Papers by Szabolcs Balázs Nagy
Archaeologiai Értesítő
AbsztraktA tanulmányban a tihanyi bencés apátság középkori altemplomának és az ott található teme... more AbsztraktA tanulmányban a tihanyi bencés apátság középkori altemplomának és az ott található temetkezéseknek a régészeti jellegű kutatásait és a legújabb, 2021. évi ásatás eredményeit mutatjuk be, különös tekintettel az alapító, I. András király sírhelyére.In this study, we present the archaeological research of the medieval crypt of the Benedictine Abbey of Tihany and the burials there, and the results of the latest excavation in 2021, with a focus to the tomb of the founder, King Andrew I.
A középkori ember társadalmi helyzete és rangja részben azon is múlt, hogy megjelenésével, viselk... more A középkori ember társadalmi helyzete és rangja részben azon is múlt, hogy megjelenésével, viselkedésé-vel és tárgyi környezetével milyen hatást gyakorolt kortársaira, milyen gazdagságú vagy hatalmú személy benyomását keltette. Új rezidenciák, fényűző paloták építése vagy a korábbiak nagyszabású átalakítása így alkalmas lehetett a tekintély és befolyás megerősítésére, fokozására, vagy egyszerűen csak szinten tar-tására. 1 A középkori várak egyik alapvető szerepe volt tehát a reprezentáció, azaz az építtető hatalmának, gazdagságának vagy méltóságának megjelenítése.
The social position and rank of medieval people depended in part on the impact their appearance, ... more The social position and rank of medieval people depended in part on the impact their appearance, behavior and material surroundings had on their contemporaries and the impression they could project about their wealth or power. The construction of new residences and opulent palaces or the large-scale remodeling of earlier ones was an act that was able to strengthen or increase prestige and influence, or simply just maintain these.1 For the most part it was in the 1980s that a change took place in the history of the research on medieval Hungarian castles, during which the identification of the military and defensive role often became secondary (or ranked even lower), while in parallel the examination of their alternative, non-military significance came to the forefront. One of these newly recognized roles was representation, the display of the power, wealth or dignity of the owner.2
Dissertationes Archaeologicae, 2019
After the first minor investigations between 1997 and 2007 a new series of excavations have been ... more After the first minor investigations between 1997 and 2007 a new series of excavations have been conducted at the medieval castle of Bánd in 2013, 2017 and 2018.1 Although the scale of the latest works is still quite moderate compared to the dimensions of the fortification, the observations resulted not only in considerable amounts of find material but also in objects that raised important issues and unexpected questions. The archaeological evidence proves a special relationship between the castle and the medieval settlement(s) of Bánd, the details of which definitely call for further research.
Kósa Pál (szerk.): Várak - Kastélyok - Templomok. Évkönyv, 2021
Aligha okoz nagy meglepetést fegyvereket találni, ha középkori vagy kora újkori várak területén v... more Aligha okoz nagy meglepetést fegyvereket találni, ha középkori vagy kora újkori várak területén végezhetünk ásatást. A leletek túlnyomó többsége általában persze kisebb-nagyobb lövedék: nyílhegyek, puska- és ágyúgolyók, valamint egyszerűbb elvesztett vagy megrongálódott tárgyak. Nagyobb méretű, ép fegyverek csak különleges körülmények között maradnak ránk. Ilyen különleges helyzetből való az a 2016-ban napvilágot látott egész szakállas puska is, melyet egy ostrom során összedőlt várpalotai torony omladéka rejtett. 2020-ban lehetőségünk nyílt a torony közel teljes feltárására, így nem csupán újabb leletekkel bővült a gyűjtemény, de az egykori ostromok lefolyásáról is színes kép rajzolódott ki.
Annual of Medieval Studies at CEU. Vol. 27, 2021
It is quite unusual to find a church surrounded by a medieval cemetery physically incorporated by... more It is quite unusual to find a church surrounded by a medieval cemetery physically incorporated by a medieval noble's castle. However there is historical and archaeological evidence that such sites existed all over Europe, even if these pieces of information are sporadic. In this paper I present the sites known in the Carpathian Basin where a nobleman’s manor and a medieval graveyard or church was found in a similar context. After presenting the sites I provide an interpretation of these phenomena and address the following questions: To what extent can these cases be viewed as exceptional in the history of castle building in Hungary? What was the motivation behind enclosing cemetery area? and What were the consequences of these actions on religious and burial practices?
A. Boguszewicz and J. Radziszewska (eds.): Castrum Bene 15: A castle as a status symbol, 2020
Courtyards were apparently at the physical centres of aristocratic castles. However, they were al... more Courtyards were apparently at the physical centres of aristocratic castles. However, they were also centres of social interferences inasmuch as all members of a baronial household had to pass through it while heading for their destinations inside the residence. Although there were a number of places of restricted access in a late medieval castle (e.g. great halls, chapels, private apartments), yards generally were not characterized by a special, socially determined division of space. In this sense courtyards were meeting points of basically whole baronial households and of various groups from outside: illustrious visitors and their retainers and perhaps also craftsmen, merchants etc.
Beside circulation courtyards also played role in social display which feature became particularly significant during the late medieval period. This trend is best attested by certain architectural characteristics that gradually got almost typical of contemporaneous Hungarian aristocratic castles: regularised layout of paved courtyards with imposing façades and embellished arcades or galleries around the inside, ornamental fountains in the middle etc. Thus castle courtyards seem to provide a good opportunity to detect architecturally realized social display, i.e. prestige representation. The aim of this paper is to present a few examples of the diverse interpretations of architectural prestige representation and the types of roles the internal courtyards may have played in it.
Silvija Pisk (ed.): Castle and Economy. Proceedings of the 16th International Castellological Conference (Castrum Bene 16), 2021
Archaeological investigations of 2016 revealed a previously unknown mint at Várpalota operating a... more Archaeological investigations of 2016 revealed a previously unknown mint at Várpalota operating around 1442-1443. Although the exact location of the minting house at the baronial residence remained unknown, the find assemblage attests a special (but not unique) minting technique. Since there is no written evidence for coinage at Várpalota and counterfeiting was just flourishing in the Hungarian Kingdom during the 1440s, the possibility of unofficial minting was needed to be examined. The mint marks of the best preserved coin seem to be conclusive. Provided in the first place that this coin is indeed the end-product of the activity and, in the second place, that one of the mint mark letters (according to contemporary praxis) referred to the mint, the finds prove counterfeiting. The unofficial minting house was set up in the very years of large-scale construction works at the residence, transforming the manor house to a mighty castle without royal permission. These baronial trespasses are embedded within the political-economic changes of the mid-15th century, crises of royal power, prolonged civil war and intense strengthening of some aristocratic families.
Kósa Pál (szerk.): Várak, kastélyok, templomok. Évkönyv, 2020
Amikor az első ásatások megkezdődtek a Veszprém megyei bándi Essegvárban Rainer Pál, majd Feld Is... more Amikor az első ásatások megkezdődtek a Veszprém megyei bándi Essegvárban Rainer Pál, majd Feld István vezetésével, még aligha lehetett számítani rá, mennyi érdekességet tartogat a csekély romokban megőrződött középkori erősség. Munkájukat 2017 óta minden évben sikerült folytatni, nyaranta 10-15 terepen töltött napon át kutatva, az ELTE BTK Régészettudományi Intézet és a Laczkó Dezső Múzeum együttműködésében, a település önkormányzata és a Nemzeti Kulturális Alap támogatásával, számtalan önkéntes és egyetemi hallgató segítségével. Bízunk benne, hogy e folytonosságot továbbra is biztosítani lehet, s az eredményeket látva akár valamivel nagyobb léptékben tárhatjuk majd fel e különleges, gazdag és összetett múltú helyszín történetét. Írásunkban az eddig napvilágra került érdekességekből adunk válogatást.
Dénes Tamás (szerk.): Vallis Sanctorum. Fejezetek a bakonybéli monostor ezeréves történetéből, 2020
Bakonybél was among the few Benedictine abbeys founded during the reign of the first king of Hung... more Bakonybél was among the few Benedictine abbeys founded during the reign of the first king of Hungary, Saint Stephen I (1000–1038). The monastery – although completely rebuilt after the seventeenth century – is still standing exactly at its medieval location. Recent archaeological investigations have been carried out approximately 1 km south of the monastery, at a site called Borostyán-kő (i.e., literally Ivy Rock) in 2016–2017. The site is characterised by a relatively small outcrop with a spring at its base. The territory of the monastery is situated in the Bakony Mountains covered mostly by woodland, in the centre of a valley surrounded by hills. The topography of the site seems to be absolutely suitable for eremitic purposes. Indeed, medieval written evidence confirms that Saint Gerard, later bishop of Csanád, spent several (allegedly seven) years somewhere in Bakonybél as a hermit. The foundation of the monastery itself is also closely connected to an influential eleventh-century monk and hermit, Saint Gunther of Niederaltaich. According to somewhat obscure eighteenth-nineteenth-century folklore type sources, the hermitage of Saint Gerard and/or Saint Gunther was located at Borostyán-kő, and these beliefs must have played a significant role increasing or evolving the popularity of the site as a local pilgrimage destination.
During the excavation a debris deposit of an Árpádian Age chapel has been partially unearthed on the plateau of the outcrop. The uncovered small finds suggest that the stone built chapel with colourful wall paintings and a wooden roof was probably abandoned already in the fourteenth century. Presumably, it can be identical with a chapel mentioned in 1230 as standing on top of Saint Gerard’s rock („supra rupem sancti Gerardi”). The found material collected mostly by metal detector surveys from the whole territory of the site implies that the outcrop was not solely the location of a chapel but of further medieval utilisation and activities as well. The current state of research enables us only to outline a few models describing this medieval utilisation dated roughly to the twelfth-fourteenth century. The topographical features of the site do not refer to an average rural settlement (for which the small rock would have been fairly inadequate) but rather a sacral character. This character rooted perhaps in Roman or even prehistoric times, according to a small votive bronze Eros statue (second-fourth century), a few Roman coins, and some potteries and stone chips and flakes from the Copper Age.
Although archaeological signs of the mentioned eleventh-century hermitage have not yet come to light, one of the possible models suggests that the outcrop might have been used as a hermitage from the twelfth century. Archaeological results, indirect written evidence and contemporary Central European parallels can also imply that Borostyán-kő has become a local pilgrimage site already in the Middle Ages. However, a combination of the possible models would most probably better describe the medieval character of the site. For instance, it is also conceivable that an early hermitage became later a cult site attracting pilgrims from the region or perhaps the two characters (hermitage and pilgrimage) existed simultaneously for a while. A group of small finds, however, sheds light on further types of medieval utilisation. Arrow-heads, spurs and fragments probably of a battle-knife and a spear-head may refer to hunting or some skirmishes, while slag nuggets and a few iron tools to industrial activities. No doubt, a more detailed and substantial understanding of this special site definitely requires further investigations.
Dissertationes Archaeologicae Ser. 3. No. 7., 375-396., 2019
In the 15th century Hungarian Kingdom it appears as a general trend that the significance of some... more In the 15th century Hungarian Kingdom it appears as a general trend that the significance of some old hilltop fortresses started to decline and the aristocracy began to turn their former manor houses into spectacular and comfortable castles. These residences were built in the centre of settlements, often next to a (parish) church. They functioned as the actual seat of the family and represented high architectural standards adequate for displaying power and wealth. The castles of Várpalota, Újlak (Ilok, Croatia) and Kisnána are important examples of this distinct group of noble castles and manor houses in the period. This paper is a detailed abstract of my PhD thesis submitted in 2019 on the subject. The first part provides a revision of the building history of the three residences. The second part examines the questions of architectural prestige representation, i.e., the architectural visualization of the builder’s power, wealth or social status. Beside discussing general issues of prestige representation I also analyse a few significant spaces and structures of the residences from the same point of view. Finally, I make an attempt to determine the place of the examined monuments in the long term processes and changes of aristocratic residence architecture of the late medieval Hungarian Kingdom.
Castrum 23, 43-82., 2020
The latest investigations at the medieval castle of Bánd (Western Hungary) raised some unexpected... more The latest investigations at the medieval castle of Bánd (Western Hungary) raised some unexpected questions concerning the relationship between the castle and its medieval settlements, and also between the living and the dead. Archaeological evidence proved the existence of a multi-layered graveyard in the northern part of the castle hill established during the twelfth century at the latest. The burials most probably gathered around an unknown chapel, perhaps a parish church, assuming thus a typical Christian cemetery. The twelfth-century finds suggest that the graveyard had been established long before the erecting of the castle, by which it was later incorporated around the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries.
Similar ‘privatisation’ of a church and the surrounding cemetery have been authenticated by archaeological research at a handful of sites in East-Central Europe. These transitions are generally not justified by military but rather by residential reasons. Manor houses built in the centre of contemporary settlements often claimed the territory of the neighbouring churches in periods when these noble seats were significantly enlarged. This paper aims to discuss the details of this process. Were the churches abolished or remodelled after the incorporation? Who were entitled to use the cemeteries after the transition? How did the castles keep the memory alive of the dead buried around the former church?
Castrum 21 (2018) 53-101.
The recent large-scale, thorough archaeological research at the medieval castle of Ilok (present ... more The recent large-scale, thorough archaeological research at the medieval castle of Ilok (present day Croatia) yielded abundant new data of its 15th century period. Having reviewed the excavation records, this paper aims to outline a detailed building history of this highly significant aristocratic residence
The main residence of Nicholas Újlaki was erected on the western edge of the medieval upper town of Újlak, close to the steep slope of an elongated oval castle hill which emerged on the right bank of the Danube. During the construction of a brand new aristocratic dwelling presumably in the mid-15th century or in the third quarter of it, it seems that no existing features directly constrained the possible layout, although it had to be adjusted to the already settled fabric of the town. Consequently, the three-storeyed block of the residence was built upon an almost precisely square regular plan. The gate house in the axis of the eastern façade was oriented toward the centre of the medieval town. All architectural units of the residence were ranged around a rectangular paved central courtyard. The northern palace (with its outer façade facing the Danube flowing below) contained a large, aisled great hall, while the most important suites of accommodation were probably placed on the first and second floors of the southern range. Characteristic features of the halls and chambers could have been paned windows with simple stone frames, some of them remained in situ and bear witness to especially great dimensions, some others unearthed preserve traces of red paint and glass fragments. The interiors were embellished by colourful wall paintings as well as prestigious tile stoves.
Dissertationes Archaeologicae Ser. 3. (No. 6) 2018, 557-572.
After the first minor investigations between 1997 and 2007 a new series of excavations have been ... more After the first minor investigations between 1997 and 2007 a new series of excavations have been conducted at the medieval castle of Bánd in 2013, 2017 and 2018. Although the scale of the latest works is still quite moderate compared to the dimensions of the fortification, the observations resulted not only in considerable amounts of find material but also in objects that raised important issues and unexpected questions. The archaeological evidence proves a special relationship between the castle and the medieval settlement(s) of Bánd, the details of which definitely call for further research.
Kósa Pál (szerk.): Várak, kastélyok, templomok. Évkönyv. Pécs, 2018, 11-17.
Első ránézésre a középkori oklevelekben Segvár vagy Essegvár néven említett erősség maradványai t... more Első ránézésre a középkori oklevelekben Segvár vagy Essegvár néven említett erősség maradványai talán nem annyira mozgatják meg az arra kirándulók fantáziáját. A Veszprémmel nyugat felől szomszédos Bánd település utcái között emelkedik a várdomb, melynek felszínén a többszintes délkeleti tornyon kívül mindössze szerény falmaradványok őrzik emlékét az egykori várnak. Azonban ha a község utcáiról is jól látható szögletes torony felkeltette az érdeklődést, az alig 30 m magas kiemelkedést megmászó látogató már nem bánja meg a fáradságot.
Az erősség területén – kisebb felszíni leletgyűjtéseket leszámítva – csak a 20. század végén indultak el a régészeti kutatások. Az első ásatásokat Rainer Pál végezte 1997-ben, majd 2005 és 2007 között. A munkát 2013-ban Feld István kezdte újra Hegyi Dóra és a szerző közreműködésével. A nagyjából észak-déli, illetve kelet-nyugati irányú egy-egy hosszanti kutatóárok kijelölésével a cél az alapvető tájékozódás és ismeretszerzés volt, hogy az alaprajzi elrendezés és a rétegviszonyok tisztázása által egyben a kutatás folytatása is jobban tervezhetővé váljon. 2017-ben és 2018-ban a Laczkó Dezső Múzeum munkatársai és az ELTE régészhallgatói segítségével a 2013. évi ásatásokat egészítettük ki az észak-déli kutatóároknak a várdomb pereméig való meghosszabbításával. Ezen kívül egy különösen izgalmasnak látszó terület, az erősség nyugat-délnyugati szélének feltárásába kezdtünk bele.
A feltárások legnagyobb meglepetését talán (a gazdag leletanyagot leszámítva) egy, a középkori várat kettéosztó várfal és árok együttese okozta, valamint a vár északi felén napvilágra került temetőrészlet. E jelenségek értelmezése és az írott adatokkal való összevetése számos alapvető kérdést vet fel az erősség előzményeivel és egykori használatával kapcsolatban.
Kósa Pál (szerk.): Várak, kastélyok, templomok. Évkönyv. Pécs, 2016, 116-119.
A középkorban csak Bél néven emlegetett település nemhiába a Bakony egyik legkedveltebb kirándulá... more A középkorban csak Bél néven emlegetett település nemhiába a Bakony egyik legkedveltebb kirándulási célpontja napjainkban. Népszerűségét elsősorban a táj megkapó természeti szépségének, másrészt az itt működő bencés szerzetesközösség gazdag történelmi múltjának és spirituális vonzerejének köszönheti. A Szent Mauríciusz tiszteletére alapított monostornak és környezetének korai történetéről ugyanakkor rendkívül egyoldalúak voltak ismereteink: az írott források adataihoz alig-alig lehetett tárgyi emlékanyagot, régészeti megfigyeléseket párosítani.
2016-ban először adódott lehetőség Bakonybél középkorát vizsgáló, tudományos céllal induló feltárás végzésére. A cél a Borostyán-kút (más néven Szentkút) hármas forrása feletti sziklakiemelkedés (Borostyán-kő) felszínének megkutatása volt. Egy 1838. évi munka arról tudósít, hogy a helyszínen a 19. század első felében még rá lehetett ismerni „némelly alapfalakra”. A 18–19. századi írott források a Borostyán-kút környezetét jellemzően Szent Günther, a béli monostor első apátjának emlékéhez kötötték, Szent Gellért remetéskedését pedig kissé távolabbra helyezték. Ennek ellenére, a táj terepadottságai és a sziklaszirten több szerző által is feljegyzett romok megengedték a feltételezést, hogy az 1230. évi pápai bullában említett, „Szent Gellért sziklája” fölötti Szűz Mária-kápolna itt, a Szentkút melletti kálváriadomb tetején állhatott.
Hungarian Archaeology 2017 Spring
The social position and rank of medieval people depended in part on the impact their appearance, ... more The social position and rank of medieval people depended in part on the impact their appearance, behavior and material surroundings had on their contemporaries and the impression they could project about their wealth or power. The construction of new residences and opulent palaces or the large-scale remodeling of earlier ones was an act that was able to strengthen or increase prestige and influence, or simply just maintain these. For the most part it was in the 1980s that a change took place in the history of the research on medieval Hungarian castles, during which the identification of the military and defensive role often became secondary (or ranked even lower), while in parallel the examination of their alternative, non-military significance came to the forefront. One of these newly recognized roles was representation, the display of the power, wealth or dignity of the owner.
Magyar Régészet 2017 tavasz
A középkori ember társadalmi helyzete és rangja részben azon is múlt, hogy megjelenésével, viselk... more A középkori ember társadalmi helyzete és rangja részben azon is múlt, hogy megjelenésével, viselkedésével és tárgyi környezetével milyen hatást gyakorolt kortársaira, milyen gazdagságú vagy hatalmú személy benyomását keltette. Új rezidenciák, fényűző paloták építése vagy a korábbiak nagyszabású átalakítása így alkalmas lehetett a tekintély és befolyás megerősítésére, fokozására, vagy egyszerűen csak szinten tartására. A középkori várak egyik alapvető szerepe volt tehát a reprezentáció, azaz az építtető hatalmának, gazdagságának vagy méltóságának megjelenítése.
Régészeti Kutatások Magyarországon 2016, 270-291.
Visonta nowadays is a rather small village in North-Eastern Hungary with less than 1200 inhabitan... more Visonta nowadays is a rather small village in North-Eastern Hungary with less than 1200 inhabitants. However, in the Middle Ages it played a much more significant role, indicated by the right of holding a weekly market (1323) and the designation oppidum (1445) – a settlement between villages and real towns, a central place in the micro-region. The results of the excavations, carried out in 2013 inside the still used church, seem to verify this prominent position of the village in the 12-13th centuries.
Before opening the first trial trenches, our knowledge of the medieval period of the church was fairly poor. The first known charter mentioning it dates back to 1304 and reveals that it was the parish church of the Holy Cross. Later medieval sources do not uncover much information about the church. Although the present day church appears as a mostly Baroque building with some later additions, the polygonal apse and the eastern orientation implies its medieval origins.
Our expectations of an earlier church preceding the Gothic period proved to be right: after only one and a half week remains of a stone built small apse with semicircular ending came to light. Fortunately, the remains of the Romanesque apse were in relatively good state: above the wide stone foundation we could observe the undermost stones of the wall as well. The wall was approximately 1 m wide and built of nicely carved ashlars on both the inner and outer side. In the southwestern corner of the rectangular Romanesque nave a stone built foundation of a pillar was discovered. This pillar foundation and the extraordinary width (more than 2 m) of the western foundation of the nave together suggests, that the Romanesque church was probably built with a western tower supported by the western wall and two inner pillars. The findings do not allow us a precise dating but compared to analogies, this church could have been built in the 12-13th centuries. According to the ashlar masonry, the size and the presumed western tower it must have been – from an architectural point of view – a rather significant church that implies either the regional significance of the settlement Visonta, or the wealth of the patrons.
In the Gothic period, most probably in the 15th century this old church was replaced by a new, approximately three time bigger one. The walls of the Romanesque church were almost entirely pulled down, only the northern nave wall and foundation were retained and the ashlars of the demolished walls were reused. Five untouched lines of ashlars in the present day northern wall still represent the Romanesque period of the church.
Beside the remains of the early church the excavations uncovered several undisturbed and even more disturbed inhumations, disarticulated bones. The earliest graves were discovered south of the Romanesque apse belonging to the graveyard before the Gothic period. Most of the undisturbed burials are from the 17-19th centuries. A few of them preserved outstanding remains of the clothing of the dead. The most significant and spectacular one contained the overclothes, the trousers, the leather boots, a special triangular hat and the hair of the male deceased. He was buried in a coffin decorated with small hexagram shaped embossings probably in the 18th century.
Having finished the investigations at the site, a thorough study of the burials, artefacts and every archaeological feature will lead to a much better understanding of the past of Visonta from the 12th to the 19th century.
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Papers by Szabolcs Balázs Nagy
Beside circulation courtyards also played role in social display which feature became particularly significant during the late medieval period. This trend is best attested by certain architectural characteristics that gradually got almost typical of contemporaneous Hungarian aristocratic castles: regularised layout of paved courtyards with imposing façades and embellished arcades or galleries around the inside, ornamental fountains in the middle etc. Thus castle courtyards seem to provide a good opportunity to detect architecturally realized social display, i.e. prestige representation. The aim of this paper is to present a few examples of the diverse interpretations of architectural prestige representation and the types of roles the internal courtyards may have played in it.
During the excavation a debris deposit of an Árpádian Age chapel has been partially unearthed on the plateau of the outcrop. The uncovered small finds suggest that the stone built chapel with colourful wall paintings and a wooden roof was probably abandoned already in the fourteenth century. Presumably, it can be identical with a chapel mentioned in 1230 as standing on top of Saint Gerard’s rock („supra rupem sancti Gerardi”). The found material collected mostly by metal detector surveys from the whole territory of the site implies that the outcrop was not solely the location of a chapel but of further medieval utilisation and activities as well. The current state of research enables us only to outline a few models describing this medieval utilisation dated roughly to the twelfth-fourteenth century. The topographical features of the site do not refer to an average rural settlement (for which the small rock would have been fairly inadequate) but rather a sacral character. This character rooted perhaps in Roman or even prehistoric times, according to a small votive bronze Eros statue (second-fourth century), a few Roman coins, and some potteries and stone chips and flakes from the Copper Age.
Although archaeological signs of the mentioned eleventh-century hermitage have not yet come to light, one of the possible models suggests that the outcrop might have been used as a hermitage from the twelfth century. Archaeological results, indirect written evidence and contemporary Central European parallels can also imply that Borostyán-kő has become a local pilgrimage site already in the Middle Ages. However, a combination of the possible models would most probably better describe the medieval character of the site. For instance, it is also conceivable that an early hermitage became later a cult site attracting pilgrims from the region or perhaps the two characters (hermitage and pilgrimage) existed simultaneously for a while. A group of small finds, however, sheds light on further types of medieval utilisation. Arrow-heads, spurs and fragments probably of a battle-knife and a spear-head may refer to hunting or some skirmishes, while slag nuggets and a few iron tools to industrial activities. No doubt, a more detailed and substantial understanding of this special site definitely requires further investigations.
Similar ‘privatisation’ of a church and the surrounding cemetery have been authenticated by archaeological research at a handful of sites in East-Central Europe. These transitions are generally not justified by military but rather by residential reasons. Manor houses built in the centre of contemporary settlements often claimed the territory of the neighbouring churches in periods when these noble seats were significantly enlarged. This paper aims to discuss the details of this process. Were the churches abolished or remodelled after the incorporation? Who were entitled to use the cemeteries after the transition? How did the castles keep the memory alive of the dead buried around the former church?
The main residence of Nicholas Újlaki was erected on the western edge of the medieval upper town of Újlak, close to the steep slope of an elongated oval castle hill which emerged on the right bank of the Danube. During the construction of a brand new aristocratic dwelling presumably in the mid-15th century or in the third quarter of it, it seems that no existing features directly constrained the possible layout, although it had to be adjusted to the already settled fabric of the town. Consequently, the three-storeyed block of the residence was built upon an almost precisely square regular plan. The gate house in the axis of the eastern façade was oriented toward the centre of the medieval town. All architectural units of the residence were ranged around a rectangular paved central courtyard. The northern palace (with its outer façade facing the Danube flowing below) contained a large, aisled great hall, while the most important suites of accommodation were probably placed on the first and second floors of the southern range. Characteristic features of the halls and chambers could have been paned windows with simple stone frames, some of them remained in situ and bear witness to especially great dimensions, some others unearthed preserve traces of red paint and glass fragments. The interiors were embellished by colourful wall paintings as well as prestigious tile stoves.
Az erősség területén – kisebb felszíni leletgyűjtéseket leszámítva – csak a 20. század végén indultak el a régészeti kutatások. Az első ásatásokat Rainer Pál végezte 1997-ben, majd 2005 és 2007 között. A munkát 2013-ban Feld István kezdte újra Hegyi Dóra és a szerző közreműködésével. A nagyjából észak-déli, illetve kelet-nyugati irányú egy-egy hosszanti kutatóárok kijelölésével a cél az alapvető tájékozódás és ismeretszerzés volt, hogy az alaprajzi elrendezés és a rétegviszonyok tisztázása által egyben a kutatás folytatása is jobban tervezhetővé váljon. 2017-ben és 2018-ban a Laczkó Dezső Múzeum munkatársai és az ELTE régészhallgatói segítségével a 2013. évi ásatásokat egészítettük ki az észak-déli kutatóároknak a várdomb pereméig való meghosszabbításával. Ezen kívül egy különösen izgalmasnak látszó terület, az erősség nyugat-délnyugati szélének feltárásába kezdtünk bele.
A feltárások legnagyobb meglepetését talán (a gazdag leletanyagot leszámítva) egy, a középkori várat kettéosztó várfal és árok együttese okozta, valamint a vár északi felén napvilágra került temetőrészlet. E jelenségek értelmezése és az írott adatokkal való összevetése számos alapvető kérdést vet fel az erősség előzményeivel és egykori használatával kapcsolatban.
2016-ban először adódott lehetőség Bakonybél középkorát vizsgáló, tudományos céllal induló feltárás végzésére. A cél a Borostyán-kút (más néven Szentkút) hármas forrása feletti sziklakiemelkedés (Borostyán-kő) felszínének megkutatása volt. Egy 1838. évi munka arról tudósít, hogy a helyszínen a 19. század első felében még rá lehetett ismerni „némelly alapfalakra”. A 18–19. századi írott források a Borostyán-kút környezetét jellemzően Szent Günther, a béli monostor első apátjának emlékéhez kötötték, Szent Gellért remetéskedését pedig kissé távolabbra helyezték. Ennek ellenére, a táj terepadottságai és a sziklaszirten több szerző által is feljegyzett romok megengedték a feltételezést, hogy az 1230. évi pápai bullában említett, „Szent Gellért sziklája” fölötti Szűz Mária-kápolna itt, a Szentkút melletti kálváriadomb tetején állhatott.
Before opening the first trial trenches, our knowledge of the medieval period of the church was fairly poor. The first known charter mentioning it dates back to 1304 and reveals that it was the parish church of the Holy Cross. Later medieval sources do not uncover much information about the church. Although the present day church appears as a mostly Baroque building with some later additions, the polygonal apse and the eastern orientation implies its medieval origins.
Our expectations of an earlier church preceding the Gothic period proved to be right: after only one and a half week remains of a stone built small apse with semicircular ending came to light. Fortunately, the remains of the Romanesque apse were in relatively good state: above the wide stone foundation we could observe the undermost stones of the wall as well. The wall was approximately 1 m wide and built of nicely carved ashlars on both the inner and outer side. In the southwestern corner of the rectangular Romanesque nave a stone built foundation of a pillar was discovered. This pillar foundation and the extraordinary width (more than 2 m) of the western foundation of the nave together suggests, that the Romanesque church was probably built with a western tower supported by the western wall and two inner pillars. The findings do not allow us a precise dating but compared to analogies, this church could have been built in the 12-13th centuries. According to the ashlar masonry, the size and the presumed western tower it must have been – from an architectural point of view – a rather significant church that implies either the regional significance of the settlement Visonta, or the wealth of the patrons.
In the Gothic period, most probably in the 15th century this old church was replaced by a new, approximately three time bigger one. The walls of the Romanesque church were almost entirely pulled down, only the northern nave wall and foundation were retained and the ashlars of the demolished walls were reused. Five untouched lines of ashlars in the present day northern wall still represent the Romanesque period of the church.
Beside the remains of the early church the excavations uncovered several undisturbed and even more disturbed inhumations, disarticulated bones. The earliest graves were discovered south of the Romanesque apse belonging to the graveyard before the Gothic period. Most of the undisturbed burials are from the 17-19th centuries. A few of them preserved outstanding remains of the clothing of the dead. The most significant and spectacular one contained the overclothes, the trousers, the leather boots, a special triangular hat and the hair of the male deceased. He was buried in a coffin decorated with small hexagram shaped embossings probably in the 18th century.
Having finished the investigations at the site, a thorough study of the burials, artefacts and every archaeological feature will lead to a much better understanding of the past of Visonta from the 12th to the 19th century.
Beside circulation courtyards also played role in social display which feature became particularly significant during the late medieval period. This trend is best attested by certain architectural characteristics that gradually got almost typical of contemporaneous Hungarian aristocratic castles: regularised layout of paved courtyards with imposing façades and embellished arcades or galleries around the inside, ornamental fountains in the middle etc. Thus castle courtyards seem to provide a good opportunity to detect architecturally realized social display, i.e. prestige representation. The aim of this paper is to present a few examples of the diverse interpretations of architectural prestige representation and the types of roles the internal courtyards may have played in it.
During the excavation a debris deposit of an Árpádian Age chapel has been partially unearthed on the plateau of the outcrop. The uncovered small finds suggest that the stone built chapel with colourful wall paintings and a wooden roof was probably abandoned already in the fourteenth century. Presumably, it can be identical with a chapel mentioned in 1230 as standing on top of Saint Gerard’s rock („supra rupem sancti Gerardi”). The found material collected mostly by metal detector surveys from the whole territory of the site implies that the outcrop was not solely the location of a chapel but of further medieval utilisation and activities as well. The current state of research enables us only to outline a few models describing this medieval utilisation dated roughly to the twelfth-fourteenth century. The topographical features of the site do not refer to an average rural settlement (for which the small rock would have been fairly inadequate) but rather a sacral character. This character rooted perhaps in Roman or even prehistoric times, according to a small votive bronze Eros statue (second-fourth century), a few Roman coins, and some potteries and stone chips and flakes from the Copper Age.
Although archaeological signs of the mentioned eleventh-century hermitage have not yet come to light, one of the possible models suggests that the outcrop might have been used as a hermitage from the twelfth century. Archaeological results, indirect written evidence and contemporary Central European parallels can also imply that Borostyán-kő has become a local pilgrimage site already in the Middle Ages. However, a combination of the possible models would most probably better describe the medieval character of the site. For instance, it is also conceivable that an early hermitage became later a cult site attracting pilgrims from the region or perhaps the two characters (hermitage and pilgrimage) existed simultaneously for a while. A group of small finds, however, sheds light on further types of medieval utilisation. Arrow-heads, spurs and fragments probably of a battle-knife and a spear-head may refer to hunting or some skirmishes, while slag nuggets and a few iron tools to industrial activities. No doubt, a more detailed and substantial understanding of this special site definitely requires further investigations.
Similar ‘privatisation’ of a church and the surrounding cemetery have been authenticated by archaeological research at a handful of sites in East-Central Europe. These transitions are generally not justified by military but rather by residential reasons. Manor houses built in the centre of contemporary settlements often claimed the territory of the neighbouring churches in periods when these noble seats were significantly enlarged. This paper aims to discuss the details of this process. Were the churches abolished or remodelled after the incorporation? Who were entitled to use the cemeteries after the transition? How did the castles keep the memory alive of the dead buried around the former church?
The main residence of Nicholas Újlaki was erected on the western edge of the medieval upper town of Újlak, close to the steep slope of an elongated oval castle hill which emerged on the right bank of the Danube. During the construction of a brand new aristocratic dwelling presumably in the mid-15th century or in the third quarter of it, it seems that no existing features directly constrained the possible layout, although it had to be adjusted to the already settled fabric of the town. Consequently, the three-storeyed block of the residence was built upon an almost precisely square regular plan. The gate house in the axis of the eastern façade was oriented toward the centre of the medieval town. All architectural units of the residence were ranged around a rectangular paved central courtyard. The northern palace (with its outer façade facing the Danube flowing below) contained a large, aisled great hall, while the most important suites of accommodation were probably placed on the first and second floors of the southern range. Characteristic features of the halls and chambers could have been paned windows with simple stone frames, some of them remained in situ and bear witness to especially great dimensions, some others unearthed preserve traces of red paint and glass fragments. The interiors were embellished by colourful wall paintings as well as prestigious tile stoves.
Az erősség területén – kisebb felszíni leletgyűjtéseket leszámítva – csak a 20. század végén indultak el a régészeti kutatások. Az első ásatásokat Rainer Pál végezte 1997-ben, majd 2005 és 2007 között. A munkát 2013-ban Feld István kezdte újra Hegyi Dóra és a szerző közreműködésével. A nagyjából észak-déli, illetve kelet-nyugati irányú egy-egy hosszanti kutatóárok kijelölésével a cél az alapvető tájékozódás és ismeretszerzés volt, hogy az alaprajzi elrendezés és a rétegviszonyok tisztázása által egyben a kutatás folytatása is jobban tervezhetővé váljon. 2017-ben és 2018-ban a Laczkó Dezső Múzeum munkatársai és az ELTE régészhallgatói segítségével a 2013. évi ásatásokat egészítettük ki az észak-déli kutatóároknak a várdomb pereméig való meghosszabbításával. Ezen kívül egy különösen izgalmasnak látszó terület, az erősség nyugat-délnyugati szélének feltárásába kezdtünk bele.
A feltárások legnagyobb meglepetését talán (a gazdag leletanyagot leszámítva) egy, a középkori várat kettéosztó várfal és árok együttese okozta, valamint a vár északi felén napvilágra került temetőrészlet. E jelenségek értelmezése és az írott adatokkal való összevetése számos alapvető kérdést vet fel az erősség előzményeivel és egykori használatával kapcsolatban.
2016-ban először adódott lehetőség Bakonybél középkorát vizsgáló, tudományos céllal induló feltárás végzésére. A cél a Borostyán-kút (más néven Szentkút) hármas forrása feletti sziklakiemelkedés (Borostyán-kő) felszínének megkutatása volt. Egy 1838. évi munka arról tudósít, hogy a helyszínen a 19. század első felében még rá lehetett ismerni „némelly alapfalakra”. A 18–19. századi írott források a Borostyán-kút környezetét jellemzően Szent Günther, a béli monostor első apátjának emlékéhez kötötték, Szent Gellért remetéskedését pedig kissé távolabbra helyezték. Ennek ellenére, a táj terepadottságai és a sziklaszirten több szerző által is feljegyzett romok megengedték a feltételezést, hogy az 1230. évi pápai bullában említett, „Szent Gellért sziklája” fölötti Szűz Mária-kápolna itt, a Szentkút melletti kálváriadomb tetején állhatott.
Before opening the first trial trenches, our knowledge of the medieval period of the church was fairly poor. The first known charter mentioning it dates back to 1304 and reveals that it was the parish church of the Holy Cross. Later medieval sources do not uncover much information about the church. Although the present day church appears as a mostly Baroque building with some later additions, the polygonal apse and the eastern orientation implies its medieval origins.
Our expectations of an earlier church preceding the Gothic period proved to be right: after only one and a half week remains of a stone built small apse with semicircular ending came to light. Fortunately, the remains of the Romanesque apse were in relatively good state: above the wide stone foundation we could observe the undermost stones of the wall as well. The wall was approximately 1 m wide and built of nicely carved ashlars on both the inner and outer side. In the southwestern corner of the rectangular Romanesque nave a stone built foundation of a pillar was discovered. This pillar foundation and the extraordinary width (more than 2 m) of the western foundation of the nave together suggests, that the Romanesque church was probably built with a western tower supported by the western wall and two inner pillars. The findings do not allow us a precise dating but compared to analogies, this church could have been built in the 12-13th centuries. According to the ashlar masonry, the size and the presumed western tower it must have been – from an architectural point of view – a rather significant church that implies either the regional significance of the settlement Visonta, or the wealth of the patrons.
In the Gothic period, most probably in the 15th century this old church was replaced by a new, approximately three time bigger one. The walls of the Romanesque church were almost entirely pulled down, only the northern nave wall and foundation were retained and the ashlars of the demolished walls were reused. Five untouched lines of ashlars in the present day northern wall still represent the Romanesque period of the church.
Beside the remains of the early church the excavations uncovered several undisturbed and even more disturbed inhumations, disarticulated bones. The earliest graves were discovered south of the Romanesque apse belonging to the graveyard before the Gothic period. Most of the undisturbed burials are from the 17-19th centuries. A few of them preserved outstanding remains of the clothing of the dead. The most significant and spectacular one contained the overclothes, the trousers, the leather boots, a special triangular hat and the hair of the male deceased. He was buried in a coffin decorated with small hexagram shaped embossings probably in the 18th century.
Having finished the investigations at the site, a thorough study of the burials, artefacts and every archaeological feature will lead to a much better understanding of the past of Visonta from the 12th to the 19th century.