ArcheoBudaPest 2020/02

Keywords: Prehistory, Middle Neolithic, Transdanubian Linear Pottery culture, Želiezovce group, Late Copper Age, Baden culture, Early Bronze Age, Bell Beaker culture, Nagyrév culture, Middle Bronze Age, Vatya culture, Late Bronze Age, Urn eld culture, Late Iron Age, Celtic Period, settlement, Early Bronze Age, Bell Beaker culture, cemetery, Roman Age, settlement, military town, cemetery, Middle Ages, Árpádian Age, settlement, village, oven

In 2019, following the archaeological investigations conducted during Phase I (Hajdu et al. In press), full-scale excavations were initiated across the areas designated for two additional construction phases within the former BUSZESZ industrial complex, bounded by Sorompó Street, Folyamőr Street, Bogdáni Road, and the HÉV railway line in District III of Budapest.

The excavation associated with Phase II of the residential complex was carried out between September 16, 2019, and December 17, 2020, on the Danube-facing side of the property, within the footprint of three planned buildings (Buildings 3A–C), specifically at basement level. The area also encompassed the test trenches opened during the 2017 trial excavation (Budai Balogh 2020) (Fig. 1).

In parallel, toward the end of October 2019, archaeological investigation also commenced in relation to Phase III of construction. This focused on the basement level of Building 4, situated along Folyamőr Street.

Altogether, an area of 6,856 m² was excavated across both phases, yielding a total of 2,370 archaeological features.

Phase II

The surface conditions of the excavated area were fundamentally shaped by a terraced slope descending eastward, identified near the western wing, between 102.5 and 101.5 above Baltic Sea level. East of this slope, a progressively thickening and increasingly complex stratigraphic sequence was observed beneath approximately 1.5–2 meters of modern fill. However, the large 19th-century building foundations uncovered in the central and southern third of the area had locally destroyed the medieval and Roman horizons of the site.

The earliest evidence of human occupation dates to the Middle Neolithic period (Transdanubian Linear Pottery culture, Želiezovce group, c. 5250–4900 BC). For the first time, material from the Late Copper Age Baden culture (c. 3500–3000 BC) was also successfully localized within the construction plot. A segment of the settlement comprising around 30 pits was recovered from the same general zone as the Neolithic features.

From the Early Bronze Age—similarly to Phase I— features were attributed to two distinct phases: the Bell Beaker culture and the transitional Late Nagyrév–Early Vatya period. The precise chronological classification of these features will be possible following the restoration and analysis of the associated finds. In addition to large storage and refuse pits with complex fill and dense concentrations of animal bone, a portion of a house with standing wall remains was also excavated.

In the eastern third of the area, several additional graves belonging to the Bell Beaker period’s bi-ritual cemetery were uncovered. Of particular note is a double child burial placed within a pit in the southwestern corner of the site, although its exact date remains uncertain (Fig. 2).

The settlement pits of the Middle Bronze Age Vatya culture (c. 2000–1450 BC), used for storage and refuse disposal, originated from a yellowish-grey, ashy, mixed layer located above thick, black humus. Among these, several pits stood out as so-called „structured deposits”—features containing a high concentration of large storage vessel fragments.

Traces of settlement from the earlier phase of the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture (Fig. 3) and the Celtic Period were documented only in isolated zones, concentrated primarily within the deeper eastern portions of the site, due to modern disturbances.

The principal objective of the 2017 trial excavation was to clarify the northeastern boundary of the Aquincum military town’s built-up area. This boundary could be delineated along a straight line drawn between the Akác Lane gate of the former factory complex and the southeast corner of the so-called “central hall.” The trial trenching conducted north of this line succeeded in identifying a previously unknown burial group in the northwestern corner of the property (Trench I) (Budai Balogh 2020), as well as supporting the hypothesis of another, separate cemetery area north of the “central hall,” traditionally associated with the Rómer group of graves (Trench V; Budai Balogh 2020). Accordingly, the Rómer burial area was designated as Group 1, while the burials in Trench I were classified as Group 2. A solitary grave in Trench V—initially recorded tentatively—was proposed as the possible precursor of Group 3.

In September 2019, the first graves confirming the existence of Group 3 appeared in the eastern foundation zone of the new building. Although only the western edge of the cemetery could be excavated, three distinct burial horizons can currently be identified within Group 3. The earliest graves were established during the first third of the 3rd century AD. The beginning of the second cemetery phase has not yet been precisely dated. During the 4th century, a third burial horizon, consisting predominantly of constructed graves with accompanying grave goods, was established above the earlier phases.

In the eastern strip of the excavation area—untouched by modern disturbance—a complete stonelined oven cut into the wall of a pit, its associated work pit, and the remains of several pit houses with stone ovens were documented. These features form part of a 11th–12th century Árpádian Age village.

Phase III

Within the excavated area, the eastward subsidence of the subsoil—incorporating the aforementioned terraced slope—along with the thickening and internally stratified cultural layer, could also be clearly documented along the southern and the eastern profile wall.

The earliest human occupation in this area dates to the Late Copper Age. Approximately half a dozen large, beehive-shaped pits from the Baden culture were concentrated along the eastern edge of the higher, western part of the terrain, similarly to the remains of the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture and the Celtic settlement. In contrast, Early and Middle Bronze Age land use—previously known from other areas of the site—was observable across the entire excavated surface here as well, and once again, the phenomenon of burial within settlement pits was noted.

Within the foundation footprint of Building 4, a new section of the Roman-period cemetery (Burial Group 4) was uncovered. This burial group is clearly distinct from Burial Group 2, which lies further north and is enclosed by ditches. Unfortunately, a significant portion of Burial Group 4 was destroyed by the construction of a large cellar beneath the planned building. The cemetery as a whole was established during the 4th century AD, but based on the stratigraphic position, orientation, grave type, and sparse associated finds, three distinct burial phases could be identified. In the 1st period, the vast majority of the graves were simple inhumations without grave goods. During the 2nd period, constructed brick graves became dominant, often containing grave goods (Fig. 4). In the 3rd period, simpler inhumation graves again became more common, often poor in artifacts (Fig. 5).

Remains of ovens associated with the Árpádian Age settlement had already been revealed during the 2017 trial excavation. In addition to those previously identified features, further details emerged here, including a cluster of large, sunken ovens documented on the less-disturbed lag surfaces.

Contributors: Gábor Szilas (lead archaeologist), Viktória Kisjuhász (archaeologist), Flóra Lamm (archaeologist), Tibor Budai Balogh (archaeologist), Adrienn Papp (archaeologist), Nóra Szabó (archaeologist), Boglárka Mészáros (archaeologist), Alfred Falchetto (archaeological field technician), Júlia Duschanek (archaeological field technician), Zsófia Kelemen (archaeological field technician), Enikő Lajtár (archaeological field technician), Dániel Langer (archaeological field technician), Nikolett Schmidt (archaeological field technician), Balázs Szabó (archaeological field technician), Tícia Tóbel-Domonkos (archaeological field technician), Mária Vilmánszki (archaeological field technician), Levente Virágh (archaeological field technician), Tamás Lajtos (archaeological illustrator), Orsolya Kangyal (archaeological illustrator), István Fábián (surveyor), Tibor Kovács (surveyor), Sándor Imre-Horváth (surveyor), Gergő Juhász (surveyor, Lowpoly 360 Ltd.), László Rupnik. Lajos Sándor (metal detector survey, Sandex Ltd).

Tibor Budai Balogh – Gábor Szilas