Chronological issues, external relations, costume. The revaluation of costume of Jutas grave 196 in the light of pannonian lombard age female burials

Rácz Rita / Rita Rácz

Hadak útján. A népvándorláskor kutatóinak XXIX. konferenciája. Budapest, 2019. november 15–16. 29th Conference of scholars on the Migration Period. November 15–16, 2019, Budapest

MŐK Kiadványok 4.1 (2022) 243–276

DOI 10.55722/Arpad.Kiad.2021.4.1_14

 

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A tanulmányban a jutasi avar kori temető 196. sírjában eltemetett fiatal nő viseletének elemeit mutatom be. Ismertetem a sír helyzetét a temetőben, a halott mellé helyezett egyéb mellékleteket. Részletesen a viseleti elemeit tárgyalom: a gyöngynyakláncot, a mellkasán lévő ezüsttűt és S­fibulát, emellett a két vállon elhelyezkedő kengyelfibulát. A leletek ismertetése után a viseleti modell értékelésére térek ki a Közép–Duna­vidéki langobard, az itáliai és az avar kori viselet tükrében.

Kulcsszavak: langobard kori női viselet, peplos, I. állatstílus, polikróm állatstílus, S­fibulák, Krím, Skandinávia, 5. századi ötvösművészet, avar kori Kárpát­medence

 

The topic of my research is the revaluation and the analysis of the costume elements and the type of clothing in the Avar age cemetery Jutas (Veszprém country) Grave 196. The study details the elements of the young woman’s costume: the bead necklace, the silver needle, the S-type brooch as well as the bow brooches. The Grave 196 was located in the north-eastern part of the cemetery. According to the analysis of Nándor Fettich the burial fit within a row of graves and could be connected chronologically to the cemetery. The W–E oriented grave’s dimensions are typical in the Lombard age in the Middle Danube region: 3.6 m deep, 2 m long and 1.8 m wide. The buried woman wore a necklace with 23 monochrome opaque glass beads and 3 gold beads around her neck, a silver pin and an S-shaped brooch type Várpalota 19. on her chest and two bow brooches on her shoulders. Most of the finds (Várpalota 19. type S-brooch, silver pin and gold beads) can be dated to the second half and to end of the 6th century and to the beginning of the 7th century. One of the most striking finds is the gilded silver bow brooch pair. Its exact parallel is unknown in the Carpathian Basin, Western Europe, Italy and Scandinavia. The combination of the various goldsmith techniques, cloisonné and en cabochone gemstone inlays, and the use of wedge engraving techniques allude to the very colourful 5th century polychrome style. In contrast to 5th century goldsmiths, in the 6th century, as can be seen on the lombard bow brooches, almost only wedge-ornamentation was used. They often have the same motif. Due to the local interpretation of the animal style used by the Germanic peoples of the Middle Danube region (masks with gemstone inlays) and some motifs (crescent-shaped gemstone inlay, presence of inlays, decoration of the bow) the bow brooch is probably a local product. Its stylistic features do not help date, as most of the features date back to the late 5th century. The brooch could have been produced at any time during the 6th century, but given that it is a heavily worn (buttons, end of the foot plate) and repeatedly repaired (replacing bows and gemstones), it is not excluded that it was worn at the end of the 6th century. Not just the bow brooches, but type of wearing them (bow brooches on shoulders, small brooch on the chest) and the pin (on the chest) is unique in Pannonia in this era. An interesting aspect of the costume reconstruction of the Jutas Grave 196 that it is unlikely that the women to be covered her dress with bow brooches with other one, more probable that would rather wear a cloak with or without sleeves. In the eastern part of the Carpathian Basin, in the Tisza-Maros-Körös region, chronologically and regionally the closest parallel of a costume was found in 2014. An excavation at Hódmezővásárhely (Csongrád country) 437, Kutasi-dűlő V site revealed an early Avar cemetery from the 7th century. In the grave 11 was an adult woman with two bow brooches on her shoulders. The late survival of the 5th century “peplos” parallel to the early Avar period of the Carpathian Basin also can be observed in the 7th century in the Crimean Goth cemeteries. From the point of view of grave goods and costume elements in Hódmezővásárhely-Kutasi dűlő has more Avar features (earrings with star pendant, hand-crafted vessel) with some Germanic elements (wild boar tusk), but according to anthropological observations a tall, robust skeleton is typical German characteristic. The grave goods of a woman buried in a Jutas Grave 196 are typical of the Lombard era of the Carpathian Basin, such as the sword, the single-sided bone-comb and the jug with spout, although the latter appears in the early Avar period. Parallels of the costume elements (S-shaped brooch, silver pin, gold beads) are also found in the Lombard cemeteries, as well as in the 6th century Germanic material (some features of bow brooches). The model with two bow brooches on shoulders, although in two different regions but in similar cultural environment could be find. These are early Avar age cemeteries where the presence of Germanic finds can be grasped. During this period, the diversity (inhabitants, new arrivals) and formation of early Avar society was characterized by interactions from different directions (late antique, Merovingian, steppe, Byzantine). It is not surprising that the previously distinctive costume pattern is also being trans-formed, and new types of clothing and innovations may appear. In terms of cultural influences, the role of the Crimea is questionable, where the costume model was found at the same time as the Carpathian Basin.

Keywords: lombard age female costumes, peplos, animal style, polychrome animal style, S-type brooch, Crimea, Scandinavia, goldsmith techniques of the 5th century, Avar period of the Carpathian Basin