contained three features, a Late Neolithic pit (Feature II), and a larger unit (Feature I) with mixed find material (from the Bükk culture, Late Neolithic period, and Bronze Age, probably indicating that several pits had been dug into one). Trench 5 also had a strip of daub, into which a Late Neolithic pit (Feature III) The Role of Bodrogzsadány in the Late Neolithic Evolution of the Bodrog Valley 11 Raczky/Anders/Bartosiewicz 2011, 42. 12 Chapman 1997, 158; Chapman et al 2010, 123-125. 231
