2013 - Macht Des Goldes Gold Der Macht-Libre 461-481

Forschungen zu Spätantike und Mittelalter
herausgegeben von
Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska,
Niklot Krohn und Sebastian Ristow
Band 2
Forschungen zu Spätantike und Mittelalter 2
herausgegeben von
Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska, Niklot Krohn und Sebastian Ristow

Macht des Goldes, Gold der Macht
Herrschats- und Jenseitsrepräsentation

zwischen Antike und Frühmittelalter im mittleren Donauraum
Akten des 23. Internationalen Symposiums der Grundprobleme

der frühgeschichtlichen Entwicklung im mittleren Donauraum,
Tengelic, 16.–19.11.2011
herausgeben von
Matthias Hardt und Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska
2013
Verlag Bernhard Albert Greiner
Gedruckt mit Unterstützung
des Geisteswissenschatlichen Zentrums Geschichte und Kultur Ostmitteleuropas e. V.

gefördert durch das Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
Macht des Goldes, Gold der Macht/

Herrschats- und Jenseitsrepräsentation
zwischen Antike und Frühmittelalter
im mittleren Donauraum/
Akten des 23. Internationalen Symposiums
der Grundprobleme der frühgeschichtlichen Entwicklung
im mittleren Donauraum, Tengelic, 16.–19.11.2011/
herausgeben von Matthias Hardt und Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska/
Forschungen zu Spätantike und Mittelalter 2/
herausgegeben von Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska,
Niklot Krohn und Sebastian Ristow/
Weinstadt : Greiner 2013/
ISBN 978-3-86705-071-5
Bibliographische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek

Die Deutsche Nationablibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen
Nationalbibliographie; detaillierte bibliographische Daten sind im Internet über
http://dnb.d-nb.de abrubar.
1. Aulage 2013
© 2013 by
Verlag Bernhard Albert Greiner, 71384 Weinstadt; www.bag-verlag.de
Umschlagbild: Abdruck einer römischen Bronzemünze des Crispus auf einer Goldfolie (Anhänger) aus dem
Grab 2 des Gräberfeldes Keszthely-Fenéki út; Keszthely Balatoni Múzeum, Invnr. 1975.71.7. (Foto: József Bicskei)
Umschlaggestaltung und Satz: Anita Mezei
Redaktion: Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska, Eva-Maria Tepest, Hans Geisler, Daniela Hofmann, Matthias Hardt
Herstellung: Verlag Bernhard Albert Greiner, 71384 Weinstadt; www.bag-verlag.de
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ISBN 978-3-86705-071-5
ISSN 2195-2221
Grußwort
Das Wosinsky Mór-Museum, der regionale Veranstalter des 23. Kolloquiums

der „Grundprobleme der frühgeschichtlichen Entwicklung im mittleren Donau-
raum“ vom 16. bis zum 19. November 2011 in Tengelic, erfüllt seit 1895 seine
Aufgaben in der Stadt Szekszárd und im Komitat Tolna. Die Archäologie besaß
in unserem Haus durch die Bodendenkmalplege und das Ausstellungswesen
von Beginn an einen hohen Stellenwert. Mehrere Direktoren, darunter auch der
Gründer Mór Wosinsky (1854–1907), setzten sich intensiv für die archäologische
Erforschung der Region ein. Die schönsten und bedeutendsten Funde dieser
über 100 Jahre andauernden Sammeltätigkeit lassen sich in der archäologischen
Dauerausstellung unseres Museums bewundern.
Aus diesem Grund ist es immer eine besondere Freude, archäologische Fachkon-
ferenzen in unserem Komitat begrüßen zu dürfen. Das Kolloquium „Macht des
Goldes - Gold der Macht. Herrschats- und Jenseitspräsentation zwischen Antike
und Frühmittelalter im mittleren Donauraum” erlaubte uns einen internationa-
len Kollegenkreis aus den Ländern Mittel- und Ostmitteleuropas willkommen zu
heißen. Ausrichter dieser Konferenz zu sein, erfüllte uns mit besonderem Stolz,
zumal diese traditionsreiche Veranstaltungsreihe zum ersten Mal in Ungarn
tagte. Wir möchten daher für die Kooperation danken, die uns das Geisteswis-
senschatliche Zentrum Geschichte und Kultur Ostmitteleuropas an der Uni-
versität Leipzig ermöglichte, ebenso allen weiteren Institutionen aus Österreich,
Polen, Tschechien und der Slowakei, die sich an der Tagung organisatorisch und
inanziell beteiligten.
Das Kolloquium widmete sich einer der größten Faszinationen in der Kulturge-
schichte, dem Gold, und stellte sich die Frage, welche Bedeutung dieses Edelme-
tall für die Herrschatsbildung in der Zeit der Spätantike und des frühen Mittelal-
ters besaß. Unser Komitat liegt auf dem Gebiet der einstigen römischen Provinz
Pannonien, an der Donau, die zu diesem Zeitpunkt als Limes die nordöstliche
Außengrenze des Römischen Reiches bildete. Das Gebiet erfuhr während der an-
schließenden Völkerwanderungszeit eine wechselvolle Geschichte, die durch die
Aufeinanderfolge verschiedener, nach Westen und Süden vorstoßender Gruppen
geprägt war. Einzelne Gräber dieser Zeitphase, wohl die der ehemaligen Füh-
rungsschichten, waren reich an Gold und Edelsteinen, wie u. a. das Beispiel des
Grabes von Regöly zeigt. Diese Bestattung einer Frau aus dem 5. Jahrhundert
wurde 1967 entdeckt und seither in mehreren internationalen Ausstellungen
gezeigt. Die Schmuckstücke des Grabes dürten an der Wende vom 4. zum 5.
5
Grußwort
Jahrhundert in einer Werkstatt im Pontus-Gebiet hergestellt worden sein und

verdeutlichen die weitreichenden Verbindungen, die diese frühen Eliten an der
mittleren Donau unterhielten.
Auch die Ausgrabungen der letzten zwei Jahrzehnte, die im Rahmen des Auto-
bahnbaus und anderer großer Investitionen im Komitat Tolna durchgeführt wor-
den sind, verdeutlichen, dass dieses Territorium besonders reich ist an Funden
und Befunden aus der Zeit nach der Aufgabe der römischen Provinz Pannonien
– also aus dem späten 5. und aus dem 6. Jahrhundert. Das Fundmaterial deutet
zudem auf eine Vielfalt an kulturellen Beziehungen der hier ansässigen völker-
wanderungszeitlichen gentes, Alanen, Hunnen, Ostgoten und Langobarden hin.
Die Konferenz fand in Tengelic statt, in demselben, wenn auch inzwischen re-
novierten Hotelgebäude, welches bereits rund 20 Jahre zuvor ein internationa-
les Team aus Archäologen beherbergte. Die Beiträge dieser 1989 abgehaltenen
Konferenz, die sich überwiegend dem awarenzeitlichen Karpatenbecken widme-
te, wurden in unserem Jahrbuch (Wosinszky Mór Muz. Évk. 15) veröfentlicht.
Es ist sehr erfreulich, dass mit dem vorliegenden Band auch die Ergebnisse der
Tagung des Jahres 2011 zeitnah der wissenschatlichen Öfentlichkeit vorgelegt
werden und damit den Ruf unseres Museums auf internationaler Ebene stärken.
Ich hofe sehr, dass das angenehme Ambiente in Tengelic und die Tagesexkur-
sion nach Szekszárd, Paks und Pécs allen Teilnehmern gut in der Erinnerung
bleiben wird. Ich möchte allen Kolleginnen und Kollegen für die kompetenten
Vorträge und für die intensive Diskussion danken.
Szekszárd, April 2013
János Gábor Ódor

Direktor des Wosinsky Mór-Museums, Szekszárd
6
Das Wosinsky Mór-Museum, Szekszárd.
7
Vorwort
Der zweite Band der Reihe „Forschungen zu Spätantike und Mittelalter“ stellt die
Beiträge des 23. internationalen Symposiums zu „Grundproblemen der frühge-
schichtlichen Entwicklung im mittleren Donauraum“ zusammen, das unter dem
Titel des vorliegenden Buches im Jahr 2011 in Tengelic, Ungarn, veranstaltet
wurde.
In der über zwanzig Jahre währenden Geschichte der „Grundprobleme“ kam der
Kreis der an den einschlägigen Forschungsgebieten Interessierten zum ersten
Mal nach Ungarn, in das Land, das eine der Kernregionen des mittleren Donau-
raumes bildet. Die Veranstaltung des Kolloquiums wurde durch die Einladung
des Direktors des Wosinszky Mór-Museums in Szekszárd, durch János Gábor
Ódor ermöglicht. Ihm ist auch die Idee zu verdanken, die Tagung in die Region
zwanzig Kilometer nördlich von Szekszárd, in ein ausgezeichnetes Tagungsho-
tel in Tengelic zu verlagern, wo bereits 1989 eine internationale Konferenz über
„Kulturelle und Handelsbeziehungen im frühmittelalterlichen Mittel- und Ost-
europa“ (publ. in: Wosinszky Mór Múz. Évk. XV, 1990) stattfand.
Von deutscher Seite war die Projektgruppe „Die frühmittelalterlichen Zentren
an der Donau. Städtische Topographie, Christentum und Handel zwischen Mit-
teleuropa und dem Schwarzen Meer“ des Geisteswissenschatlichen Zentrums
Geschichte und Kultur Ostmitteleuropas an der Universität Leipzig an der Aus-
richtung der Tagung beteiligt. Das Tagungsthema ging aus den aktuellen Frage-
stellungen dieser Projektgruppe hervor, die sich u. a. auf die Rekonstruktion von
Prozessen konzentriert, welche die Herausbildung neuer Eliten und Herrschats-
formen an der Grenze zwischen Spätantike und Frühmittelalter begleiteten.
Mit dem hema „Macht des Goldes, Gold der Macht“ wurde zugleich ein in-
terdisziplinäres Forschungsfeld der Frühgeschichte für die Jahrestagung gewählt.
Das Spektrum der Vorträge und die anschließende Diskussion zeugten davon,
dass die Frage nach der Verbindung zwischen Herrschat und Gold für ein nach-
haltiges Forschungsinteresse sorgt. Die Tagungsteilnehmer aus den Ländern
Mittel- und Ostmitteleuropas haben am Beispiel ihrer laufenden Forschungspro-
jekte eindrucksvoll die vielseitigen Facetten der Zusammenhänge zwischen Gold
und Macht beleuchtet. Der zeitliche und regionale Rahmen reichte dabei von der
Latènezeit bis zum 11. nachchristlichen Jahrhundert und von der Ostsee bis zum
Schwarzen Meer.
Der Besitz eines Schatzes, eines thesaurus bedeutete in den spätantik-frühmit-
telalterlichen Gesellschaten viel mehr als nur Reichtum. Die Bestandteile des
9
Vorwort
Schatzes dienten unter anderem als Gaben der Fürsten an ihre Gefolgschat und
waren somit ein wichtiges Mittel, die jeweilige soziale Hierarchie zu regulieren.
Zugleich konnten Teile des Schatzes die gentile Identität stärken, indem beson-
dere Objekte bei feierlichen Anlässen zur Schau gestellt wurden, die man mit
Erzählungen und Gesängen über vergangene ruhmreiche Ereignissen verband
und so der Konstruktion ethnischer Identität und Erinnerung dienten. Gaben
galten zudem als ein wichtiges Medium der Diplomatie, wenn man damit Ver-
bündete gewinnen oder drohende militärische Gefahren abzuwenden versuchte
oder man damit Friedensschlüsse oder politisch relevante Ehen besiegeln wollte.
Auch Roms Politik war über die Jahrhunderte geprägt durch die Vergabe von Ge-
schenken und Tribute an die Barbaren, die zunächst als Gegner, aber später auch
als Söldner und Foederaten des Reiches in Erscheinung traten. Die römischen
Luxusobjekte prägten nachhaltig den Geschmack der fremden Eliten und führten
zu Erscheinungen, die in der Forschung als imitatio imperii diskutiert werden.
Die Quellen der Archäologie, ob Herrschatssitze und/oder ökonomische Zentren
oder Gräber mit prächtigen Edelmetallobjekten, erlauben in der Regel erst über
den Befundkontext einen Rückschluss auf die einstigen sozialen Verhältnisse. In
diesem Sinne werden in mehreren Beiträgen des Bandes die gesellschatliche Rol-
le und der Einluss barbarischer Eliten in ihrem eigenen sozialen Umfeld unter-
sucht und zugleich die Frage nach der Art der Verbindungen gestellt, welche die
gentilen Spitzen zur Reichsadministration und zum römischen Heer unterhiel-
ten. Der römische Einluss, ob in Form von entwickelten Technologien, Bau- oder
Feinschmiedetechniken oder aber auch die Nutzung von Insignien wird anhand
mehrerer Beispiele deutlich: nördlich der Donau beinden sich Herrschatszen-
tren, die nach provinzialrömischem Vorbild errichtet wurden, Keramik- und
Metallobjekte zeugen ebenso von römischen Formen wie Ornamente und an-
gewendete Techniken. Goldene Zwiebelknopibel und Prachtgürtel weisen auf
den militärischen Rang ihrer Träger im römischen Dienst hin. Nicht zuletzt sind
Münzen aus Edelmetall wichtiges Quellenmaterial im Rahmen der gegeben Fra-
gestellung und können nach ihrer Verbreitung und Wertigkeit in den jeweiligen
regionalen und zeitlichen Rahmenbedingungen befragt werden. Die Analyse der
herstellungstechnischen und ornamentalen Merkmale von Einzelobjekten bzw.
Fundgruppen können schließlich helfen, den Austausch von Edelsteinen, Gold
und Prestigeobjekten zu rekonstruieren und die Rolle der Handwerker und des
handwerklichen know-how zu erschließen. Die vorgelegten Aufsätze betonen
schließlich, dass nicht allein Goldfunde als Demonstration von Macht gesehen
werden dürfen. Auch Lage und Ausbauformen von Herrschatssitzen und zentra-
len Orten können als Ausdruck gesellschatlichen Ranges angesehen werden und
einen indirekten Hinweis auf die ökonomischen Möglichkeiten, auf den Einluss
und die weitreichenden Kontakte ihrer einstigen Bewohner bieten.
Die Aufsätze des Sammelbandes zeigen deutlich, dass sich die Quellen aus dem
mittleren Donauraum besonderes gut zur Bearbeitung der gestellten Frage nach
dem Verhältnis von Edelmetall und Herrschat eignen. Die schnelllebigen po-
litischen und sozialen Umwälzungen des ersten nachchristlichen Jahrtausends
fanden hier ihren Niederschlag in Form von reichen Bestattungen und Hortfun-
den, wie die im Buch behandelten Beispiele aus Mušov, Zohor, Gáva, Untersie-
10
Vorwort
benbrunn, Žuraň, Hauskirchen, Mikulčice oder Rakamaz zeigen, um nur wenige

exemplarisch zu nennen. Auch einer der größten spätrömischen Silberfunde, der
sogenannte Seuso-Schatz, dürte ebenso aus dem Karpatenbecken stammen wie
die goldenen Gefäße des spätawarenzeitlichen Fundkomplexes von Nagyszent-
miklós. Die neuen Ergebnisse eines Wiener Forschungsteams zu diesem Ensem-
ble wurden während der Tagung von Birgit Bühler und Viktor Freiberger vorge-
stellt, werden aber in Form einer Monographie an anderer Stelle publiziert.
Die Ausrichtung der Tagung wurde durch die großzügige inanzielle Unterstüt-
zung der Prähistorischen Kommission der Österreichischen Akademie der Wis-
senschaten, des Instituts für Ur- und Frühgeschichte der Universität Wien, der
Slowakischen Akademie der Wissenschaten und der Tschechischen Akademie
der Wissenschaten sowie des Geisteswissenschatlichen Zentrums Geschichte
und Kultur Ostmitteleuropas an der Universität Leipzig inanziert, wofür wir im
Namen der Organisation an dieser Stelle danken möchten.
Einen Dank möchten wir auch den Kolleginnen und Kollegen aussprechen, die
sich an der mühsamen Arbeit der Redaktion beteiligten, an Eva-Maria Tepest,
Lisa Goldmann und Hans Geisler für die Bearbeitung der deutschen Aufsätze
und an Daniela Hofmann für die Korrektur der englischen Beiträge.
Unser Dank gilt nicht zuletzt allen Kolleginnen und Kollegen, die im Rahmen
der Tagung ihre Ergebnisse präsentierten im vorliegenden Band zur Diskussion
stellen. Wir erinnern uns gern an die entspannte und arbeitsreiche Atmosphä-
re in Tengelic und hofen, unsere Gespräche über „Macht des Goldes, Gold der
Macht“ küntig fortsetzen zu können.
Leipzig, April 2013
Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska und Matthias Hardt
11
Inhalt
Grußwort ...........................................................................................................................................................5
Vorwort .............................................................................................................................................................9
Jiří Militký und Maciej Karwowski
Gold und Silber bei den Boiern und ihren südöstlichen Nachbarn – numismatische und
archäologische Überlieferung .................................................................................................................17
homas Fischer
Römische Militärgürtel aus Edelmetall .................................................................................................33
Miroslava Daňová
Römischer Goldschmuck aus Gerulata und seiner Umgebung .........................................................47
Zsolt Visy
Geschichtliche Probleme des Seuso-Schatzes .......................................................................................55
Alois Stuppner
Völkerwanderungszeitliche Herrschatszentren und spätrömische Militärarchitektur am
Beispiel des Oberleiserberges ..................................................................................................................63
Vladimír Varsik und Titus Kolník
Cífer-Pác – Neue Erkenntnisse zur spätantiken quadischen Elitenresidenz ...................................71
Kristian Elschek
Zohor – Ein neues Fürstengrab der „Lübsow- Gruppe“ und Brandgräber mit
Edelmetallbeigaben aus Zohor (Westslowakei) ...................................................................................91
Ján Rajtár
Das Gold bei den Quaden .................................................................................................................... 125
Jan Schuster
Byrsted – Lübsow – Mušov: Der Gebrauch von Edelmetall in germanischen
Fürstengräbern der älteren Römischen Kaiserzeit............................................................................ 151
Dieter Quast
Ein kleiner Goldhort der jüngeren römischen Kaiserzeit aus Černivci (ehem. Czernowitz/
Cernăuţi) in der westlichen Ukraine nebst einigen Anmerkungen
zu goldenen Kolbenarmringen ............................................................................................................ 171
Péter Prohászka
Die jungkaiserzeitliche Goldibel aus Oláhpián (Pianu, Rumänien) ............................................. 187
Eszter Istvánovits and Valéria Kulcsár
he “upper class” of Sarmatian society in the Carpathian Basin .................................................... 195
David Zs. Schwarcz
Buntmetallverarbeitung in der sarmatischen Siedlung in Tiszaföldvár-Téglagyár (Ungarn)–
Fragen zum Beginn der sarmatischen Buntmetallverarbeitung im Karpatenbecken .................. 211
Zsóia Masek
Die kulturellen Beziehungen der hunnenzeitlichen Eliten im östlichen Mitteldonaugebiet
am Beispiel der einglättverzierten Drehscheibenkeramik ............................................................... 229
Eszter Horváth, Zsolt Bendő and Zoltán May
One hundred years later... Characteristics of materials technology and workshop
ainities of the polychrome metalwork from Gáva (North-East Hungary).................................. 251
Eduard Droberjar
Gold und Elite des 5. Jahrhunderts in Böhmen ................................................................................ 281
Jaroslav Tejral
Anonyme Herrscher des 5. Jahrhunderts nördlich der Donau und ihre Selbstdarstellung
auf dem Weg ins Jenseits ...................................................................................................................... 295
Zuzana Loskotová
Lombard burial grounds and graves of social elites north of the Middle Danube in
the light of recent research ................................................................................................................... 321
Tivadar Vida
Spätantike Buntmetallgefäße im langobardenzeitlichen Pannonien ............................................. 339
Zsóia Rácz
Sind Goldschmiede in den „Goldschmiedegräbern“ der Awarenzeit bestattet? .......................... 361
Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska
Tierornamentik auf Gold und Silber – Zeichen von Herrschat und Identität?........................... 381
Pavel Kouřil und Lumír Poláček

Goldfunde von Mikulčice – Probleme und Perspektiven ................................................................ 407
Karol Pieta
Bojná – ein frühmittelalterliches Machtzentrum in Reichweite von Gold- und
Eisenrevieren .......................................................................................................................................... 423
Elisabeth Nowotny
Repräsentation zwischen Karolingerreich und Großmähren. Das Beispiel des
Gräberfeldes von hunau am Kamp, Obere Holzwiese ................................................................... 439
Erwin Gáll
he Question of Centres of Power in the light of 10th Century Necropoles in the
Transylvanian Basin – he case of the Cluj necropoles ................................................................... 461
Károly Mesterházy
Das Gold der landnehmenden Ungarn (10. Jh.) ............................................................................... 483
Undine Ott
Die Repräsentation und Legitimation von Herrschat im hochmittelalterlichen
Karpaten- und Tarimbecken. Indizien aus arpadischen und qarakhanidischen
Konversionserzählungen ...................................................................................................................... 499
Matthias Hardt
Gold, Prestige, Herrschat: Warum der Schatz den König macht .................................................. 525
Bildnachweis ................................................................................................................................................ 535
Autoren ......................................................................................................................................................... 541
14
Erwin Gáll
he Question of Centres of Power in the light of

10th Century Necropoles in the Transylvanian Basin –
he case of the Cluj necropoles 1
On the general characteristics of ment of death. he material results of this psy-

burial customs chological situation are the burial customs that
can be seen in the graves, and the quality and
Burial customs are considered the most impor- quantity of grave furnishings connected to them.
tant elements in the deinition of the 10th century herefore, one can not talk about the grief of the
cultural horizon. Burial customs mainly relect mourners in general terms, as it is diferent each
the emotional reactions of family members, rela- time. Similarly, the assemblage of funerary ofer-
tives and the community when someone passes ings is also diferent in terms of its quality and
away, and the most important condition deter- quantity in each and every case. In our opinion,
mining the quality and quantity of grave goods the feeling of grief is the core of the psychologi-
was the wealth of the individual, the family or cal phenomenon in connection with burials. he
the community. Certainly in most cases wealth picture of the netherworld is a complementary
was closely related to the social status of the de- element in the process of mourning and burial,
ceased and is expressed clearly with the quality which can on the one hand relieve the grief the
and quantity of the ritual sacriices, weapons, mourners, while on the other hand inluencing
clothes and jewellery placed in the grave. We burial customs and the various objects placed in
have to bear in mind that the quantity of the ob- the grave (see ig. 1,1).
jects and sacriices largely depends on the politi- he archaeologically excavated grave contains
cal or economic situation in a region, the signii- the remains of a deceased person or of several
cance of the roads crossing it, or whether it is in people, but the goods found in the grave might
a central or peripheral situation. To all these fac- relate to how the mourners represent the de-
tors, we should add the occasional foreign gits, ceased person’s prestige and they can (also) em-
which are considerable in some cases and might phasize the importance of the family2. It is quite
indicate the political signiicance of a person or understandable that the mourning community
a family. or family wants/wanted the deceased person
he various aspects of burial customs are in close to appear in shining glory when they escort/
connection with the way the mourners express escorted him/her on their last journey, in the
their grief, as the relationship of the deceased presence of the local community. So the grave
person with the mourners was diferentiated good assemblage, found alongside the deceased
during their lifetime and mained thus at the mo- person, was meant to indicate the economic po-
1 his work was possible with the inancial support of the Sectoral Operational Programme for Human
Resources Development 2007–2013, co-inanced by the European Social Fund, under the project number
POSDRU 89/1.5/S/61104.
2 For example H. Härke, Social analysis of mortuary evidence in German protohistoric archaeology.
Journal Anthr. Arch. 19, 2000, 369–381; M. Parker Pearson, he archaeology of death and burial. Texas
A&M Univ. Anthr. Ser. 3 (Texas 2001).
461
Erwin Gáll
Nether-
world inl
furn uence
ef ishi s the
gri ngs b
reg urial c
he iste
e st red ustom
iev in t s
he g and
rel rav
es
treat- burial customs and furnishing

mourners grief ment of the registered in the graves
dead
Fig. 1,1 he possible connection between the grief of the mourners and the picture of the netherworld.
tential, welfare, prestige, inluence and power of eteries, such as topographical location, mounds
the mourners and their legitimacy, and as a con- and so on, and their integration into the land-
sequence of this the (achieved) social position, scape do not only afect the landscape itself but
status or rank of the deceased person3. We can also the state and identity of the community.
speak of the symbolization of the status of the Based on this important social-psychological
deceased person, although it must be admitted aspect, the topographical location of the burials
that this happens in an indirect way. herefore it seems to be connected to the level of organisa-
might be risky to see grave goods as the concrete tion in a community and to symbolise the social
relections of the mobile, frequently changing or diferences between communities or groups of
stagnating social positions of individuals from people.
diferent social groups. However, it is undeni- However, we have to draw attention to the fact
able that there must have been a close relation- that each society, each community and micro-
ship between them, although, at least in theory, community construe their own values, includ-
this might not have prevailed into modern times. ing the practices connected to burial customs.
It can be irmly stated that grave assemblages herefore each micro-region, each cemetery
could symbolize the last status/statuses of the de- and within them every single grave should be
ceased person, and therefore we can talk about a analysed in their own context, their ‘own world’.
static other-world representation of the statuses herefore the question arises of whether a warri-
the individuals of a society had achieved when or can be suspected in each grave with a weapon,
they died. or whether this is just a burial custom or a dis-
he grave assemblage is only temporarily vis- tinct feature of conceptions of the netherworld.
ible to those who are let behind4, but its mne- At the same time we should pay attention to
monic power is undeniable5, and this statement another potential problem, namely that in the
deinitely applies to 10th century weapon burials. early Middle Ages unfurnished graves might not
In contrast, the surface elements of burials/cem- provide a true relection of a whole society, but
3 In this sense we can cite Parker Pearson’s words: “Tombs are not just somewhere to put bodies: they are
representations of power. Like ritual, funerary architecture legitimizes and extends the hegemonic order”
Parker Pearson 2001 (note 2) 196.
4 B. Effros, Merovingian Mortuary Archaeology and the Making of the Early Middle Ages (Berkeley, Los
Angeles, London 2003) 175.
5 K. Høilund Nielsen, Animal Art and the Weapon Burial Rite – a Political Badge? In: C. Kjeld Jensen/K.
Høilund Nielsen (eds), Burial & Society. he chronological and Social analysis of Archaeological Burial Data
(Aarhus 1997) 129–148.
462
he Question of Centres of Power in the light of 10th Century Necropoles in the Transylvanian Basin
can represent a dynamically changing picture cast may rarely substitute (if at all) for the gen-
of the aterlife in that society6. For instance the der, the age or the biological relations. he very
Christian egalitarian conception of the aterlife, complicated interplay of the two status types can
which led to unfurnished graves, did not mean be observed in the formation of group identi-
that Christian societies were poorer than their ties in the early Middle Ages (both ethnic and
predecessors7. herefore the goods placed in the social)10, while at this time the question of ethnic
graves or let outside them later also indicate the or rather social stratiication is also organically
ideological discontinuity of funerary rites in the interlocked in this process.
10th and 11th centuries. Based on the data provided by the sources in the
10th century, the Hungarian Princedom11 was
run by the so-called ‘chiefs’, a term used in cul-
Suggesting a social model: the 10th
tural anthropology and adopted by archaeology,
century ‘Hungarian’ social model which denotes leaders who inherited their posi-
tion12. he other two fundamental components
Status in its abstract meaning is a position in a of the 10th century social model are the ‘Hungar-
pattern. Each individual has several statuses, as ian’ identity which was brought by this very var-
everyone is part of the materialization of several ied people, and the population they encountered
patterns. he status of an individual hence refers and defeated.
to the sum of all their statuses and each status Besides this, as a consequence of military ven-
can be traced back to social patterns8. It is an im- tures and mobility, the so-called big-men model
portant fact that society has created two types of could have also existed13, meaning that in some
statuses: the proprietory (e. g. sex, age) and the of the 10th century military-political structures
acquired status (e. g. warrior)9, the latter provid- there could have been leaders who received their
ing a rich source of symbolism also drawn upon position as a result of their individual achieve-
in the elaborate burials of the time of the Hun- ments and not through inheritance. According
garian Conquest. he factor of the social class or to the written sources, Bogát, an individual with
6 V. Marthon, La question de l’ identité à travers l’ étude des practiques funéraires. In: Les Petits Cahiers
d’ Anatole 19, 2005, 2–14.
7 A. Rush, Death and Burial in Christian Antiquity (Washington D. C. 1941).
8 he role is the dynamic aspect of status; the individual plays a role when acting according to the rights
and obligations that make up the social status, see R. Linton, he Study of Man: An Introduction (New York
1964) 113 f.
9 Linton 1964 (note 8) 113–115.
10 S. Brather, Ethnische Interpretationen in der frühgeschichtlichen Archäologie. Geschichte, Grundlage
und Alternativen. Ergbd. RGA 42 (Berlin, New York 2004) 173.
11 On the Hungarian Conquest: Gy. György, Landnahme, Ansiedlung und Streifzüge der Ungarn. Acta Hist.
Academ. Scien. Hungaricae 31, 1985, 231–270; Gy. Kristó, A honfoglaló magyarok életmódjáról (On the life
of the Magyars around the Conquest). Századok. A Magyar Történelmi Társulat Folyóirata 129, 1995, 3–62;
M. Takács, Három nézőpont a honfoglaló magyarokról (hree opinions regarding the Hungarian conquerors).
Dolg. az Erdélyi Múzeum Érem- és Régiségtárából. N. F. 1 (11), Kolozsvár (XI) 2006, 67–98.
12 According to the written sources, the conquering Hungarians were led by dynasties. Gy. Szabados,
Magyar államalapítások a IX–XI. században. Szegedi Középkorász Műhely (Szeged 2011) 10–20; Gy. György,
Államszervezés. In: Gy. Székely/A. Bartha (eds), Magyarország története tíz kötetben. Előzmények és a
magyar történet 1241-ig (Budapest 1984) I,1, 717–834. – herefore we can talk about a ranked society based
on kin and/or role, ater G. D. Berreman, Social Inequality: A Cross Cultural Analysis. In: Idem (ed.), Social
Inequality: Comparative and Developmental Approaches (New York 1981) 3–40.
13 M. D. Sahlins, Poor man, rich man, big-man, chief: political types in Melanesia and Polynesia.
Comparative Stud. in Soc. and Hist. 5, 1963, 283–303.
463
Erwin Gáll
a Slavic name, could have been such a leader, such notions of military entourage be linked to
and based on this it is quite obvious that indi- the excavated cemeteries from diferent regions
viduals of Slavic origin also took part in the west- of the Transylvanian Basin from which a great
ern or Byzantine campaigns14. Concerning these number of weapons were reported?
individuals it is important to clarify two things: Another signiicant question is the notion and
irstly, their numbers, according to the written status of military entourage and mercenaries17.
evidence, were certainly insigniicant15; and sec- Can the diferent grave groups be deined in so
ondly, with their integration (probably followed detailed a manner, andefectively personalized,
by the integration of their material culture) simply based on the archaeological material? Are
they became so-called ‘conqueror Hungarians’, there any hints on the basis of which one could
meaning that they became part of the conqueror outline possibilities? In our opinion, this kind of
elite. endeavour is at the moment almost impossible
It still remains a question whether the informa- and may be restricted to cases such as the unique
tion from the sources, namely the social-military grave A from Székesfehérvár-Rádiótelep, for
models of these chiefs and big men could be con- which parallels are only known from outside the
nected to the archaeological sources and if so, Carpathian Basin18. It cannot be excluded that
how? In the case of which burial could one sup- the warrior burials 3 and 13 with bow and quiver
pose a chief or a big-man? To this question there from cemetery III at Karos were those of mer-
is no practical answer, since the archaeological cenaries, who according to the genetic analysis
deinition of diferent social structures is relative were not related to anyone else from the cem-
– what one can observe archaeologically are the etery but were biologically brothers19.
rich, richer, poor and poorer burials. It can be In the case of the social model mentioned above,
considered dangerous to suppose diferent legal we tried to illustrate the connection between the
statuses because theseare archaeologically hard types of statuses, their interrelations, and the
or even impossible to detect16. For example, the dynamic social transformation of the conquer-
Viking word ‘hird’, and the Rus’ ‘družina’ – from ors and the conquered in the new geographical-
a sociological point of view a privileged social- social environment of the 10th century by draw-
military stratum resulting from military occu- ing a general picture gained from narrative and
pation – are mentioned in the sources. But can archaeological sources (Fig. 1,2).
14 Z. Kordé, Bogát. In: Gy. Kristó (ed.), Korai Magyar történeti lexikon (9–14. század) (Budapest 1994) 116.
15 Gy. Kristó (ed.), Honfoglalás korának írott forrásai. Szegedi Középkortörténeti Könyvtár 7 (Szeged 1995);
P. Langó, Amit elrejt a föld … A 10. századi magyarság anyagi kultúrájának régészeti kutatása a Kárpát-
medencében (Budapest 2007) 13 note 13.
16 H. Steuer, Frühgeschichtliche Sozialstrukturen in Mitteleuropa. Zur Analyse der Auswertungsmethoden
des archäologischen Quellenmaterials. Vorträge u. Forsch. 22 (Sigmaringen 1979) 595–633 bes. 612;
K. Mesterházy, Társadalmi strukturák régészeti vizsgálata (Die archäologische Untersuchung der
gesellschatlichen Strukturen). In: L. Novák (ed.), Az Alföld társadalma (Nagykőrős 1998) 19–45 here 25.
17 According to Reuter the only diference between members of the entourage and mercenaries was that the
former could be part of the political community which they served, while the latter could not (T. Reuter, he
recruitment of armies in the Early Middle Ages: what can we know? In: A. Nørgård Jørgensen/B. L. Clau-
sen [eds], Military Aspects of Scandinavian Society [Copenhagen 1997] 32–37 here 33).
18 L. Kovács, Előkelő rusz vitéz egy székesfehérvári sírban (A rádiótelepi honfoglalás kori A. sír és
kardja). (Ein vornehmer Krieger in einem Grab von Székesfehérvár [Das landnahmezeitliche Grab A
von Székesfehérvár-Rádiótelep und sein Schwert]). In: L. Koszta (ed.), Kelet és Nyugat között. Történeti
tanulmányok Kristó Gyula tiszteletére (Szeged 1995) 291–308.
19 L. Révész, A karosi honfoglaláskori temetők. Régészeti adatok a Felső-Tisza vidék X. századi történetéhez
(Die Gräberfelder von Karos aus der Landnahmezeit. Archäologische Angaben zur Geschichte des oberen
heißgebietes im 10. Jahrhundert). Magyarország honfoglalás kori és kora Árpád-kori sírleletei 1 (Miskolc
1996) 197 f.
464
People who emerged

from the level of common
people due to military
the leaders conquering Hungarians expeditions (big-men)
(chiefs inheriting their positions)
he military some leaders of the

entourage of the lead- conquered population
ers of the conquering who where integrated into
Hungarians the conquering Hungarians
(big-men)
contracted
warriors leaders elevated from the
ranks of the
conquered people
(big-men)
he common people of the

the conquered populations
conquering Hungarians
members of the
elite of the Hungarian
conquerors, who lost
Slaves their social position
Fig. 1,2 he possible socially dynamic, integrative model of the conquest period.
On the quantity of weapon burials Vienna or the weaponry from the rich graves
in the Transylvanian Basin, Partium from Rakamaz21, Karos22, Zemplin, etc.23). hese
decorated weapons may have been powerful vis-
and Banat ual statements of identity24. In our opinion, the
use of weapons and its prestige inluenced these
In early medieval societies, male violence is com- communities’ picture of the other world efec-
plex and socially embedded. However, violence tively ‘militarizing’ it.
and the use of weapons were an integral element According to the burial customs of the conquer-
of masculine personal identity, particularly for ing Hungarians, one of the symbols of male
elites20. herefore, weapons became an integral (and) warrior status was the weapon in the grave
part of commemorating personal and group (as was the case for the whole Early Medieval
identities. he symbolic signiicance and mne- period), which must have been connected to the
monic impact of weaponry could also have de- concepts and way of thinking of the 10th century
rived from the rich and complex decorations ap- Hungarians and their image of the other world.
plied to weaponry (for example to the sabre from
20 H. Ellis Davidson, he Training of Warriors. In: S. C. Hawkes (ed.), Weapons and Warfare in Anglo-
Saxon England. Oxford Univ. Committee for Arch. Monogr. 21 (Oxford 1989) 11–24.
21 I. Fodor, Rakamaz-Strázsadomb (a). In: Idem (ed.), he Ancient Hungarians. Exhibition Catalogue
(Budapest 1996b) 110–119.
22 L. Révész, Karos. In: Fodor 1996b (note 21) 109 f.; Révész 1996 (note 19).
23 V. Budinsky-Kricka/N. Fettich, Das altungarische Fürstengrab von Zemplin. Arch. Slovaca Monogr. 2
(Nitra 1973).
24 Høilund Nielsen 1997 (note 5).
465
Erwin Gáll
Fig. 2 Weapon burials in Transylvanian Basin, the Partium and the Banat (10th/11th c.): 1 Arad-Ceala, Arad county;
2–3 Biharea-Somlyóhegy, Bihor county; 4–8 Bukovapusta-Dudeștii Vechi-Mound III, IV, V, VIII, IX, Timiş county;
9 Ciacova-“Gheorghianu” (C. A. P.), Timiş county; 10 Cetea, Alba county; 11 Deva-Micro 15, Hunedoara county; 12 Dej,
Cluj county; 13 Eresteghin-Zádogostető, Covasna county; 14 Stâna, Sălaj county; 15–19 Alba-Iulia-Izvorul Împăratului,
Stația de Salvare, Vânătorilor street, Apor castle, stray ind from 1943, Alba county; 20 Vărşand-Laposhalom, Arad
county; 21 Heria, Alba county; 22 Hodoni-Pocioroane, Timiş county; 23 Irineu, Satu Mare county; 24–25 Cheglevici,
near the village, Timiş county; 26–28 Cluj-Napoca-Kalevala street Site I, Plugarilor street, Zápolya street, Cluj county;
29 Tărian-Csordásdomb, Bihor county; 30 Macea, Arad county; 31 Pecica-Nagysánc, Arad county; 32 Brăişoru, Sălaj county;
33 Gâmbaş-Kiss Magura, Alba county; 34 Blandiana-cemetery “B”, Alba county; 35 Aiud, near the town, Alba county;
36 Ernei, Mureş county; 37 Comloşu Mare, Timiş county; 38 Nădlac-Țiglărie, Arad county; 39 Tomnatic-Kleine Hügel,
Timiş county; 40 Salonta-Halom domb, Bihor county; 41 Oradea-Salca terrace, Bihor county; 42 Poiana Aiudului, Alba
county; 43‒45 Dudeștii Vechi-mound I, VI, Dragomir’s mound, Timiș county; 46 Sfântu Gheorghe-Eprestető, Covasna
county; 47 Şiclău-Gropoaie, Arad county; 48 Sălacea-Vidahegy, Bihor county; 49 Orăştie-Dealul Pemilor X2, Hunedo-
ara county; 50–51 Cenadu Sârbesc, territory of the Serbian Orthodox Curch, Timiş county; 52 Murani, Timiș county;
53 Timişoara-Csóka erdő, Timiş county; 54 Cheile Turzii, Alba county; 55 Oiejdea, Alba county; 56 Hunedoara-Kincseshe-
gy, Hunedoara county; 57 Moldoveneşti-Gábor Jósika’s garden, Cluj county; 58 Voiteg, Timiş county; 59 Vetiş, Satu Mare
county; 60 Jimbolia, Timiş county; 61 Săcălaz, Timiș county.
In the Transylvanian Basin, the Partium and the not be considered characteristic (Fig. 2)25. We
Banat we analyzed weapon inds from diferent have drawn up a three-group chronological or-
aspects in 22 stray inds and in 130 graves out of der of known cemeteries:
the 2047 ones excavated in 35 sites, using difer- Group 1: 10th century cemeteries: weapons were
ent methods. It shows that in the burial places found in 97 out of the 1109 graves in 25 cemeter-
of the 10th and 11th century Transylvanian Basin, ies (8.74 %);
the Partium and the Banat weapon burials can-
25 E. Gáll, A honfoglalás- és kora Árpád kori temetők és szórványleletek elemzése az Erdélyi-medencében, a

Partiumban és a Bánságban (he analysis of 10th and 11th century burial sites and stray inds in Banat, Partium
and the Transylvanian Basin). PhD-dissertation I–III of the Eötvös Lóránd Univ. of Budapest, 2008 (Vol. I.:
http://doktori.btk.elte.hu/hist/index.html[20.03.2012]) Fig. 232.
466
1200
1109 Number of the necropolises
with weapons
Number of the grave
1000
Number of the graves with
weapons
800
695
600
400
243
200
97
25 8 31 2 2
0
th th th
10 Century 10-11 Centuries 11 Century
th th
Fig. 3 Weapon burials from the 10 –11 centuries in Transylvania, the Partium and the Banat.
Arrow heads Quiver Bow Saber Sword Axe Lance

362 46 23 16 13 12 2
Fig. 4 he number of weapon inds from the 10th–11th centuries in Transylvania, the Partium and the Banat.
Group 2: cemeteries from the 10th and 11th cen- weapon burials from the 10th and 11th centuries,
turies: weapons were found in 31 graves26 out of which is 6.35 % (Fig. 3). he table shows the
the 695 in 8 cemeteries (4.46 %); statistics, based on the inds excavated so far
Group 3: in cemeteries that can surely be dat- (Fig. 4).
ed to the 11th century, arrowheads were found hree weapon categories (bow, sabre, lance)
only in one grave among the 57 graves in the were only found in graves, whereas four cat-
Hunedoara cemetery, and in another one in the egories (sword, axe, arrowhead and quiver) are
Alba Iulia-Vânătorilor Street cemetery section known both from graves and from single inds.
(0.82 %). It is curious that there are twice as many swords
In the 10th–11th centuries, weapon burials in in stray inds as there are in graves.
Transylvania, the Partium and the Banat show Based on the data shown above, the conceptual
a decrease as Christianity was gaining ground. background of weapon burials can be explained
he same tendency can be seen in the case of by several reasons, which can be in close connec-
horse burials, which are also considered a pation with one another in many cases. As noted
gan custom27. To sum it up, out of the 2047 reli- before, in the case of early medieval society vio-
ably documented graves 130 can be considered lence and the use of weapons was an integral ele-
26 he three-edged arrowhead found in grave 6 at Sălacea-Vidahegy killed the person, therefore it cannot be
counted as a weapon burial. Gáll 2008 (note 25) 314 note 1740, see also 325, 329 and 333.
27 L. Révész, Archaelogical heritage of the ancient Hungarians. In: Fodor 1996b (note 21) 43; Sz.
Szuromi, A templom körüli temetkezés a középkori egyházfegyelem tükrében (12–13. század). (Burials
in the churchyard as relected in medieval church discipline [12th–13th c.]. In: Á. Ritoók/E. Simonyi (eds),
A középkori templom körüli temetők kutatása. Opuscula Hungarica 6 (Budapest 2005) 9–12. – For the
Transylvanian Basin: E. Gáll, he analysis of churchyard cemeteries in Transylvania from the 11th–13th
centuries. From the pagan cemetery to the Christian churchyard. Preliminary results. Transilvanian Review
19, Suppl. 5 (2010) 265–289.
467
Erwin Gáll
Horse
Sites and no. of grave Arrowhead Quiver Bow Saber Sword Lance Axe Age
burials
Cluj-Plugarilor street grave 4 x (?) x x x 35–39 years
Cluj-Plugarilor grave 6 x (2) 50–59 years
Cluj-Plugarilor grave 10 x (?) x x 50–59 years
Cluj-Plugarilor grave 12 x (1?) x 23 (?)years
Cluj-Plugarilor grave 15 x 8–10 years
Cluj-Plugarilor grave 22 x (6) x x x 40–59 years
Cluj-Plugarilor grave 25 x (?) x x x x 60–65 years
25–39 years
Cluj-Plugarilor grave 26 x (1)
(woman)
Cluj-Zápolya grave 1 x (?) x x x ?
Cluj-Zápolya grave 4 x (6) x x x x ?
Cluj-Zápolya grave 6 ? x x x 20–40 years
Cluj-Zápolya grave 10 x (10) x x x 35–40 years
Cluj-Zápolya grave 11 x (?) x x x ?
Cluj-Kalevala grave 1
x x
(disturbed)
Cluj-Kalevala grave 3
x
(disturbed)
Fig. 5 Weapon burials in the Cluj necropoles.
ment of masculine personal identity and socio- free adult (age) males (gender). he scanty ar-
political ailiation, particularly for elites28. rowheads found in male, female or child graves
Taking into consideration the chronological can (also) be explained by religious reasons.
and historical context, those cemeteries where herefore, in our opinion, in the case of the com-
weapons of diferent categories were found in a munities of the conquering Hungarians in Tran-
high percentage of the graves may be connected sylvania, the Partium and the Banat in the 10th
to a group of professional warriors where this is century the placement of weapons of diferent
supported by anthropological data. In contrast, categories in the graves, which is a consequence
when only small numbers of the same type of of the burial rites, can be traced back to varied
low quality weapon (e. g. arrowheads) are found conceptual reasons. he possibilities constructed
in a small percentage of the graves, it cannot in our categorisation are only theoretical29: pro-
be excluded that this symbolises the status of fessional warrior status (the acquired, achieved
28 Davidson 1989 (note 20) 11–24.

29 Likewise, H. Härke, Warrior graves? he background of the Anglo-Saxon weapon burial rite. Past and
Present 129, 1990, 22–43.
468
status), social status (which is an inherited or it can be irmly stated and clearly seen in the data
achieved status-symbolization), the status of free sheet that the most signiicant characteristics of
male, religious reasons, or an emphasis on group male graves are the horse-weapon burials and
(ethnic) identity, all of which are linked to each the big proportion of sabres in the graves. his
other30. concentration of weapons can be explained by
the diference or aggregation of the statuses of
On the quantity of weapon burials the buried individuals or by weapon symbolism
(adult, warrior male), which can be connected to
from the Cluj necropoles: Weapon the prevalent model of the aterlife, imagined as
burials and the question of their being as hierarchical as this one. In the case of
status weapons of diferent kinds, it is not clear whether
a particular status was indicated by all the wea-
In our research area, the cemeteries in Cluj (Ka- pons together, or whether each item indicated a
levala, Plugarilor and Zápolya street31) exhibit separate status.
the most complex concentration of weapons. On the one hand, the great proportion of sabres
hese cemeteries stand out not because of their in the Cluj graves might indicate the special sta-
richness in precious metals, but through the tus of the individuals with sabres compared to
amount and variety of diferent weapon catego- those without sabres, while on the other hand,
ries. Of the forty graves from these three cemete- compared to the small proportion of sabres in
ries, eighteen (i. e. 47.50 %) contained weapons, other (micro)regions, it could indicate the spe-
a igure unparalleled in other micro-regions of cial status of the communities in Cluj32. It can
the Carpathian Basin (Fig. 5). also be noticed that the quality of some grave
herefore the weapons recorded in the male and goods (Plugarilor street grave 2533) might have
even the female and child graves represent the indicated the advanced age of the person in the
primary and most general symbols of the indi- grave; in this case ornamented sabres, belt with
viduals of the Cluj community. he connection mountings and ornamented mount sabretaches
between certain items of material culture and the can be associated with his military(?) or commu-
symbolisation of individual status, the efect they nity(?) leading status or his age. his assumption
have on one another and the interdependency of seems to be supported by the fact that in the case
individual status symbols and their importance of two elderly men only arrowheads were found,
in creating group identities are shown in a chart so this assemblage cannot be explained only as
(Fig. 6). a symbolisation of age. Alongside the status of
It is also diicult to research the complicated is- the warrior, we can suspect another status that
sue of how the statuses mentioned above (either was also achieved. his can be suggested in the
proprietary or achieved) were symbolised in the case of grave 11 in Zápolya Street34, which was
grave in the case of these cemeteries. At any rate, unfortunately looted.
30 Linton 1964 (note 8) 113 f.

31 E. Gáll/B. Gergely/Sz. Gál, La răscruce de drumuri. Date arheologice privind teritoriul orașului Cluj-
Napoca în secolele X–XIII. (At Crossroads. Archaelogical Data concerning the Territory of Cluj-Napoca City
in the 10th and the 13th centuries). (Cluj-Napoca 2010) 125–139.
32 We consider it important to note that the sabre would have been a considerable outlay for the deceased
family or micro-community (if it was not a git), therefore it was also a signiicant symbol of power and/or
rank.
33 Gáll/Gergely/Gál 2010 (note 31) 129.
34 Ibid., 137–139, Pl. 33–37.
469
Erwin Gáll
horse
bones arrowhead- belt with
sabre
in the grave quiver applique
Items possibly symbolizing status in the

10th centruy cemeteries in Cluj
privates status
age Gender Warrior

status
group indentity
Fig. 6 Artefacts as individual status symbols and in relation with group identity.
Even if the presence of weapons in child buri- 65 year old man. In this case it is questionable
als (three graves) can sometimes be explained whether we can speak of a warrior or whether
by spiritual reasons, it is evident that in the life these weapons merely relected the individual’s
of these communities the weapon played an im- social status.In contrast, the weapons with the
portant role not only as an object but also as a mature individuals from graves 4, 11–12 and 22
symbol (Fig. 7a–b). from this cemetery and graves 4, 6 and 10 from
As has been mentioned, in the study area, the Zápolya Street35 can be connected to a warrior
most complex concentration of weapons is status (Fig. 8).
known from the graves of the Cluj cemeteries However, Antónia Marcsik could not observe
(sabres, relex bows, quivers, arrowheads). his any deformation on the skeletons in the ceme-
observation also seems to be supported by an- tery in Plugarilor Street which could be caused
thropological data. Grave 25 from Plugarilor by physical work. his might indicate a warrior
Street, which contained one of the most com- status for the male members of this communi-
plex weapon collections, was the burial of a 60– ty36. On the let leg of the skeleton from grave 10
35 E. Gáll et al., Analiza mormântului 10 din necropola de la Cluj-strada Zápolya (Dostoievski, gen. Traian
Moșoiu). Mat. și Cerc. Arhe., N. Ser. 5, 2010, 133–153.
36 A. Marcsik, Studiul antropologic al scheletelor descoperite în cimitirul de secol X din Cluj-Napoca, str.
Plugarilor (Anthropological Study of Human Skeleton discovered at the 10th Century Cemetery from Str.
Plugarilor, Cluj-Napoca). Acta Mus. Napocensis, Ser. Hist. 39–40, 2002–2003, 83–90 here 88.
470
Arrowheads
40-65
Arrowheads
Axe
20-40
Bow-quiver-arrowsheads
Sabre-quiver-arrowsheads-bow
0-10
Sabre-quiver-arrowsheads-bow-beltwith
ittings
0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 a
Decorated
sabre-quiver-
arrowheads- Sabre-quiver- Sabre- Bow-
Age of bow-belt with arrowheads- quiver- quiver- Arrowhead Arrowheads
Axe
Persons ittings- bow-belt with arrowheads- arrow-
ornamented ittings bow heads
mount
sabretache
0–10 1 2
20–40 1 3 1 1
40–65 1 1 1 2
8
7
6 Axe
5
Graves containing only
4 arrowheads
3 Weapon burials without sabres
2
Graves with sabre furnishing
1
0
0-12 20-40 40-65 25-39 (woman) b
Graves with sabre Weapon burials Graves containing

Age of Persons Axe
furnishing without sabres only arrowheads
0–12 3 1
20–40 4 1
40–65 2 3 2
25–39 (woman) 1
Fig. 7a-b Number of weapon burials and their comparison with age at death in the Cluj necropoles (Kalevala street,
Plugarilor street and Zápolya street).
471
Erwin Gáll
1
Horse
skull 1
2 7
8
Horse legs
9-18 2
23 19-22
6 24
5 26
25
4
Sheep bone 3
3
Horse legs
0 30 cm
Grave 10
4
0 3 cm
0 3 cm
5
6
0 3 cm
7
0 3 cm 8 9 10 Grave 10
Fig. 8 Cluj-Zápolya street, grave 10: 1‒3 Appliques; 4 Buckle; 5 Quiver ear mounting; 6: Sabre; 7‒8 Sabre suspension
rings; 9‒10 Arrowheads.
in Zápolya Street, traces of a fracture have been cate that this period was peaceful in the northern
observed by Szilárd Gál37. Independently of this, regions of the Transylvanian Basin? At the same
Mátyás Vremir identiied traces of a similar time, Antónia Marcsik draws attention to the
fracture on the let leg of the horse38. It is worth fact that the advanced age of several skeletons40
mentioning that traces of a cut can be seen on might indicate that the standard of living of this
the skull of a person in grave 22, Plugarilor street community could have been above average com-
(Szántó utca), although he survived the blow. On pared to other Transylvanian communities. his
the other hand, Antónia Marcsik could not de- is based on the amount of protein gained from
tect any traces of cuts or other wounds on the meat, which can only be explained by their spe-
remains of the male skeletons39. Does this indi- cial status.
37 Gáll et al. 2010 (note 35) 143.

38 Ibid., 144.
39 Marcsik 2002–2003 (note 36) 88.
40 Ibid.
472
In sum, it can be stated that the great concen- eteries, where a high percentage of graves with
tration of weapons in the Cluj cemeteries might weapons of this kind were found43.
be the result of the mixed symbolic expression We therefore tried to compare this with the fre-
of adult male status (as a proprietary status) and quency of ornamented belts in the Carpathian
warrior status (achieved). It proves one thing: Basin, as these are thought to be another symbol
weapons and especially sabres indicated a per- of rank:
sonal status, which became a symbol creating Group A: Ornamented belts are much more
group identity here. he assumption that sabres common grave goods in the Carpathian Basin
indicated a social-military status is supported than sabres. Large numbers of graves with sabres
by the fact that these are ornamented and were were found in some particular areas and ceme-
found in the richest 10th century graves. teries, while in other areas they are less common
Among the weapons, the sabre and later the or completely unknown44.
sword were accorded special attention, which can Group B: 34 graves contained ornamented
be explained by several factors. Firstly, among belts (a number which could still grow) but no
the 10th century weapons in the Carpathian Ba- weaponry, making it implausible that they were
sin only these were ornamented with gold, silver connected with the military hierarchy; instead,
and bronze accessories. Graves containing such ornamented belts might have indicated individ-
items are the richest 10th century male graves, uals’ socio-economic position45.
whose concentration in the Upper Tisza region Based on the anthropological analysis conducted
(Karos, Rakamaz, Zemplin) led László Révész ater the excavations of the Karos and Kenézlő
to suppose that the irst main centre of the con- cemeteries, it can be observed that those who
quering Hungarians was here in the irst half of wore sabres were mature or old46.
the 10th century41. Secondly, sabres and swords as Examining another aspect of this phenomenon
important symbols of a person’s rank are men- leads to interesting discoveries. Among the in-
tioned in 11th century written sources. he so- dividuals wearing only ornamented belts, there
called Vienna Sword, kept in the Schatzkammer, were people of diferent ages. Mentioning only
could have been such a symbolic weapon42. burials of younger individuals, one can list
In recent years, weapons have been interpreted graves 2 and 35 in cemetery II of Karos and grave
diferently. In the exhibition catalogue published 6/31 in cemetery 2 of Kenézlő, where those gir-
in the mid 1990s and in the chapter on sabres dled with ornamented belts were still children47.
in László Révész’s book, those buried with sabres A juvenile rested in grave 14, cemetery II of Ka-
are seen as a ‘military retinue’ buried in cem- ros (his grave good assemblage consisted of an
41 Révész 1996 (note 19) 198–206.

42 I. Fodor, Vienna sabre. In: Idem 1996b (note 21) 67–71.
43 Révész 1996 (note 19) 184.
44 Ibid., 46.
45 E. Gáll, Tipologia mormintelor de secol X cu însemne de rang din bazinulcarpatic (Rank denoting
objects and the structuring of the Hungarian society of the conquest). Buletinul Cercurilor Știinţiice
Studenţeşti. Arheologie – Istorie – Muzeologie 7 (2001) 121–150 here 129 f.
46 Graves 5, 6 and 20 in cemetery 2 in Karos with their senilis individuals belong to this group, as well as
the mature persons in graves 41 and 36. he age of the person in the latter grave is not known exactly, but he
could not have been an infant. Also, in cemetery 2 at Kenézlő individuals with sabres must have been either
mature or old people. here was a mature person in grave 10 in Zápolya Street, Cluj (35–40 years old); a
maturus I (between 35–39 years of age) in grave 4 at Szántó Street, Cluj; a maturus II–senilis I (40–59 years
old) in grave 22, and the skeleton of a senilis (60–65 years old ) in grave 25. he person buried in grave 11 at
Blandiana was also senilis (Marcsik 2002–2003 [note 36] 83–90; Gáll et al. 2010 [note 35] 143).
47 Révész 1996 (note 19) 16, 20; N. Fettich, Adatok a honfoglaláskor archaeológiájához. Arch. Ért. 45,
1931, 48–112 here 86 Fig. 62.
473
Erwin Gáll
ornamented belt, a bow and arrows)48. Similar est”54, i. e. these weapons were the symbols of an
weapons accompany the ornamented belt in achieved status in the Scandinavian world, too.
grave 20/45 in cemetery 2 of Kenézlő, where the
person is described as a young man49. Similarly, A quantitative survey of the sabre inds in
the grave of a young boy with an ornamented the cemeteries in Cluj and in the Carpathian
belt was found in Vereb50. he grave of the young Basin
man in Gnadendorf (14 years old) contained a
sabre with precious metal accessories along side
It is true that the cemeteries in Cluj were excavat-
an ornamented belt, but since this embellished
ed only partially55, but still this tendency stands
weapon was worn it might not actually have be-
out clearly. In what follows, we wish to exempli-
longed to him and might also have represented
fy our statements with a statistical comparative
the inherited position and prestige of the family,
analysis of the cemetery burials and the number
besides the youth’s achieved status (warrior)51.
of sabres from the Upper Tisza region56. We are
he theory of ‘bodyguard’ or ‘military retinue’
(warrior) status elaborated by László Révész, aware of the relative value of this analysis, but
according to which this status could have been as has been repeatedly highlighted57 during the
symbolised by the sabre, can be applied to cem- analysis of the inds from the Cluj cemeteries,
eteries in the Upper Tisza region52 or in the Cluj the similarity of the material from the cemeter-
region (where sabres were found in 10 out of 40 ies of the two regions cannot be denied (Fig. 9).
graves!53); however, sabres in other areas should he comparison showed that the percentage of
probably be interpreted in a diferent way, al- sabres in the Cluj cemeteries can correspond ap-
though it is still impossible to give a inal answer. proximately to those of the Upper Tisza region,
It is not known whether they signiied military but also difers in many cases. A similar concen-
rank or social position or both, rather than tration of sabres cannot be identiied anywhere
achieved status. else in the Carpathian Basin. How could this
hese suggestions and observations are support- phenomenon be explained? Can we identify a
ed by Niklas Stjerna’s comments. He expressed phase in scholarship or is it really a 10th century
the opinion that the swords found in graves in sociological or ethno-cultural phenomenon?
Uppland and Västmanland prove that “the con- Not denying the diiculties of the irst possibil-
trol of git-production was in the king’s inter- ity, based on the excavations it seems that in the
48 Révész 1996 (note 19) 17 f.

49 Fettich 1931 (note 47) 94 Abb. 75–76.
50 J. Érdy, A verebi pogánysír. Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Évk. 9, 1858, 9, 14–27; K. Mesterházy,
Vereb. In: Fodor 1996b (note 21) 375 f.
51 László Révész suggested that the sabre with the worn silver accessories was used for several decades:
L. Révész, Honfoglalás kori sír az alsó-austriai Gnadendorban. Csodaszarvas, II, 2006, 3–40 here 17;
F. Daim/E. Lauermann (eds), Das frühungarische Reitergrab von Gnadendorf, Niederösterreich. Monogr.
RGZM 64 (Mainz 2006).
52 Révész 1996 (note 19) 198–206.
53 Gáll/Gergely/Gál 2010 (note 31) 116 Fig. 53.
54 N. Stjerna, Viking-age weapons found in Eastern Middle Sweden. In: L. Holmgvist Olausson/
M. Olausson (eds), he Martial Society. Aspect of warriors, fortiications and social changes in Scandinavia
(Stockholm 2009) 125–132 here 128.
55 Gáll/Gergely/Gál 2010 (note 31) 15–22.
56 he following sabre inds were omitted from the analysis: Demecser-Borzsova puszta (2 sabres),
Rétközberencs-Paromdomb (1 sabre), Beregszász (2 sabres), Szolyva (1 sabre); Révész 1996 (note 19)
180–185.
57 Révész 1996 (note 19) 123, 185.
474
Number of burials with saber –

Cemetery No. of graves
percentage rate in the respective cemetery
Karos I–III cemetery 105 graves 11 sabers (10,47 %)
Kenézlő I–II cemetery 50 graves 5 sabers (10,00 %)
Rakamaz-Strázsadomb 9+10 graves 1-saber, 1-sword with saber grip (10,52 %)
Szabolcsveresmart-Szelérd hill 8 graves 1-saber, 1-sword (25 %)
Tiszacsoma 60 graves 1-saber, 1-sword, 1-sword with saber grip (5,0 %)
Tiszaeszlár-Bashalom II cemetery 13 graves 3 sabers (23,07 %)
Tiszabezdéd 17 graves 3 sabers (17,64 %)
Kál-Legelő 68 graves 2 sabers (2,94 %)
Miskolc-Repülőtér 25 graves 1 saber (4,00 %)
Püspökladány-Eperjesvölgy 640 graves 2 sabers (0,31 %)
Sárrétudvar-Hizóföld 262 graves 2 sabers (0,76 %)
Csongrád-Vendelhalom 50 graves 4 sabers (8,00 %)
Eger-Szépasszonyvölgy 33 graves 2 sabers (6,06 %)
Fig. 9 he number of graves with sabres and the quantity of sabres in the Upper Tisza and other regions of the Carpa-
thian basin (ater Nepper 2002 [note 57]; Füredi 2003 [note 57]; M. Párducz/L. Tary, A Csongrád-vendelhalmi hon-
foglaláskori lelet [Les trouvailles de Csongrád-Vendelhalom de l’époque de la conquéte du pays hongrois]. Folia Arch.
1–2, 1939, 189–199; L. Révész, Heves megye 10–11. századi temetői [Die Gräberfelder des Komitates Heves im 10.–11.
Jahrhundert]. Magyarország honfoglaláskori és kora Árpád-kori sírleletei 5 [Budapest 2008]).
fully excavated cemeteries of other regions, this he issue of the conquered people
percentage rate of sabres is unparalleled58.
At the same time, it is essential to clarify another It is also necessary to address the issue of the
fact: in Bodrogköz, respectively in the cemeteries conquered population in our analyses. Unfortu-
of the Upper Tisza region, the number of sabres nately, there is a complete lack of cemeteries or
(thanks to the state of research) is larger than in settlements in Cluj from the time preceding the
the Cluj cemeteries; this also goes for gold arte- 10th century conquest, and there are no 10th cen-
facts found in graves, particularly the quantity of tury cemeteries other than the ones mentioned
gilded silver objects, which bear witness to the above.
importance of the two regions. However, the im- Settlements dating from the 7–9th centuries,
portance of these regions in the irst two thirds alongside cremation and biritual burial grounds,
of the 10th century cannot be compared in any are known in the micro-region of the Little
way. Someș59. he Slavonic toponyms in the region
58 For example, among the 68 burials from the cemetery of Káli in north Hungary, a total of two sabres were
found; out of the 640 burials of the cemetery in Püspökladány-Eperjesvölgy, two burials with sabres were
identiied; similarly, out of the 262 burials of Hízóföld in Sárrétudvar, two burials had sabres (I. M. Nepper,
Hajdú-Bihar megye 10–11. századi sírleletei [Die Grabfunde aus dem 10.–11. Jh. im Komitat Hajdú-Bihar].
Magyarország honfoglaláskori és kora Árpád kori sírleletei 3 [Budapest, Debrecen 2002] 87, 221; Á. Füredi,
Honfoglaláskori temető Kálon [Cemetery in Kál from the age of the Hungarian conquest]. Békés Megyei Múz.
Közl. 24–25, 2003, 331–351).
59 Cremation cemeteries: Someșeni, Jucu, Dăbâca. Settlements and inds indicating settlements: Cluj-
Mănăștur, Jucu, Dăbâca, Iclodu Mare. he analysis of the settlements of this area and the collection and
analysis of excavated sites dating from the 6th–9th centuries are currently being carried out by I. Stanciu (Inst.
of Arch., Cluj-Napoca) and the Author.
475
Erwin Gáll
of Cluj60 can be connected to this, so it can be In the interpretation of the centre-periphery

assumed that the population practicing crema- model, prestige values, such as the acquisition
tion burials (the Slavs) and the conquerors, who and ownership of symbols of economic and so-
arrived in the 10th century, were in contact. he cial status, were mainly the results of political,
conquering Hungarians of the 10th century did military and social phenomena, processes and
not destroy this population, but integrated them actions. he chronological analysis of the 10th
into the economic structure as a conquered pop- century inds carried out so far has allowed us
ulation. he more exact archaeological identii- to detect the concentration of items indicating a
cation of this population remains the objective social status (ornamented sabres, studded belts,
of future research. ornamented mount sabre taches62) in a core re-
gion, the Upper Tisza. However, the inds also
he functional contact of the Cluj micro- suggest several possible peripheral centres exist-
region’s political-military centre and the ing alongside63, and there could have been areas
dependent on these centres, forming a function-
supposed political-military centre in the
al unit (Fig. 10).
Upper Tisza region
If the 10th century cemeteries are projected on
a map showing the cremation and biritual sites
At the beginning of the 10th century, the Hun- dating to the 7–9th centuries, they clearly com-
garians who conquered the Carpathian Basin plement each other very well geographically. he
created a complicated political-military set-up, Arab written source from around 920 AD its in
in which so-called ‘warrior society’ communi- well, stating that “the Hungarians continuously
ties also took part. Apart from them, there were beat the Slavs, who live near them. hey impose
social classes leading a settled lifestyle focused severe food taxes on them, treating them as cap-
on agriculture, commerce etc.61 It is important tives”64. he sites whose geographical locations
to note that production is the base of a society’s complement one another in Figure 10 can be
growth and the possibilities provided by the nat- evaluated from this perspective. In the case of
ural resources and the geographical location of the Transylvanian Basin, this would mean that
the populated area have a huge impact on this. its eastern regions could have been the periph-
he settled communities of the Carpathian Basin eral zones of the possible western Transylvanian
could not support the prestige values of the mili- centres, as supportedby the Arab sources and the
tary communities conquering the Carpathian archaeological data summarised above.
Basin; the raiding campaigns to the west and in Another question is the system of dependency
Byzantium, which lasted through two genera- between the various micro-regional centres and
tions, were the consequence of this economic the supposed main political-military-economic
situation. It can be considered the motive for centre in the Upper-Tisza region, and what ar-
these raids. chaeological remains of this can be detected.
60 J. Herepei, Kolozsvár történeti földrajza (Kolozsvár 2004) 13.

61 he same amount of grave goods can be observed in the graves of almost all funerary site types (single
graves; small, middle and large sized cemeteries). herefore, it is not correct to identify cemeteries as
connected to social classes (cemeteries of ordinary people, or the middle class). For further detail see Gáll
2008 (note 25) Fig. 295.
62 heir assumption, see Révész 1996 (note 19) ig. 79.
63 A similar centre is suspected to have existed in the Middle Tisza region or in the Little Plain, see
L. Madaras, Szolnok Lenin Tsz. (Ugar) 10. századi temetője (Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok megye 10. századi leletei
és azok történeti tanúságai). In: M. Wolf/L. Révész (eds), A magyar honfoglalás korának régészeti emlékei
(Miskolc 1996) 65–116.
64 Citation ater Kristó 1995 (note 14) 33.
476
Fig. 10 Cemeteries, settlements and stray inds dating from the 7th–10th centuries and the cemeteries of the warrior class
in the period of the Hungarian Conquest: A 9th century sites with inhumation burials; B biritual cemeteries dating from the
7th–9th centuries; C 9th century stray inds; D Cemeteries of the class of warriors in the 10th century; E settlements dating from
the 7th–10th centuries.
Certainly, the dynamics of the political-military might refer to, compared to the inds from cem-
system must not be let out of this analysis, as eteries in the political-military centre (Fig. 11).
with a change of the political-military situa- he connection of the cemetery inds and the
tion new centres could have appeared, or others burial customs have been the subject of several
could have taken over the leadership of the areas previous studies65, so I only mention a few re-
mentioned above, or a situation of polyfunction- sults here:
ality could develop. 1 Each item has its parallel in the Upper Tisza
Returning to the issue of the Cluj micro-region, region66, and parallels for some items and their
we have to investigate what functional contacts ornamentations are only known from there67;
the inds and burial rites of the Cluj cemeteries
65 E. Gáll/B. Gergely, Kolozsvár születése. Régészeti adatok a város kora középkori történetéhez (he
Birth of Cluj. Historical Data Related to the City’s History from the 10th to the 13th Century). (Kolozsvár 2009)
31–35, 55–57, 81, 91 f., 115 f.; Gáll/Gergely/Gál 2010 (note 31) 31–35, 55–57, 81, 91 f., 115 f.; Gáll 2008
(note 25) Vol. I, 405–412.
66 Gáll/Gergely/Gál 2010 (note 31) 108 f.
67 Namely the stirrup with inlaid ornamentation and the leaf-shaped caparison ornaments from grave 11.
Gáll/Gergely/Gál 2010 (note 30) Pl. 36–37.
477
Erwin Gáll
0 20 40 60 80 100 km
Fig. 11 Possible centre of power and sabre/sword inds from the eastern part of the Carpathian Basin in the 10th century:
1 Cluj Napoca-Kalevala Street I; 2 Cluj Napoca, Plugarilor Street; 3 Cluj Napoca, Zápolya Street; 4 Gâmbaş-Kiss Magura;
5 Alba-Iulia, Izvorul Împăratului; 6 Alba-Iulia, stray ind; 7 Blandiana-cemetery “B”; 8 Arad-Ceala; 9 Cheglevici-near the
village; 10 Jimbolia; 11 Săcălaz; 12 Biharea-Somlyóhegy; 13 Biharea-fortres.
2 he proportion of horse burials in the Cluj strengthen the memory of the deceased person,
cemeteries and especially in the Zápolya Street while on the other hand they are material repre-
cemetery is similar to that of the Upper Tisza re- sentations of social structure as it was imagined
gion; by the community. In the analysis of this social
3 As has been mentioned, the proportion of sa- phenomenon involving three actors (the decea-
bres found in graves is similar to their propor- sed person, the mourners, and the members of
tion in graves of the Upper Tisza region. the [micro]community) in the Cluj cemeteries,
All this may point to the conclusion that the we drew the following conclusions:
power centre of the Cluj micro-region (which 1 he large proportion of weapon burials and
in my opinion is indicated by these cemeteries) especially of sabres, which are rarely found in
might have been a peripheral centre of the Up- other regions, is the (funerary) materialisation
per Tisza region. of a special group identity;
2 In contrast to the assumptions mentioned
Some provisional conclusions above, we can draw some conclusions suggest-
ing a heterogeneity based on the burial rites: all
As I have mentioned, grave goods are funerary types of horse burial can be found in the Cluj
elements ‘temporarily’ visible to those partici- graves (types II, III, and IV) except for the sym-
pating in the funeral, so they have a purpose to bolic types I and V68. he stone placed under the
68 On the 10th century horse burials in the Carpathian Basin, see: Cs. Bálint, A honfoglalás kori
lovastemetkezések néhány kérdése (Über die Pferdebestattungen der Landnahmezeit). Móra Ferenc Múz. Évk.
1969,1, 107–114.
478
Fig. 12 he topographical situation of the necropoles from Cluj in the 10th century and the Roman road: 1 Farkas street;
2 Heltai street; 3 Plugarilor street; 4 Zápolya street; 5 Kalevala street, site I; 6 Kalevala street, site II; 7 Fluturilor street.
skull in Grave 4 in Zápolya Street is a custom hese two observations concerning the Cluj
unknown in other graves either with weapons or communities might lead to the supposition
without them. he male skulls from Graves 4, 6, that, irstly, the area of the Little Someș might
10 and 22 from Plugarilor street show common have been occupied by a population with vari-
taxonomic features in contrast to the skull of the ous burial traditions, which might indicate the
person buried in Grave 25 which has the richest varied origin of this population. his is quite
furnishing, and these diferents to the skull from irmly supported not only by archaeological but
10 grave from Zápolya street, underpinning the also anthropological research69. Secondly, the sa-
assumption that those resting in these graves bre is the primary status symbol in the graves of
were not biological relatives. mature males and can be identiied as a symbol
69 Marcsik 2002–2003 (note 26) 88 f.
479
Erwin Gáll
creating group identity. From these observations with eastern networks. he problematic dirham
concerning the professional warrior class of the ind in Sighetul Marmaţiei70 could refer to the ex-
10th century power centre, one can see a greatly istence of such a road leading towards the south.
varied population with individuals of diferent Secondly, we can see the archaeological legacy of
origins. hese communities are organised here, the leaders of the military centre, of bodyguards,
in the Cluj region, and their statuses are indicat- simple warriors and their siblings, who were
ed by the weapons placed in their graves. settled here for the military supervision of the
he formation of the military centre which pre- communities who worked the salt mines around
sumably existed and its causal background in the Cluj. he topographical position of the cemeter-
irst half of the 10th century can be connected to ies makes this situation even more unequivocal:
two important factors. Firstly, the military sur- these sites are situated on the higher terraces of
veillance of the trade routes coming from the the Someş River along the Roman roads71, which
northern part of the Carpathian Basin towards indicates the continuity of infrastructure. From
the south. his road could probably have inte- there, they could control the whole Someş valley
grated the southern parts of the Carpathian Ba- (Fig. 12).
sin, and especially of the Transylvanian Basin,
Summary
he great concentration of weapons from 10th century cemeteries in Cluj attests the important role
this weapon category may have played in the community and its mnemonic qualities. he large quan-
tity of weapons in general and speciically of sabres may indicate that the members of a professional
warrior class could have been buried here. he varied types of horse burial suggest the heterogene-
ous traditions of this community and the many sabres, which are rare in other regions, may be the
funerary expression of a special group identity. hese communities were organised here, their group
identity developed here. hese communities may have been connected to a power centre that existed
near Cluj.
he formation of the presumed power centre and its causal background in the irst half of the10th
century can be connected to two important factors: 1 he military surveillance of the trade routes
leading from the northern part of the Carpathian Basin towards the south; 2 he archaeological
traces of the leaders of the military centre, the bodyguards, simple warriors and their siblings, who
were settled here for the military supervision of the communities working the salt mines around Cluj.
he topographical position of the cemeteries makes this situation even more unequivocal: these are
situated on the higher terraces of the Someş River along the former Roman roads, from where they
could control the whole Someş valley.
70 We thank Kovács László, who informed us about this ind.

71 A section of a Roman road used as late as the 4th to 6th centuries was found on the edge of Cluj in the
territory of the Polus Center, on the road towards Oradea, a few metres away from a 4th and 5th century
cemetery. See S. Mustaţă et al., Cercetări arheologice preventive la Floreşti–Polus Center, jud. Cluj (2007)
(Rescue excavations at Floreşti-Polus Center, Cluj county [2007]). (Cluj-Napoca 2009) 223–243; D. Alicu
(ed.), Polus. Istorie pierdută. Istorie regăsită (Cluj-Napoca 2008) 9 f.
480
Zusammenfassung
Die Frage der Machtzentren im Spiegel der Gräberfelder des 10. Jahrhunderts
im siebenbürgerischen Becken – der Fall der Nekropolen von Cluj
Die große Konzentration der Wafengräber (vor allem Säbel) in den Gräberfeldern des 10. Jahrhun-
derts aus der Umgebung von Cluj/Klausenburg weist auf die bedeutende Rolle der Wafen sowie auf
deren besondere Funktion im Leben der Mitglieder der hiesigen Gemeinschaten hin. Dies spiegelt
sich auch in den Grabsitten wieder. Die Wafenbeigabe und vor allem der Säbel ist ein Hinweis auf
einen Krieger. Die verschiedenartigen Grabsitten sind durch die verschiedenen Formen der Pferde-
bestattung dargestellt, während die große Anzahl an Säbeln als Ausdruck einer speziellen Gruppen-
identität betrachtet werden kann. Diese Gemeinschaten wurden hier organisiert bzw. haben eine
spezielle Gruppenidentität entwickelt, die möglicherweise in Verbindung mit einem Machtzentrum
des 10. Jahrhundertsaus der Umgebung von Cluj/Klausenburg stand.
Die Entstehung eines Machtzentrums in der ersten Hälte des 10. Jahrhunderts wurde durch zwei
Faktoren begünstigt: zum einen durch die militärische Kontrolle des Weges von Nord- nach Südsie-
benbürgen und zum anderen durch den archäologischen Nachweis von Anführern, ihres Gefolges
und deren Söldnern, welche die Gemeinschaten, die an der Ausbeutung der Salzbergwerke aus der
Umgebung von Klausenburg beteiligt waren, kontrollierten. Die topographische Lage dieser Gräber-
felder zeigt eindeutig, dass sie an der Kreuzung von ehemaligen römischen Straßen, auf den oberen
Terrassen des Somesch von wo das ganze Tal überwacht werden konnte, angelegt worden waren.
481

2013 - Macht Des Goldes Gold Der Macht-Libre 461-481

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Forschungen zu Spätantike und Mittelalter

Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska, Niklot Krohn und Sebastian Ristow

Herrschats- und Jenseitsrepräsentation

Akten des 23. Internationalen Symposiums der Grundprobleme

des Geisteswissenschatlichen Zentrums Geschichte und Kultur Ostmitteleuropas e. V.

Macht des Goldes, Gold der Macht/

Bibliographische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek

Das Wosinsky Mór-Museum, der regionale Veranstalter des 23. Kolloquiums

Jahrhundert in einer Werkstatt im Pontus-Gebiet hergestellt worden sein und

Szekszárd, April 2013

János Gábor Ódor

benbrunn, Žuraň, Hauskirchen, Mikulčice oder Rakamaz zeigen, um nur wenige

Leipzig, April 2013

Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska und Matthias Hardt

Pavel Kouřil und Lumír Poláček

Bildnachweis ................................................................................................................................................ 535

Autoren ......................................................................................................................................................... 541

he Question of Centres of Power in the light of

On the general characteristics of ment of death. he material results of this psy-

treat- burial customs and furnishing

People who emerged

he military some leaders of the

he common people of the

25 E. Gáll, A honfoglalás- és kora Árpád kori temetők és szórványleletek elemzése az Erdélyi-medencében, a

Arrow heads Quiver Bow Saber Sword Axe Lance

28 Davidson 1989 (note 20) 11–24.

30 Linton 1964 (note 8) 113 f.

Items possibly symbolizing status in the

age Gender Warrior

Graves with sabre Weapon burials Graves containing

37 Gáll et al. 2010 (note 35) 143.

41 Révész 1996 (note 19) 198–206.

48 Révész 1996 (note 19) 17 f.

Number of burials with saber –

of Cluj60 can be connected to this, so it can be In the interpretation of the centre-periphery

60 J. Herepei, Kolozsvár történeti földrajza (Kolozsvár 2004) 13.

69 Marcsik 2002–2003 (note 26) 88 f.

70 We thank Kovács László, who informed us about this ind.

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