Marta, Liviu: The Late Bronze Age Settlements of Petea-Csengersima (Satu Mare, 2009)
III. Habitation of te Suciu de Sus Archaeological Culture
vessels (Pl. 64/1) has an ornamental style similar to that of type 1 of the Suciu de Sus culture. However an example discovered at Petea—Csengersima (PI. 52/1), through its ornamental motifs and their arrangement into oblique and vertical strips in a manner similar to the amphorae from the first phase of the necropolis at Lăpuş90, offers an example of the close relation between the pottery of these two sites. Type 3 has a bi-conical body with an out curving rim connected directly to it. This phenomenon is the result of the absence of the neck area (PI. 25/14, 29/2, 33/1). No complete examples have survived, however it is likely that these had shorter bodies than the preceding types. This aspect is to be seen in three vessels all of which are decorated by means of excision-incision, two of them having handles beneath the rim. This form seems to be rare in the Suciu culture>b and its origins are difficult to determine. The presence of bi-conical forms is attested in the neighbouring cultures of the Late Bronze Age9', although it is difficult to state precise relationships. In comparison with the vessels from the neighbouring cultures, the examples from Petea — Csengersima, with their semicircular strip shaped handles which are positioned beneath the rim95 96 97 98 99, favours them as direct ancestors of the amphorae of the Lăpuş II — Gáva I cultural horizon (PL 16/3)". Regarding the function of amphorae within the Suciu de Sus culture, their use as urns is attested in the necropolises at Stanovo and Suciu de Sus10U. Amphorae with excised decoration from the necropolis at Lăpuş (type IA2 of Kacsó) had not been used as urns, but have been discovered only in a fragmentary state101. The employment of amphorae with excised decoration in ritual context as vessels for serving liquids can be put forward from the perspective of the set of drinking vessels from Nyirmada102 103. Two decorated vessels from the setdement at Petea—Csengersima found in vertical position could also have had ritual function of the type “single amphora deposit”100. Their employment as vessels for serving liquids is indicated by their association with cups (for example in S27cx.3, PL 31/9-14, 32). However the frequency of amphorae in the two settlements and their discovery in pits which seem to contain refuse material point to a daily use even in the case of vessels beautifully adorned. Pots Pots represent the vessel form with the highest frequency in Bronze Age settlements, a situation also shared by the two settlements of the Suciu de Sus culture presented in this study. A number of 237 examples (30,26% of the overall identified forms)104 have been uncovered in the complexes at Petea—Csengersima. The most part of the pots had been made of coarse clay which contains crushed shard temper and sometimes large grained 95 Especially with amphora from burial mound 5 (Kacsó 2001, abb. 9). 96 Pop 2003, fig. 4; Kacsó 2005, pl. 4 97 In the Piliny culture (Kemenczei 1984, taf. XVIII/ 1, XXXVIII/ 1,2,7), in the Berkesz group (Kemenczei 1984, taf. LVI/ 11), in the Hajdúbagos—Cehăluţ group (Bejinariu — Lakó 2000, fig. 20/1-3), in the group of discoveries in the Kosice basin (Demeterová 1984, pl.VII/19, VII/3, XX/10). The link with the amphorae from these cultural areas is reinforced by the presence of arched grooves around the lugs of one example from Petea-Csengersima (PI. 25/14). 98 Even if the handles are usually placed on the shoulder or on the lower part of the neck, a few amphorae attributed to the Suciu de Sus culture from the Kosice basin have semicircular handles placed on the upper part of the neck (Demeterová 1984, pl. XVIII/5,6, XIX/7, XX/4,7, XXVI/1,2). 99 For the presence of handles on the necks of early amphorae of the Gáva culture see: V. Vasiliev (2008, p. 9). 100 Zatlukál - Zatlukál 1937, p. 66-71; Roska 1942, p. 90. 1,11 Kacsó 1981, p. 26-27. 1112 Tóth - Marta 2005, p. 129-134. 103 por the continental extent of the phenomenon see: A. Stapel (1999, p 104-106 ); for its manifestation in the Late Bronze Age in the area between the Tisa river and the Carpathian mountains see: G. V. Szabó (2005, p. 86) and L. Marta (2007, p. 4-16). 104 Their number must have been greater but many examples could not be identified because in the case of several rim fragments it is difficult to discern whether these belonged to conical pots or to certain types of deep bowls. 24
