Remains of an Avar-age settlement at the Hódmezővásárhely-Kopáncs I,
Olasz-tanya archaeological site (Csongrád County, Hungary). Archaeological
and scientific assessement of a semi-subterranean feature
Herendi Orsolya – Pető Ákos
Hadak útján. A népvándorláskor fiatal kutatóinak XXIV. konferenciája. Esztergom, 2014. november 4–6. Conference of young scholars on the Migration Period. November 4–6, 2014, Esztergom
MŐT Kiadványok 3.1 (2015) 831–857
DOI 10.55722/Arpad.Kiad.2015.3.1_31
Hódmezővásárhely délnyugati, kopáncsi határrészében, a 47-es számú főúttól 200 méterrel délkeletre 2009 őszén került elő – a korábban terepbejárás során már lokalizált – Hódmezővásárhely-Kopáncs I., Olasz-tanya lelőhely. Jelen tanulmányunkban a lelőhely avar kori településobjektumait, a belőlük előkerült leletanyagot és a 23/23. épületobjektum padló-anyagán elvégzett természettudományos vizsgálatok közül a térhasználat-elemzés témakörébe tartozó foszfortartalom, valamint a fitolitelemzés eredményeit mutatjuk be. Eredményeinket összevetjük a korábban, avar kori lelőhelyekre vonatkozóan elvégzett táj- és környezethaszná-lati elemzésekkel (is).
Kulcsszavak: Hódmezővásárhely, késő avar kor, háztartásrégészet, fitolitelemzés, geoarchaeológia
The Hódmezővásárhely-Kopáncs I, Olasz-tanya archaeological site is located southwest of the town Hódmezővásárhely, approximately 200 meters southwest of the highway 47. The archaeo-logical site is situated on an elevated sand ridge near the onetime streamlet Gyúló, in the area called Nagysziget. The terrain is characterized by sand ridges surrounded with periodically over-flooded areas.
The present case study offers an introduction to the archaeological examination of the Avar-age finds from this multi-period settlement. As an addition, the activity area analysis of the semi-subterranean feature Nr. 23/23 is presented. Semi-subterranean or sunken houses were charac-teristic structures of the Late Avar period. For the activity area analysis, nineteen floor samples were subjected to phosphorus (Ptotal) and phytolith analysis.
The geoarchaeological analysis revealed that there had been no significant and differentiated organic matter input to the inner space of the feature. This excludes the storage of materials with high organic matter content (e.g. animal dung, ash). The average level of total phosphorus con-tent and its even distribution may be in correlation with the “averageˮ or “domesticˮ functions of the feature. This is also supported by other finds such as a spindle whorl and cooking utensils (e.g. baking bell and pot fragments).
The presence of cereal husk (e.g. glumes, paleae, lemmae) related phytolith morphotypes, such as elongate dendritic LC, raises the possibility that cereals were either processed or cereal cleaning (by)products had been deposited within the inner space of the feature. The appearance of bulliform cell morphotypes may be in relation with the construction materials of the build-ing, namely, they may be interpreted as the remains of roofing materials (e.g. reed) or elements of furnishing.
