Archaeology of the Avars

The present compendium of sixteen studies addresses one of the highly controversial issues in Hungarian and international scholarship, namely the power centre(s) of the Avar Khaganate, the polity ruling the Carpathian Basin from 568 to the early ninth century, their possible location and the different avenues in their research as well as the many diverse perspectives in their study.

A 16 tanulmányból összeállított kötet a magyar és a nemzetközi kora középkori kutatás egy
máig vitatott kérdésével, a Kárpát-medencét 568-tól a 9. század elejéig egy politikai egységbe foglaló Avar Kaganátus hatalmi központjának/központjainak problematikájával, lokalizálási lehetőségeivel, a kérdéskör kutatási irányaival, megközelítési módjaival foglalkozik.

A légirégészeti kutatásoknak köszönhetően számos - keltezés nélküli - soros temető került elő a Tolna megyei Várong határában. 2016-ban a Wosinsky Mór Megyei Múzeum és a Pécsi Tudományegyetem együttműködésében szondázó ásatásokkal vizsgáltuk meg a hat azonosított temetőt, hogy pontos korszakolásukat elvégezhessük. A kutatási eredmények szerint mindegyik temető a késő népvándorláskorba sorolható, amely - a térségben megfigyelhető árokrendszerekkel együtt - számos kérdést vet fel.
A kutatás jól szemlélteti az ilyen lelőhelytípusok felderítési lehetőségeit, emellett a szondázó ásatás módszertanában is újdonságokat mutat (pl. teljes 3D dokumentáció).

RESCUE EXCAVATIONS ON THE SITE OF NĂDLAC-7M.
CEMETERY SECTIONS AND GROUPS OF GRAVES FROM THE LATE ANTIQUE (SARMATIAN?),
THE LATE AVAR AGE AND THE 10TH‒11TH (?) CENTURIES
(ABSTRACT)
Nădlac (Hu: Nagylak, Ger: Nadlak, Slo: Nadlak) Site 7M is located on a slightly raised
elevation that is bordered by wetlands on all sides except the eastern one even in present-day. Due to the rainy weather at the time of the excavations, the water table rose even to the level of recognition of the finds, which made the field research difficult and explains the poor state in which the finds have been preserved, especially the iron ones.
During the above noted archaeological research, 32 complexes were discovered: three
dwellings (no. 8-10) dated to the 5-4 centuries BCE; six incineration burials (nos. 12, 14, 27, 28, 31, 34) dated to the La Tène C period; ten inhumation burials (nos. 1, 3, 4, 15, 16 A-B, 17, 19-21, 36, 37) from the Late Avar period; the complete skeleton of a horse, also from the Late Avar period (no. 25); three, probably, Sarmatian burials (nos. 26, 29, 30); four inhumation burials (nos. 18, 22, 24, 32), most likely dated to the 10-11th centuries AD; four modern finds (no. 11, 13, 23, 35); four animal burrows
(no. 2, 5, 6, 7 – cancelled complex numbers).
According to the analysis of the burial customs, various object categories of the material culture (lock rings, earring, beads, components of belts with mounts, knives, pottery) can be dated to the end of the late Avar era, which corresponds to the late 8th or early 9th century. It can firmly be stated that some of the finds were the products of the latest metallurgical horizon (e.g. the punched belt hole guard mount and the belt mounts with pendants). So some of the types found here can be connected to the last horizon, which is very important concerning their dating. The identity of the
micro-community in Nădlac and their self-identification with a political community were influenced by the fact that they were a primary group. For them their micro- and macro-community traditions and their values and traditions at a micro-community level coming from their way of life might have been much more important than their ethnic identity. According to the clusters of late Avar sites and the supposed location of the hypothetical ‘workshop circles’ in the Carpathian Basin, it is clear that
the cemetery researched by us and its micro-region is situated outside the central territories. This seems to be supported by the heterogeneity of the belt sets, which shows that the members of this community had more difficulty obtaining the various decorations. The anthropological deformations indicating hard physical work also seem to underpin this ‘peripheral’ status. Its location seems to show clearly that this micro-region, and within this, the cemetery of this animal breeding and
agricultural, pagan people, is on the periphery of the power centre(s) of the Great Plain. They were the common people of the late Avar Khaganate in the eastern region of the Great Plain. We can talk about the cemetery of a settlement from the late Avar period, which was on the periphery, under the Khagan or some other Avar chief or big man (tudun, iugurus).
The group made up of graves 18, 22, 24, and 32 is dated to the 10th-11th centuries by the fragments of a deltoid arrow head found under the right shoulder of the skeleton in grave 32. Another aspect seems to support this assumption: the graves dating from the 10th-11th centuries in the southern region of the Great Plain are characterised by different arm positions. In addition, at the end of the article detailed analyses can be found of the anthropological (Appendix 1.) and of the archaeozoological material (Appendix 2.), in addition to a study regarding the egg shells (Appendix 3.), all from the Avar graves.

In the first part of the study, we modelled the regional changes in the fashion of belt fittings using spatial interpolation maps, which indicated diachronic changes in the regional frequencies of mount-ornamented belts. In the first third of the seventh century, these belts predominate in
the southern Carpathian Basin; a change can be noted from the century’s second third, involving a gradually northward shift and the appearance of belt fittings north of the former distribution territory and, eventually, a preponderance in the north in the century’s later half and its close.
We examined the possible reasons for this shift: the most likely explanation seems to be that the deceased were increasingly often interred with their ornate belt to signal their social status in the newly opened cemeteries. It must nevertheless be noted that – as shown by the keys to the maps – a larger cluster in the later seventh century does not indicate a similar concentration of belt fittings as during the preceding period.
By also looking at the diachronic changes in the distribution of plain, undecorated belt fittings – mounts and strap-ends – we could gain an overall picture of this distinctive artefact group. The first and perhaps most important result is that with the passing of time, certain gradual changes can be noted regarding the regional patterns of plain belt fittings. Three main, relatively distinct distributions can be outlined by the earlier and mid-seventh century: (a) a northern one along the Danube in a west to east direction and south of the Northern Mountain Range, roughly along the Csörsz Dyke, (b) a southern one along an imaginary arc from the Kölked-Szekszárd zone through the Kiskőros and Szentes areas to the Szeged area, and, unsurprisingly, (c) one in the Balaton region. In some cases, there is a “link” between the regions, for example north-eastwards of Lake Balaton towards the Tata area.
The three zones described in the above are made up of micro-regions which stand out also if we look at other artefact types (e.g. the Szeged–Szentes, the Kölked–Szekszárd, the Balaton and the Budapest region). Many of these were major hubs during the Roman period too, redestined
for this role owing to their geographic location. A major change can be noted from the later seventh century onward, when the earlier hubs in part disintegrate and in part undergo some transformation, and changes can be seen in the earlier distribution map: the mounts and strap-ends
have a much more dispersed distribution, with fewer concentrations in one or another area. We may say that the distribution area in part expanded inward (to the previously “empty” regions) and in part outward (to areas lying beyond the former distribution, to the Ipoly region, for example). These changes can be attributed to a society in flux, to changing demographic conditions and to the transformation of the economic system, in which the status of the individuals wearing
mount-decorated belts, including the plain belt sets, had also changed. However, the proper assessment of these changes calls for more detailed social archaeological studies.
Additional details can be added to the broad picture of the distribution of belt fittings and of plain, unornamented belt fittings if we look at certain jewellery types. Although there are fewer Byzantine-type articles with direct parallels during the middle third of the seventh century and
its later half, individual types appear in much higher numbers in the Carpathian Basin compared to the early Avar period. Among the earrings, the crescentic type with granulation along the lower arc and Jánoshida-type earrings can principally be associated with male burials and it has been suggested that these were endowed with greater prestige judging from the other grave goods. Concentrations in their distribution can be noted at Budakalász, Alattyán and Visznek
in the northern region, at Zamárdi in the Balaton region and in the Szeged area in the southern Hungarian Plain. This corresponds to the concentrations noted in the distribution of belt fittings.
These major economic and communication hubs played a prominent role in the Carpathian Basin during the Avar period and they were no doubt controlled by the period’s Avar elite in order to maintain its power. Distances and the accessibility of the central places were no doubt important considerations. One fruitful line of inquiry would be the analysis of these micro-regions – as possible power centres – in order to gain a better understanding of their organisation and
their economic foundation (settlement structures, etc.). The findings of settlement studies will no doubt provide a solid foundation for future studies in this field.