SETTLEMENTS OF THE LENGYEL CULTURE AROUND TŰZKÖVESHEGY IN SZENTGÁL

(VESZPRÉM COUNTY, HUNGARY)

Regenye Judit

Veszprém

The connection between Lengyel Culture and Veszprém can be traced back to the 70s, when the city became an eponym for a period of this culture: Pál Raczky separated Phase III of the culture according to a part of a settlement discovered on Veszprém-Felszabadulás Street (today named Jutasi St.). /Raczky 1974/ Systematic research was started in the 80s with the support of OTKA, with the goal of investigating the social background of Tűzköveshegy in Szentgál, the largest source of flint in the country. The excavation of the mine was led by Katalin Biró, from 1983 to 1994. /Biró 1995/ Through examination of the stones found in the archaeological sites, the relationship between certain Neolithic cultures and the mine at Tűzköveshegy became apparent. /Biró-Regenye 1991/ During this time, we found a settlement structure so unique as to make the researching of nearby sites of Lengyel Culture necessary - namely, eight settlements belonging to this culture around the mountain /2 bordering Ajka, 3 bordering Szentgál, and the remaining three bordering Bánd, Városlőd-Újmajor, and Márkó, respectively/. Later, a ninth settlement was added to this circle, found in 1998, during the digging of a cellar on Szent István Street, in Ajka. Among these settlements, excavations were made in Szentgál-Füzi-kút between 1986 and 1988, in Szentgál-Teleki-dűlő in 1995, in Ajka-Pál-major site in 1996-1997, and in Városlőd-Újmajor in 1998-1999. All excavations were on a small area, our goal being to collect appreciable quantities of comparable material.