Dissertation by Eszter Fejér
Dissertation, 2020
DE: Die vorliegende Dissertation widmet sich der Problematik der bronzenen Sicheln. Fragestellung... more DE: Die vorliegende Dissertation widmet sich der Problematik der bronzenen Sicheln. Fragestellungen bezüglich ihrer Herkunft, formalen Entwicklung, Verbreitung, Herstellung, Überlieferung und Funktion wurden erörtert, um ihre Stelle im bronzezeitlichen Kulturinventar zu rekonstruieren. Als Interpretationsraum der Untersuchungen diente das Karpatenbecken, die Analysen beruhen in erster Linie auf dem Sichelmaterial des Gebietes von Ungarn, dessen Funde im Rahmen der Dissertation in einer katalogisierten Form dargestellt sind. 4435 Bronzesicheln von 432 Fundstellen wurden dokumentiert, beschrieben und abgebildet. Die Objekte umfassen die Zeitspanne von ungefähr 1000 Jahren, die Perioden BzA2–HaC.
ENG: This dissertation has been dedicated to the problematic of bronze sickles. Questions regarding their origin, typological development, distribution, production, preservation, context and function have been discussed to reconstruct their role in Bronze Age culture. Finds of the Carpathian Basin have been assessed, the main focus being the sickle material from the territory of Hungary, which are also described in the catalogue. 4435 bronze sickles from 432 sites have been documented, described and depicted. These objects stem from a time span of about 1000 years, from the RB A2 – HaC periods.
Papers by Eszter Fejér
Archaeologiai Értesítő, 2024
Keywords: Middle Bronze Age, Koszider period, bronze hoard, sickle, axe, asymmetric spiral arm ri... more Keywords: Middle Bronze Age, Koszider period, bronze hoard, sickle, axe, asymmetric spiral arm ring
ENG: The paper presents the Late Middle Bronze Age bronze artefacts discovered at the Dédestapolcsány-Verebce-bérc site during intensive research in recent years and provides some insights into the Middle Bronze Age use of the Bükk Mountains in the light of these finds. In 2022, a Koszider period hoard of four bronze knobbed sickles were found during metal detector surveys and a palstave discovered as a stray find probably also belonged to this assemblage. Two further scattered objects, a flanged axe and a fragment of a spiral arm ring are known from the site from this period.
HU: A tanulmány Dédestapolcsány-Verebce-bérc lelőhelyen az elmúlt évek intenzív kutatásai során előkerült középső bronzkor végi bronztárgyakat ismerteti, és ezek tükrében támpontokat ad a Bükk hegység középső bronzkori használatát illetően. 2022-ben négy gombos végű bronzsarlóból álló koszideri korú depó került elő fémkeresős lelőhely-felderítés során, és feltehetően ehhez az együtteshez tartozott egy szórványként talált sarkított peremesbalta is. A lelőhelyről két további szórványlelet, egy peremesbalta és egy spiráltekercsben végződő karperec töredéke ismert még ebből a korszakból.
Slovenská archeológia, 2022
Keywords: North Transdanubia, Early Bronze Age, Makó-Kosihy-Čaka culture, Corded Ware culture, se... more Keywords: North Transdanubia, Early Bronze Age, Makó-Kosihy-Čaka culture, Corded Ware culture, settlement, burial
In 2018 the Archaeological Institute of the Eötvös Loránd University and the Archaeological Heritage Protection Directorate of the Hungarian National Museum carried out excavations at Süttő-Sáncföldek (North Transdanubia, Hungary) within the framework of the Interreg DTP Iron Danube Project. The site is located near to the prehistoric multiperiod fortified settlement of Süttő-Nagysánctető and it has already been known of two Early Iron Age cemeteries. Recent fieldwork has unearthed an Early Bronze Age feature, among others, which provided evidence of EBA settlement on the site. Although previous research by Éva Vadász and Gábor Vékony also discovered some EBA material from the area in the 1980’s, that has remained unmentioned and unpublished.
This paper presents the EBA findings of Süttő-Sáncföldek and three other contemporary sites (Süttő-Tatai úti dűlő II, Lábatlan-Hosszúföldek, Lábatlan-Rózsa F. utca) in the region, which were found in the second half of the 20th century. The data provided here outline a dense network of EBA sites around Süttő, which consists of a possible fortified settlement, three open settlements and a burial ground. The findings represent the material culture of the Makó-Kosihy-Čaka complex in North Transdanubia, but connections to South Transdanubia and to the pottery traditions of the Moravian Corded Ware culture can also be detected.
Archeologické rozhledy, 2021
Late Bronze Age – tanged dagger – ring attachment – innovation – Carpathian Basin – Moravia
The ... more Late Bronze Age – tanged dagger – ring attachment – innovation – Carpathian Basin – Moravia
The paper presents a Late Bronze Age bronze tanged dagger with a ring-shaped handle tip, which was discovered during an excavation in Süttő-Sáncföldek (Hungary) in 2018. The intact object was found inside a large feature of unknown function together with some other bronze items and hundreds of ceramic, stone and bone fragments. The material can be dated to the period of the Late Tumulus and Early Urnfield cultures. Similar daggers from Europe have been collected and their typology has been revisited in the article. They are known mainly from Moravia and the Carpathian Basin. In particular, the innovation of adding a ring at the end of the daggers has been investigated, together with the distribution of other artifacts sharing the same feature. It has been pointed out that although the tanged daggers with ring were produced in separate workshops, they reflect on an intensive cultural interaction between the Eastern Alps, Moravia and the inner territories of the Carpathian Basin during the Br D and Ha A1 periods.
Archeometriai Műhely XXI/2, 2024
On the loess plateau between Süttő and Neszmély, traces of inhabitation can be identified from th... more On the loess plateau between Süttő and Neszmély, traces of inhabitation can be identified from the Neolithic onwards. Archaeological finds from the Early Bronze Age to the Late Iron Age were discovered during the excavations and field walkings in 2018 and 2019. To analyse diachronic changes in the choice of raw materials from the Early Bronze Age to the Late Iron Age has never been carried out previously in Hungary. Petrographic analysis of thirty-three selected sherds was carried out after macroscopic observations. Our results show that local raw materials and similar traditions were used for several centuries from the Early Bronze Age to the end of the Early Iron Age. In the very fine clay of the Early Bronze Age, as well as in the mixed clay of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age rounded, fine to coarse grained sand was used as temper. In contrast, in the Late Iron Age different raw materials from distant source areas (angular marble and calcite fragments, pure graphite and sillimanitic-graphitic rock fragments) were also used.
In: Črešnar, Matija & Mele, Marko (eds.): Early Iron Age Landscapes of the Danube Region, 2019
Located on the fringes of the Eastern Hallstatt culture, the tumulus cemetery at Érd/ Százhalomba... more Located on the fringes of the Eastern Hallstatt culture, the tumulus cemetery at Érd/ Százhalombatta is one of the earliest identified archaeological sites in Hungary. The first map of the site was drawn in 1847; the number of mounds registered at the time (122) did not change substantially until the end of the 20th century. The aerial archaeological investigations from 2001 and the magnetometer geophysical survey from 2012 led to the identification of another 103 ring ditches. In the framework of the Iron-Age-Danube project aerial archaeological and geophysical research were continued and complemented with systematical field walkings. Not only the Early Iron Age tumulus field but also the Iron Age settlement area was investigated. The results presented in this paper aim at giving an overview on the land use in the periods of the Bronze, Iron and Roman Ages.
Ősrégészeti Tanulmányok / Prehistoric Studies III., 2023
The loess plateau near the Danube at Érd–Százhalombatta was inhabitated throughout many periods o... more The loess plateau near the Danube at Érd–Százhalombatta was inhabitated throughout many periods of the prehistory: The Bronze Age tell settlement, the Early Iron Age tumulus cemetery and the Celtic fortification are emblematic elements of the landscape. The history of research at these sites covers more than 170 years. This paper focuses on the Early Iron Age (EIA) remains and presents the latest results of different investigation
techniques applied.
The tumulus cemetery, eponym of the today settlement Százhalombatta, was recorded in various cartographic sources. Maps of military surveys from the 18–19th century, as well as cartographic data of archaeological surveys in the 19–20th century yielded the first information about the structure of the cemetery. During the past two centuries some excavations revealed burials inside the mounds as well.
The scientific investigation of the fortified hilltop settlement started in the 20th century, when the nearby brick factory destroyed a significant part of it. Based on historic maps the original extent of the prehistoric settlements can be partly reconstructed.
For the complex reconstruction of the EIA land use various methods were combined. The mosaic-like surface cover of the area and the similarly divided system of closed private territories do not favour homogenous,
large-scale investigations, or even small-scale intensive field surveys, therefore aerial archaeological research is fundamental. It provided new data on the extent and structure of the tumulus field, during the last decades remains of several new burial mounds were detected (altogether 365 mounds are recorded), further new linear features (of unknown function and period) were discovered in the northern area of the Celtic fortification. Some of these features might have occurred as natural phenomena and were connected to the gully system surrounding the settlement area from the W–SW, others seem to be artificial. Magnetometer surveys confirmed and supplemented the new discoveries. Systematic grid walkings were implemented in order to gain chronological information and accurate data about the extent and density of the various settlements and cemeteries.
These investigations have led to a better understanding of the EIA occupation of the territory. The N, W, S border of the tumulus field can be defined and possibly new features can be added to its eastern edge.
Furthermore, the inner structure (alignment of bigger burial mounds, prehistoric paths) can be mapped, too. The extent of the EIA settlement can be outlined more precisely. Probably an area of 30 ha was occupied by the settlement and another 80 ha by the cemetery. For subsistence strategy the settler of the plateau must have used the adjacent areas to the west and the land across the Danube (i.e. the Csepel Island), however little contemporary evidence were discovered to support this idea.
Hungarian Archaeology, 2020
The Iron-Age-Danube Database was created as a part of the project entitled “Monumentalized Early ... more The Iron-Age-Danube Database was created as a part of the project entitled “Monumentalized Early Iron Age Landscapes in the Danube River Basin” funded by the EU. Its goal is to provide an overview of the state of research, tourism utilization, protection and possible endangerment of Eastern Hallstatt culture sites in the territories of Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia according to a uniform system of considerations.
Hungarian Archaeology, 2020
Bronze sickles are among the most numerous types of artefacts discovered in Late Bronze Age assem... more Bronze sickles are among the most numerous types of artefacts discovered in Late Bronze Age assemblages in Europe, and they have been found in particularly large numbers in the Carpathian Basin. Since their form has barely changed during the last few thousand years and they are generally regarded as having a very ordinary function, for a long time they had failed to spark research interest. Nevertheless, detailed analysis of their find contexts and condition, as well as their comparison with historical, anthropological, and ethnographic observations reveal that they may have had diverse meanings, a greater significance than previously thought, and a special value for the people of the Bronze Age.
Magyar Régészet, 2020
A bronzsarlók a késő bronzkori Európa egyik legnagyobb számban feltárt tárgytípusát alkotják, a K... more A bronzsarlók a késő bronzkori Európa egyik legnagyobb számban feltárt tárgytípusát alkotják, a Kárpát-medencében pedig különösen nagy mennyiségben fordulnak elő. Mivel formájuk évezredek alatt alig változott, egyszerű alakjuk és hétköznapinak vélt funkciójuk miatt sokáig a kutatók figyelmét sem keltették fel. Előkerülési körülményeik és állapotuk alaposabb vizsgálata, valamint ezen adatok történeti, néprajzi vagy antropológiai megfigyelésekkel való összevetése ugyanakkor rávilágít arra, hogy a bronzkori emberi számára nagyobb jelentőséggel, szerteágazóbb jelentéstartalommal és különlegesebb értékkel bírhattak.
Prehistoric Studies II, 2017
Magyar Régészet, 2020
A Vaskor-Duna Adatbázis (Iron Age Danube Database) a Duna-medence monumentalizált kora vaskori tá... more A Vaskor-Duna Adatbázis (Iron Age Danube Database) a Duna-medence monumentalizált kora vaskori tájai elnevezésű uniós támogatású projekt részeként jött létre. Célja, hogy a Keleti Hallstatt-kultúra Ausztria, Horvátország, Magyarország és Szlovénia területén található lelőhelyeinek kutatottságáról, turisztikai hasznosításáról, valamint védettségéről és esetleges veszélyeztetettségéről egységes szempontrendszer szerint nyújtson áttekintést.
Dissertationes Archaeologicae, 2018
The Early Iron Age site complex of Süttő is located on a loess plateau on the right bank of the D... more The Early Iron Age site complex of Süttő is located on a loess plateau on the right bank of the Danube.
After a long history of research of the Early Iron Age fortified settlement, tumulus groups and flat cemetery,
between 2013–2017, some pioneer investigations were carried out using non-invasive methods. In 2018,
members of the Institute of Archaeological Sciences of the Eötvös Loránd University and the Archaeological
Heritage Protection Directorate of the Hungarian National Museum conducted an interdisciplinary research
project (archaeological excavation, geophysical measurements, metal detecting survey, systematic field
walking, geological drilling) on the plateau in the framework of the Interreg DTP Iron Age Danube project.
As a result of intensive research, it became clear that aside from the Early Iron Age necropolis, the eastern
part of the plateau was used as a burial site in the Early Bronze Age, as a settlement in the Late Bronze Age,
and we must consider the existence of a Late Iron Age settlement in this area as well.
ABSTRACT BOOK by Eszter Fejér
by Jacqueline Balen, Katarina Botić, Lea Čataj, Ana Đukić, Eszter Fejér, András Füzesi, Gergely Gortva, Ferenc Horváth, Tomislav Hršak, János Jakucs, Hrvoje Kalafatić, Viktória Kiss, Marijana Krmpotic, Péter Mali, Tibor Marton, Jovan D . Mitrović, Krisztián Oross, Danimirka Podunavac, Dragana Rajković, Bartul Šiljeg, Kata Furholt (Szilágyi), and Selena Vitezović
Field reports by Eszter Fejér
Call for papers by Eszter Fejér
Session abstract: The most successful approach to study the organisation of early complex societi... more Session abstract: The most successful approach to study the organisation of early complex societies is through diachronic, multidisciplinary , multi-scalar projects aimed at the investigation of entire microregions. This approach enables the study of social phenomena in their wider context, with results that are inconceivable through projects focusing either on microscale archaeological patterns, or broad regions following tropes of early culture-historical narratives. The contextual variability resulting from the application of intensive comparative methods in various microregions could inform us about changing, conflicting ideas, identities and alternative articulations of social, political and economic processes. By revealing such multivocality and complexity of past societies systematic microregional studies expose social dynamics and facilitate new research questions to be addressed. Following the collapse of the Iron Curtain a diversity of microregional archaeological approaches to Central and Eastern European Bronze Age societies have been developed articulating different elements of postprocessual archaeologies with national archaeological traditions. Our objective is to provide a platform for Bronze Age archaeologists working in Central and Eastern European countries to discuss the virtues of varied and often contradicting microregional approaches. We encourage contributions focusing on various aspects of microregional archaeological research: intra-and inter-site archaeological analyses of domestic and ritual activities, mortuary behaviours, depositional practices, consumption and production, or holistic landscape and environmental studies. Presentations providing critical comparative analyses of different microregional projects are especially welcome.
Books by Eszter Fejér
by Matija Črešnar, Marko Mele, Anja Hellmuth Kramberger, Daniel Modl, Marta Rakvin, Sasa Kovacevic, Dimitrij Mlekuz Vrhovnik, Zoltán Czajlik, Eszter Fejér, Novinszki-Groma Katalin, László Rupnik, András Bödőcs, and Bence Soós Early Iron Age Landscapes of the Danube region, 2019
The present publication is one of the main outcomes of the Iron-Age-Danube project (Interreg DTP)... more The present publication is one of the main outcomes of the Iron-Age-Danube project (Interreg DTP). In the focus of the project, as well as of the presented papers are archaeological landscapes and their visible as well as hidden monuments of the Early Iron Age. The published research took place in four countries (Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia) and focused on some of the most iconic sites of the Eastern Hallstatt circle, namely Großklein and Strettweg near Judenburg in Austria, on Jalžabet and Kaptol in Croatia, on Százhalombatta, Süttő and Sopron in Hungary and on Poštela and Dolenjske Toplice in Slovenia.
The studies have a broad span in their interpretative approaches; however, they all bring important new results on the Early Iron Age landscapes of the Danube region and present a fundament for further research of archaeological landscapes in the region and beyond.
The Iron-Age-Danube project — its full title is “Monumental Landscapes of the Early Iron Age in the Danube Basin” — was initiated in 2017 by 20 partners and associated partners from five countries in the Danube region. The project was co-financed within the framework of the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme with EFRE funds in the amount of € 2,169,200. One of the major focuses of the project was the exploration of the rich archaeological heritage of the Early Iron Age (i.e. Hallstatt Period) in the Danube region using modern archaeological methods. For that purpose, a new format, the Archaeological Camps, was introduced to the region. This format for the first time combined various types of activities and comprised, in addition to research campaigns, a wide variety of heritage protection activities as well as actions to promote the inclusion of Iron-Age landscapes into the touristic offers of these regions. The camps were organized in four countries at selected locations within the nine preselected micro-regions and lasted one or two months. In this period, the institutions involved had the opportunity to combine their technologies, methodologies and expertise as well as to exchange their experiences and views. These chosen sites and their surrounding landscapes are embedded in a variety of environments of the Danube region, which in fact had a strong impact on the populations settling in these areas in the Early Iron Age, as well as on the archaeological research approaches. Combining their knowledge and specific skills, the experts have in this intensive cooperation established new strategies, which are tailored to each of the micro-regions. One of the results of this cooperation is also the monograph Researching Archaeological Landscapes across Borders (Budapest: Archaeolingua, 2019), which should help other researchers and heritage experts with planning their projects on archaeological landscapes.
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Dissertation by Eszter Fejér
ENG: This dissertation has been dedicated to the problematic of bronze sickles. Questions regarding their origin, typological development, distribution, production, preservation, context and function have been discussed to reconstruct their role in Bronze Age culture. Finds of the Carpathian Basin have been assessed, the main focus being the sickle material from the territory of Hungary, which are also described in the catalogue. 4435 bronze sickles from 432 sites have been documented, described and depicted. These objects stem from a time span of about 1000 years, from the RB A2 – HaC periods.
Papers by Eszter Fejér
ENG: The paper presents the Late Middle Bronze Age bronze artefacts discovered at the Dédestapolcsány-Verebce-bérc site during intensive research in recent years and provides some insights into the Middle Bronze Age use of the Bükk Mountains in the light of these finds. In 2022, a Koszider period hoard of four bronze knobbed sickles were found during metal detector surveys and a palstave discovered as a stray find probably also belonged to this assemblage. Two further scattered objects, a flanged axe and a fragment of a spiral arm ring are known from the site from this period.
HU: A tanulmány Dédestapolcsány-Verebce-bérc lelőhelyen az elmúlt évek intenzív kutatásai során előkerült középső bronzkor végi bronztárgyakat ismerteti, és ezek tükrében támpontokat ad a Bükk hegység középső bronzkori használatát illetően. 2022-ben négy gombos végű bronzsarlóból álló koszideri korú depó került elő fémkeresős lelőhely-felderítés során, és feltehetően ehhez az együtteshez tartozott egy szórványként talált sarkított peremesbalta is. A lelőhelyről két további szórványlelet, egy peremesbalta és egy spiráltekercsben végződő karperec töredéke ismert még ebből a korszakból.
In 2018 the Archaeological Institute of the Eötvös Loránd University and the Archaeological Heritage Protection Directorate of the Hungarian National Museum carried out excavations at Süttő-Sáncföldek (North Transdanubia, Hungary) within the framework of the Interreg DTP Iron Danube Project. The site is located near to the prehistoric multiperiod fortified settlement of Süttő-Nagysánctető and it has already been known of two Early Iron Age cemeteries. Recent fieldwork has unearthed an Early Bronze Age feature, among others, which provided evidence of EBA settlement on the site. Although previous research by Éva Vadász and Gábor Vékony also discovered some EBA material from the area in the 1980’s, that has remained unmentioned and unpublished.
This paper presents the EBA findings of Süttő-Sáncföldek and three other contemporary sites (Süttő-Tatai úti dűlő II, Lábatlan-Hosszúföldek, Lábatlan-Rózsa F. utca) in the region, which were found in the second half of the 20th century. The data provided here outline a dense network of EBA sites around Süttő, which consists of a possible fortified settlement, three open settlements and a burial ground. The findings represent the material culture of the Makó-Kosihy-Čaka complex in North Transdanubia, but connections to South Transdanubia and to the pottery traditions of the Moravian Corded Ware culture can also be detected.
The paper presents a Late Bronze Age bronze tanged dagger with a ring-shaped handle tip, which was discovered during an excavation in Süttő-Sáncföldek (Hungary) in 2018. The intact object was found inside a large feature of unknown function together with some other bronze items and hundreds of ceramic, stone and bone fragments. The material can be dated to the period of the Late Tumulus and Early Urnfield cultures. Similar daggers from Europe have been collected and their typology has been revisited in the article. They are known mainly from Moravia and the Carpathian Basin. In particular, the innovation of adding a ring at the end of the daggers has been investigated, together with the distribution of other artifacts sharing the same feature. It has been pointed out that although the tanged daggers with ring were produced in separate workshops, they reflect on an intensive cultural interaction between the Eastern Alps, Moravia and the inner territories of the Carpathian Basin during the Br D and Ha A1 periods.
techniques applied.
The tumulus cemetery, eponym of the today settlement Százhalombatta, was recorded in various cartographic sources. Maps of military surveys from the 18–19th century, as well as cartographic data of archaeological surveys in the 19–20th century yielded the first information about the structure of the cemetery. During the past two centuries some excavations revealed burials inside the mounds as well.
The scientific investigation of the fortified hilltop settlement started in the 20th century, when the nearby brick factory destroyed a significant part of it. Based on historic maps the original extent of the prehistoric settlements can be partly reconstructed.
For the complex reconstruction of the EIA land use various methods were combined. The mosaic-like surface cover of the area and the similarly divided system of closed private territories do not favour homogenous,
large-scale investigations, or even small-scale intensive field surveys, therefore aerial archaeological research is fundamental. It provided new data on the extent and structure of the tumulus field, during the last decades remains of several new burial mounds were detected (altogether 365 mounds are recorded), further new linear features (of unknown function and period) were discovered in the northern area of the Celtic fortification. Some of these features might have occurred as natural phenomena and were connected to the gully system surrounding the settlement area from the W–SW, others seem to be artificial. Magnetometer surveys confirmed and supplemented the new discoveries. Systematic grid walkings were implemented in order to gain chronological information and accurate data about the extent and density of the various settlements and cemeteries.
These investigations have led to a better understanding of the EIA occupation of the territory. The N, W, S border of the tumulus field can be defined and possibly new features can be added to its eastern edge.
Furthermore, the inner structure (alignment of bigger burial mounds, prehistoric paths) can be mapped, too. The extent of the EIA settlement can be outlined more precisely. Probably an area of 30 ha was occupied by the settlement and another 80 ha by the cemetery. For subsistence strategy the settler of the plateau must have used the adjacent areas to the west and the land across the Danube (i.e. the Csepel Island), however little contemporary evidence were discovered to support this idea.
After a long history of research of the Early Iron Age fortified settlement, tumulus groups and flat cemetery,
between 2013–2017, some pioneer investigations were carried out using non-invasive methods. In 2018,
members of the Institute of Archaeological Sciences of the Eötvös Loránd University and the Archaeological
Heritage Protection Directorate of the Hungarian National Museum conducted an interdisciplinary research
project (archaeological excavation, geophysical measurements, metal detecting survey, systematic field
walking, geological drilling) on the plateau in the framework of the Interreg DTP Iron Age Danube project.
As a result of intensive research, it became clear that aside from the Early Iron Age necropolis, the eastern
part of the plateau was used as a burial site in the Early Bronze Age, as a settlement in the Late Bronze Age,
and we must consider the existence of a Late Iron Age settlement in this area as well.
ABSTRACT BOOK by Eszter Fejér
Field reports by Eszter Fejér
Call for papers by Eszter Fejér
Books by Eszter Fejér
The studies have a broad span in their interpretative approaches; however, they all bring important new results on the Early Iron Age landscapes of the Danube region and present a fundament for further research of archaeological landscapes in the region and beyond.
The Iron-Age-Danube project — its full title is “Monumental Landscapes of the Early Iron Age in the Danube Basin” — was initiated in 2017 by 20 partners and associated partners from five countries in the Danube region. The project was co-financed within the framework of the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme with EFRE funds in the amount of € 2,169,200. One of the major focuses of the project was the exploration of the rich archaeological heritage of the Early Iron Age (i.e. Hallstatt Period) in the Danube region using modern archaeological methods. For that purpose, a new format, the Archaeological Camps, was introduced to the region. This format for the first time combined various types of activities and comprised, in addition to research campaigns, a wide variety of heritage protection activities as well as actions to promote the inclusion of Iron-Age landscapes into the touristic offers of these regions. The camps were organized in four countries at selected locations within the nine preselected micro-regions and lasted one or two months. In this period, the institutions involved had the opportunity to combine their technologies, methodologies and expertise as well as to exchange their experiences and views. These chosen sites and their surrounding landscapes are embedded in a variety of environments of the Danube region, which in fact had a strong impact on the populations settling in these areas in the Early Iron Age, as well as on the archaeological research approaches. Combining their knowledge and specific skills, the experts have in this intensive cooperation established new strategies, which are tailored to each of the micro-regions. One of the results of this cooperation is also the monograph Researching Archaeological Landscapes across Borders (Budapest: Archaeolingua, 2019), which should help other researchers and heritage experts with planning their projects on archaeological landscapes.
ENG: This dissertation has been dedicated to the problematic of bronze sickles. Questions regarding their origin, typological development, distribution, production, preservation, context and function have been discussed to reconstruct their role in Bronze Age culture. Finds of the Carpathian Basin have been assessed, the main focus being the sickle material from the territory of Hungary, which are also described in the catalogue. 4435 bronze sickles from 432 sites have been documented, described and depicted. These objects stem from a time span of about 1000 years, from the RB A2 – HaC periods.
ENG: The paper presents the Late Middle Bronze Age bronze artefacts discovered at the Dédestapolcsány-Verebce-bérc site during intensive research in recent years and provides some insights into the Middle Bronze Age use of the Bükk Mountains in the light of these finds. In 2022, a Koszider period hoard of four bronze knobbed sickles were found during metal detector surveys and a palstave discovered as a stray find probably also belonged to this assemblage. Two further scattered objects, a flanged axe and a fragment of a spiral arm ring are known from the site from this period.
HU: A tanulmány Dédestapolcsány-Verebce-bérc lelőhelyen az elmúlt évek intenzív kutatásai során előkerült középső bronzkor végi bronztárgyakat ismerteti, és ezek tükrében támpontokat ad a Bükk hegység középső bronzkori használatát illetően. 2022-ben négy gombos végű bronzsarlóból álló koszideri korú depó került elő fémkeresős lelőhely-felderítés során, és feltehetően ehhez az együtteshez tartozott egy szórványként talált sarkított peremesbalta is. A lelőhelyről két további szórványlelet, egy peremesbalta és egy spiráltekercsben végződő karperec töredéke ismert még ebből a korszakból.
In 2018 the Archaeological Institute of the Eötvös Loránd University and the Archaeological Heritage Protection Directorate of the Hungarian National Museum carried out excavations at Süttő-Sáncföldek (North Transdanubia, Hungary) within the framework of the Interreg DTP Iron Danube Project. The site is located near to the prehistoric multiperiod fortified settlement of Süttő-Nagysánctető and it has already been known of two Early Iron Age cemeteries. Recent fieldwork has unearthed an Early Bronze Age feature, among others, which provided evidence of EBA settlement on the site. Although previous research by Éva Vadász and Gábor Vékony also discovered some EBA material from the area in the 1980’s, that has remained unmentioned and unpublished.
This paper presents the EBA findings of Süttő-Sáncföldek and three other contemporary sites (Süttő-Tatai úti dűlő II, Lábatlan-Hosszúföldek, Lábatlan-Rózsa F. utca) in the region, which were found in the second half of the 20th century. The data provided here outline a dense network of EBA sites around Süttő, which consists of a possible fortified settlement, three open settlements and a burial ground. The findings represent the material culture of the Makó-Kosihy-Čaka complex in North Transdanubia, but connections to South Transdanubia and to the pottery traditions of the Moravian Corded Ware culture can also be detected.
The paper presents a Late Bronze Age bronze tanged dagger with a ring-shaped handle tip, which was discovered during an excavation in Süttő-Sáncföldek (Hungary) in 2018. The intact object was found inside a large feature of unknown function together with some other bronze items and hundreds of ceramic, stone and bone fragments. The material can be dated to the period of the Late Tumulus and Early Urnfield cultures. Similar daggers from Europe have been collected and their typology has been revisited in the article. They are known mainly from Moravia and the Carpathian Basin. In particular, the innovation of adding a ring at the end of the daggers has been investigated, together with the distribution of other artifacts sharing the same feature. It has been pointed out that although the tanged daggers with ring were produced in separate workshops, they reflect on an intensive cultural interaction between the Eastern Alps, Moravia and the inner territories of the Carpathian Basin during the Br D and Ha A1 periods.
techniques applied.
The tumulus cemetery, eponym of the today settlement Százhalombatta, was recorded in various cartographic sources. Maps of military surveys from the 18–19th century, as well as cartographic data of archaeological surveys in the 19–20th century yielded the first information about the structure of the cemetery. During the past two centuries some excavations revealed burials inside the mounds as well.
The scientific investigation of the fortified hilltop settlement started in the 20th century, when the nearby brick factory destroyed a significant part of it. Based on historic maps the original extent of the prehistoric settlements can be partly reconstructed.
For the complex reconstruction of the EIA land use various methods were combined. The mosaic-like surface cover of the area and the similarly divided system of closed private territories do not favour homogenous,
large-scale investigations, or even small-scale intensive field surveys, therefore aerial archaeological research is fundamental. It provided new data on the extent and structure of the tumulus field, during the last decades remains of several new burial mounds were detected (altogether 365 mounds are recorded), further new linear features (of unknown function and period) were discovered in the northern area of the Celtic fortification. Some of these features might have occurred as natural phenomena and were connected to the gully system surrounding the settlement area from the W–SW, others seem to be artificial. Magnetometer surveys confirmed and supplemented the new discoveries. Systematic grid walkings were implemented in order to gain chronological information and accurate data about the extent and density of the various settlements and cemeteries.
These investigations have led to a better understanding of the EIA occupation of the territory. The N, W, S border of the tumulus field can be defined and possibly new features can be added to its eastern edge.
Furthermore, the inner structure (alignment of bigger burial mounds, prehistoric paths) can be mapped, too. The extent of the EIA settlement can be outlined more precisely. Probably an area of 30 ha was occupied by the settlement and another 80 ha by the cemetery. For subsistence strategy the settler of the plateau must have used the adjacent areas to the west and the land across the Danube (i.e. the Csepel Island), however little contemporary evidence were discovered to support this idea.
After a long history of research of the Early Iron Age fortified settlement, tumulus groups and flat cemetery,
between 2013–2017, some pioneer investigations were carried out using non-invasive methods. In 2018,
members of the Institute of Archaeological Sciences of the Eötvös Loránd University and the Archaeological
Heritage Protection Directorate of the Hungarian National Museum conducted an interdisciplinary research
project (archaeological excavation, geophysical measurements, metal detecting survey, systematic field
walking, geological drilling) on the plateau in the framework of the Interreg DTP Iron Age Danube project.
As a result of intensive research, it became clear that aside from the Early Iron Age necropolis, the eastern
part of the plateau was used as a burial site in the Early Bronze Age, as a settlement in the Late Bronze Age,
and we must consider the existence of a Late Iron Age settlement in this area as well.
The studies have a broad span in their interpretative approaches; however, they all bring important new results on the Early Iron Age landscapes of the Danube region and present a fundament for further research of archaeological landscapes in the region and beyond.
The Iron-Age-Danube project — its full title is “Monumental Landscapes of the Early Iron Age in the Danube Basin” — was initiated in 2017 by 20 partners and associated partners from five countries in the Danube region. The project was co-financed within the framework of the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme with EFRE funds in the amount of € 2,169,200. One of the major focuses of the project was the exploration of the rich archaeological heritage of the Early Iron Age (i.e. Hallstatt Period) in the Danube region using modern archaeological methods. For that purpose, a new format, the Archaeological Camps, was introduced to the region. This format for the first time combined various types of activities and comprised, in addition to research campaigns, a wide variety of heritage protection activities as well as actions to promote the inclusion of Iron-Age landscapes into the touristic offers of these regions. The camps were organized in four countries at selected locations within the nine preselected micro-regions and lasted one or two months. In this period, the institutions involved had the opportunity to combine their technologies, methodologies and expertise as well as to exchange their experiences and views. These chosen sites and their surrounding landscapes are embedded in a variety of environments of the Danube region, which in fact had a strong impact on the populations settling in these areas in the Early Iron Age, as well as on the archaeological research approaches. Combining their knowledge and specific skills, the experts have in this intensive cooperation established new strategies, which are tailored to each of the micro-regions. One of the results of this cooperation is also the monograph Researching Archaeological Landscapes across Borders (Budapest: Archaeolingua, 2019), which should help other researchers and heritage experts with planning their projects on archaeological landscapes.