Residential building construction
Site ID: 72911
Keywords: Roman Age, settlement, stray finds, Middle Ages, stray finds
Between September 15 and October 7, 2020, archaeological monitoring was carried out during mechanical earthworks related to residential construction. Stray medieval and Roman-period building debris, pottery sherds, and a ditch—possibly of Roman origin and undated—were observed within the foundation trenches of two semi-detached buildings (each 18×14 m in size) as well as in the service trench for the internal access road between the plots at 8 and 10 Kalászi Lane.
Following the closure and demolition of the former Flax and Weaving Industrial Plant, the factory’s internal road was renamed Kalászi Lane. The area was subdivided and built over with detached and multi-unit residential buildings. Most of the Kalászi, Nagyvárad, and Pozsonyi Streets, as well as the Kalászi Lane frontage, were developed. A 30×129 m undeveloped strip remained enclosed by rear fences and was divided into four parcels, of which two were under construction. (Fig. 1) The house blocks were centered within 35×35 m building plots, with strip foundations covering about 25% of each lot. Foundation trenches were 80 cm wide and excavated to a depth of 100–120 cm from the leveling base at 103.80 a.B.S.l..
On the 8/C plot, beneath the debris layer left after demolition, a 50–80 cm thick mixed fill composed of rubble was present. The foundations of the former industrial buildings, their removals, and earlier utility trenches had disturbed the soil layers to the full depth of the foundation trenches. As a result of this heavy disturbance, the original stratigraphy had largely been destroyed, and pre-industrial soil surfaces could only be identified sporadically. The humic topsoil may have been removed during pre-construction leveling. However, the sandy basal transition zone (A) survived in 50 cm thickness in Trenches II, III, and IV on the western side of the building. Based on soil layer levels, the terrain likely sloped gently northward, although no clear topographical features were noted. Archaeological features were documented in Trenches II, IV, V, and VI. (Fig. 2)
At the southern end of Trench II, two small, unglazed, black ceramic sherds—possibly medieval—were found embedded in silty subsoil.
At the eastern end of Trench IV, Roman tegula fragments were recovered from the top and eastern side of a modern pit filled with sandy clay. A slag- and metal-scrap-stained band was visible around the pit, likely associated with industrial leveling/fill. Soil in the area was discolored by contamination, affecting layer (F).
In the middle section of Trench V, an inverted trapezoidal ditch with east–west alignment appeared in profile. No finds were recovered from it. Layer (F) continued uninterrupted above the feature, which may reflect the position of the archaeological ground level.
Layer (F) was overlain by a greyish-pink, gravelly, cemented coarse sandy surface resembling 19th-century road surfacing. A few small tegula fragments were also found in the overlying mixed leveling fill. Near the south end of the trench, a 60 cm deep, 1.60 m long pit contained a large quantity of Roman tegula fragments, though the feature itself was not archaeological in nature.
At the eastern end of Trench VI, a deeper pit of similar characteristics was recorded. Its fill contained not only tegula but also fragments of stone and concrete.
On the 10/A plot, natural soil layers were no longer preserved in the western half of the future building.
In Trench VII, 90 cm of modern fill overlay layer (F), previously documented on the adjacent plot. A hardened, cemented sandy bench appeared just 10–20 cm above the trench floor, with a gently undulating surface. This was likely a natural formation, traceable westward until disturbed by modern activity. A few tegula fragments and a piece of burned red daub were observed in layers (E) and (F).
In Trench VIII, a 50 cm wide, modern foundation constructed from limestone blocks was uncovered, extending to the base of the trench. On its eastern side, within the section wall, cemented sand clumped into larger blocks that in two or three layers resembled masonry (H). Yellowish-grey sand filled the spaces between the blocks. A few Roman ceramic sherds were recovered during trench cleaning, one of which was embedded in the cemented sandy bench.
The soil stratigraphy across the construction site had been severely damaged by previous modern construction and demolition. Usable stratigraphy survived only on the eastern portions of the parcels, despite the fact that earlier buildings had also stood there. Following multiple phases of fill accumulation, the last premodern surface likely corresponded roughly to the current ground level. Layer (F), recorded at 103.00–103.30 a.B.S.l. during the excavation of Trench SE–7, appears to have been the former topsoil horizon.
No archaeological features could be conclusively linked to the Roman building debris. Since no signs of extensive filling were observed from the time of the factory’s construction, it is unlikely that the debris was introduced as fill. Tegula fragments were also embedded in the natural (F) layer on the 10/A plot.
It is most probable that the Roman construction debris originated from a nearby building and was redeposited into the modern strata during leveling. Nearly the entire surrounding area has since been developed (with the exception of two parcels), but no archaeological monitoring was conducted during earlier construction phases, making further data recovery from the site unlikely.
Contributors: Gábor Gyenes (archaeological field technician)
Gábor Gyenes