Bakonycserje-Tűzkövesárok Hungary An addendum to its presentation in the Bochum volume according to the Questionnaire of Archaeologia Polona The site is located at the 18.05 E, 47.19 N. longitude and latitude, respectively. It is in the NE fringe of Mt. Bakony, part of Transdanubian Mid-Mts. Tűzkövesárok is a NE--SW direction ravine to the S of Bakonycsernye at a distance of about 4 kms. Steep slopes of the ravine here and the are covered by radiolarite fragments, part of them from exposures, part of them indicating some form of mining activity. The name of the site 'Tűzkövesárok' means 'Flint ditch'. Tűzkövesárok is also a well known key section of geology, studied for decades. In 1967 Lajos Kocsis surveying for the Hungarian Geological Institute found traces of mining activity on the slope of the Tűzkövesárok; he found radiolarite layers disturbed by quarrying, small pits, a lot of extraction debris and also a few antler implements. According to his manuscript reports the phenomena mentioned above were observed at five places within the Tűzkövesárok over a section of 200 m in his trial trenches. In 1975 the Hungarian Geological Institute made small- scale excavations when Erzsébet Bácskay made two trial trenches in the ravine, one of them was an extension of L. Kocsis' trench. Similar phenomena were observed as before. Bakonycsernye-Tűzkövesárok contains a key sequence of Mesozoic formations, mostly of Jurassic ones. The material mined by prehistoric man is Bath-Kallovian radiolarite, its colour is usually red or reddish, though there are pieces with blackish manganese tint as well. The archaeological research of the site included small- scale trial excavations only. Most probably, exposures on the slopes were extracted. Also, shallow pits were dug into the radiolarite layer of the walls of the ravine, filled in with extraction debris and antler tools. The depth of the pits varied between 100 and 250 cm. Most probably, heaps of waste materials existed near the pits, though by now they were eroded. No visible traces of chipping floors, workshops exist today and remains of miners' camps were not observed. 8 tools made of antlers of Cervus elaphus L. were found. They are the usual characteristic mining tools. No other finds came to light. We have no positive data for dating the mine. References: Bácskay, E. 1980. Zum Stand der Erforschung prähistorischer Feuersteingruben in Ungarn. In 5000 Jahre Feuersteinbergbau, ed G. Weisgerber (ed), 179- 182, 552-553. Bochum Bácskay, E. 1982. jabb ásatások őskori tűzkőbányákban. Comm. Arch. Hung. 2: 5-14. Bácskay, E.1984a. Prehistoricflintmines (exploitation sites) in Hungary and their role in raw material supply. In Report of the 3rd International Seminar in Petroarcheology, 127-145. Plovdiv. Bácskay, E. 1984b: skori tűzkőbányák a Dunántúli Középhegységben. In Industrial Archeology Symplosium, Veszprém 1982, 11-23. Bácskay, E. 1990: La mineria prehistorica en Hungaria, Cuadernos de Prehistoria de la Universidad de Granada 11: 273-325. (1986) Fülöp, J. et al. 1969: Geology of the Transdanubian Central, Mecsek and Villány Mountains. Guide for excursion Mediterranean Jurassic Colloquium, Budapest, 70. Hárskút-Édesvízmajor Hungary The site is located at the 17.49 E, 47.11 N. longitude and latitude, respectively. It is in the central part of Bakony Mts, part of Transdanubian Mid-Mts. It is situated to the NW of Hárskút at some 3 km's distance on a gentle hill slope, covering a small area. The site was discovered in 1970 when the Hungarian Geological Institute established a geological section there. József Konda, geologist, collected antler mining tools and identified traces of prehistoric mining activity. At the site there is a rich sequence of Mesozoic limestone, marl and calcareous marl layers covered by (Jurassic) red radiolarite of blocky character, deposited in bank-like formation, easy to quarry. No archeological excavations were carried out in the site. According to J. Konda's observations there was a loessy loose layer over the radiolaritic bedrock with slope debris and radiolarite fragments - partly traces of mining (extraction) - in which also the mining tools were found. The depth of this layer was about 180 cm. We have no positive data on the way of mining. The radiolarite was either directly quarried here or extracted by small pits. 4 mining tools made of the antlers of Cervus elaphus L. were found. They are the usual characteristic mining tools. (Fig. 1.a-b). No other finds came to light. We have no positive data on distribution and chronology. References: Bácskay, E. 1982. jabb ásatások őskori Tűzkőbányákban. Comm. Arch. Hung. 2: 5-14. Bácskay, E.1984a: Prehistoricflintmines (exploitation sites) in Hungary and their role in raw material supply. In Report of the 3rd International Seminar in Petroarcheology, 127-145, Plovdid. Bácskay, E. 1984b: skori Tűzkőbányák a Dunántúli Középhegységben. In Industrial Archeology Symposium, Veszprém 1982, 11-23. Bácskay, E. 1990: La mineria prehistorica en Hungaria, Cuadernos de Prehistoria de la Universidad de Granada 11: 273-325. (1986) Lábatlan-Pisznicetető Hungary The site is located at the 18.30 E, 47.45 N. longitude and latitude, respectively. The site is in the Gerecse Mts., part of the Transdanubian Mid-Mts, on the top of a mountain near an abandoned quarry. István Skoflek and Viola T. Dobosi (Hungarian National Museum) made field surveys on the site finding radiolaritic debris on the surface of exposed rock and some chopper-like hammerstones made of non local quartzite pebbles as well as a few worked flakes. In the first half of the eighties József Konda geologist, Katalin T. Biró and Erzsébet Bácskay on behalf of the Hungarian Geological Institute made field surveys on the site collecting also hammerstones made of quartzite pebbles and worked radiolarite flakes. They identified the site as most probably an extraction site. The site is built up by Jurassic radiolaritc limestone. The radiolarite is red, reddish brown. No excavations were carried out at the site. The site was most probably quarried directly on the exposed parts of radiolaritic bedrock. Heaps of waste materials and chipping floors were most probably present there, at least quartzite hammerstones indicate this. No other phenomena were found. Finds include only some worked radiolarite pieces (flakes, chips) and quartzite pebbles with chopper-like edges used probably as hammerstones were found. We have no positive data on distribution and chronology. References: Bácskay, E. 1984: Prehistoric flint mines (exploitation sites) in Hungary and their role in raw material supply. In Report of the 3rd International Seminar in Petroarcheology, 127-145. Plovdiv. Bácskay, E. 1990: La mineria prehistorica en Hungaria, Cuadernos de Prehistoria de la Universidad de Granada 11: 273-325. (1986) T. Dobosi, V. 1980: Pisznice-tető, Gerecse, --Régészeti Füzetek I. Ser. 1. 33: 17. Lábatlan-Margittető Hungary The site is located at the 18.30 E, 47.45 N. longitude and latitude, respectively. The site is in the Gerecse Mts., part of the Transdanubian Mid-Mts. on a hill slope with rock exposures. The Hungarian Geological Institute made geological section there in the first half of the eighties. József Konda, geologist, observed in the geological section mentioned above traces of quarrying on the exposed rock surface of bank-like character. The traces are step-like or cauldron-like phenomena accompanied by a great quantity of waste, even of regular heaps. During a field survey made by J. Konda, Katalin T. Biró and Erzsébet Bácskay quartzite pebbles used most probably as hammerstones were found within the waste. The bedrock at the site is Jurassic radiolaritic limestone, the material extracted is a red, reddish brown radiolarite. No excavation was carried out at the site. The site was most probably quarried directly on the exposed parts of radiolaritic bedrock. Heaps of waste materials are present and most probably chipping floors were, too. No other phenomena were found. Finds include only some worked radiolarite pieces (flakes, cores, chips) and quartzite pebbles of various dimensions with chopper- like edges used probably as hammerstones were found. We have no positive data on distribution and chronology. References: Bácskay, E. 1984: Prehistoric flint mines (exploitation sites) in Hungary and their role in raw material supply. In Report of the 3rd International Seminar in Petroarcheology, 127-145. Plovdiv. Bácskay, E. 1990: La mineria prehistorica en Hungaria, Cuadernos de Prehistoria de la Universidad de Granada 11: 273-325. (1986) Biró, K. skőkori és őskori pattintott kőeszközeink nyersanyagának forrásai. Archeológiai Értesítő 111 1984: 42-52. Dunaszentmiklós-Hosszúvontató Hungary The site is located at the 18.23 E, 47.42 N. longitude and latitude, respectively. The site is on a relatively steep slope covered with debris in which loess, radiolarite fragments and slope debris are present. It was discovered on the first half of the eighties during geological researches when a section was made across the site. The geologists József Konda and Domokos Zilahy identified traces of radiolarite extraction within the section, where they found characteristic extraction debris, waste heaps and some quartzite pebbles used most probably as hammerstones. In the first half of the eighties J. Konda etc. made field surveys when the participants realized that the site was most probably a flint-minig (quarrying) site. In the eighties the experts of the Eötvös Loránd Geophysical Survey (ELGI, Budapest, Hungary) made investigations to clear up the structure of the site, since direct observations were impossible because of the thickness of covering slope debris over the possible quarrying phenomena. Geophysical analyses revealed a step-like disturbed character of the radiolaritic rock face, which could be traces of extraction. Yet apart from this, indirect evidence of quarrying is provided by the ample quantity of extraction debris and waste heaps as well as by the worked quartzite pebbles. The site is built up of Jurassic radiolaritic limestone. The material extracted is a red, reddish brown radiolarite. No archeological excavations were carried out in the site. Positive data only for 'exploitation' and for heaps of waste material are present. Most probably chipping floors were present, too. Apart from some worked pieces of radiolarite the quartzite pebbles with chopper-like edges used most probably as hammer-stones were found. No positive data for distribution and chronology are known. References: Bácskay, E. 1984: Prehistoric flint mines (exploitation sites) in Hungary and their role in raw material supply. In Report of the 3rd International Seminar in Petroarcheology, 127-145. Plovdiv. Bácskay, E. 1990: La mineria prehistorica en Hungaria, Cuadernos de Prehistoria de la Universidad de Granada 11: 273-325. (1986) Pattantyus, M. manuscript report Szentgál-Tűzköveshegy Hungary (new site compared to the Bochum volume) Szentgál is located in West-Central Hungary, North of the lake Balaton, along the international main road nr. 8 connecting Veszprém (Székesfehérvár) with Austria, Graz. The village is at 17.44 E, 47.07 N longitude and latitude, respectively. The site is located in the Southern parts of the Bakony Mts., part of the Transdanubian Mid-Mountain range, covering the hilltop till the flanks of the Tűzköveshegy (= 'Flint Mountain'). The area covered with worked flint debris covers approx. 0.5 sq km2, the site where traces of prehistoric flint mining where excavated are on the plateau of the hill (Fig.1). Historical data exist on the use of the silex (radiolarite) even in the 20th century. The raw material from Szentgál area was mentioned already by scholars of the last century (Lipp 1876) Szentgál-Tűzköveshegy area was mentioned as a prehistoric site in the beginning of the 20th century (anon., 1912).Geological surveys of the region identified the presence of radiolarite debris without acknowledging itsartificial (human) character (Mészáros 1980). Petroarcheological surveys conducted by J. Konda, E. Bácskay and K. Biró in 1982 revealed its importance as a prehistoric raw material source (Biró 1984, Biró 1986). Archaeological excavations were performed here from 1983-1985 and in 1993-1994 (see annual reports in the series Régészeti Füzetek). Satellite settlements attached to the exploitation site were studied and excavated by J. Regenye and K. Biró (Biró--Regenye 1991, Regenye in press, Biró in press). Distribution of the raw material was studied by K. Biró (Biró--Regenye 1991). The raw material exploited here is Middle Jurassic radiolarite (Bath-Kallovian period) of pelagic origin. Typical colour of the radiolarite is red, which can vary from mustard-yellow to dark brown. The layers of the bedrock on the surface are generally covered by debris of radiolarite and porcelanite. In the layers uncovered by the excavation the position of the bedrock could be determined by drip and strike. The oblique position of the radiolarite beds allowed an easy access to the raw material. Not very far from the mine, Lower Jurassic chert is occurring which was used locally but to our best knowledge, not exploited in prehistory (Szentgál- Mésztelep quarry). Following field survey in 1982, the site was excavated first by the Hungarian Geological Survey (1983-85, K. Biró), later by the Lackó Dezső Museum and the Hungarian National Museum (1993-94, J. Regenye and K. Biró). In the first years, no mining features were found, only evidences of intensive workshop activity could be collected. At the central parts of the distribution of the radiolarite where the excavations were started the surface debris was found to be very thick and it was impossible to find the top of the bedrock. Stereo photographic analysis of aerial photoes of the region indicated several meters thick debris over the bedrock at the plateau of the hill. Therefore, we started to detect the bedrock surface from the outer limits (Upper Jurassic Marl) with a long trench towards the central region. After locating the limits of the radiolarite and patches of workshop activity, the first real mining pits were found in 1993 (1993/1/b, see Fig.2). In 1994, sections and archaeological trenches were planted accordingly and 5 individual mining pits were located. The shape of the pits is seemingly different indicating different mining techniques and probably difference in age. The largest pit is in fact a long trench planted along the strike of the radiolarite beds (Fig. 3). The deepest point reached is below 3 meters and the bedrock was not reached at some points. Most of the pits are more shallow (1.5-2.5 m) and their form is elongated cauldron-like. The pits were mostly refilled my barren debris. In 1993, a series of sondage was also planted to study the limits of the area covered by traces of workshop activity. The sondage pits were planted in a double line of 10 x 10 meters along the North-Eastern margin of the radiolarite debris. One of the sondage pits hit against a deposit of quartzite pebbles which was interpreted as 'hammerstone-depot'. Quartzite hammerstones were in fact the basic means of extraction found in the mining pits. The use of wooden wedges and fire for extraction is also supposed. Charcoal remains and traces of wedge working on the radiolarite block surfaces support this view. There is no other mining tool type found yet, and we do not have positive dating evidences. It is hoped that current charcoal finds will be suitable for dating, however, we have negative experiences by former dating from similar context (Biró-Regenye 1991 p. 341). The distribution of the raw material was examined in the context of Veszprém county systematically and in a wider circle within the Carpathian Basin. Quality of material and practical experience suggests that an essential partof theitems classified as 'Transdanubian Radiolarites' come from this area. The vivid red colour variant, termed 'Szentgál radiolarite' is especially characteristic for this source. The use of this material was found constant and dominant in the Northern part of Transdanubia since the Palaeolithic times. Occasional import pieces were found as far as Bylany, Bavaria (observation by D. Gronenborn) and Romania (Parta). The area of the Szentgál-Tűzköveshegy mine was not inhabited till the Late Bronze Age. The mining field was probably exploited by occasional expeditions for most periods of history. The intensive study of the area could find only one exception: in the end of the Lengyel culture, a ring of settlements (8 individual and roughly contemporary settlements) surrounded the area, probably with economic and/or protective purposes. References: anon. 1912: A Veszprémmegyei Múzeumi Bizottság és Múzeumegylet Együttes Évi Jelentései 1911-ről, Veszpr. Évi Jel. 1912. BIRŰ 1984: T. Biró Katalin, skőkori és őskori pattintott kőeszközeinknyersanyagának forrásai. Archeológiai Értesítő 111 1984, 42-52 BIRŰ 1986: Takács-Biró, Katalin, The Szentgál workshop complex (Preliminary report) In: T. Biró Katalin (ed) skori kovabányászat és kőeszköz-nyersanyag azonosítás a Kárpát medencében / International conference on prehistoric flint mining and lithic raw material identification in the Carpathian Basin Sümeg Papers (Vol. 1) 1986 Budapest KMI Rota 1-342, pp. 101-106 BIRŰ 1986b: Takács-Biró, Katalin Prehistoric workshop sites in Hungary. In: The Social and Economic Contexts of Technological Change, 1986 Southampton World Archaeological Conf. preprints 1-30. BIRŰ-REGENYE 1991: Biró, Katalin - Regenye, Judit Prehistoric workshop and exploitation site at Szentgál- Tűzköveshegy, Acta Arch. Hung. 43 (1991) pp.337-375. BIRŰ in press: Biró, Katalin, Szentgál-Füzilap, lithic material. (In press for Veszprém Megyei Múzeumok Évkönyve) LIPP 1876: Lipp Vilmos, A történelem előtti kor Vas megyében. VREJ (1876) 66-83. MÉSZÁROS 1980: Mészáros József, Magyarázó a Bakony hegység 20.000-es térképsorozatához. Magyar Állami Földtani Intézet Budapest (1980) pp. 3-91. REGENYE in press: Regenye, Judit, Szentgál-Füzilap. (In press for Veszprém Megyei Múzeumok Évkönyve) Figure captions Fig. 1. Szentgál-Tűzköveshegy. General map of the workshop area Fig. 2. Szentgál-Tűzköveshegy. Exploitation units found during the 1993-1994 campaign 1. 1993. 1-b trench + 1994. I. section 2. 1994. section I., II. 3. 1994. section I., III. 4. 1994. trench 1, middle of and Northern part, trench 3., section IV., trench 5. Western part. 5. 1994. 5. trench 5. Eastern part, trench 4. Fig. 3. The 'Great Trench' (pit nr. 4.) from the North

Tartalom * Krónika * Cikkek * Képek