Transformations in the Carpathian Basin around 1600 B.C

23 Pages·1.62 MB·English

by  Fischl K.P., Kiss V., Kulcsár G., Szeverényi V.

Tagungen des
Landesmuseums für Vorgeschichte Halle
Band 9 | 2013
16oo – Kultureller Umbruch im
Schatten des Thera-Ausbruchs?
16oo – Cultural change in
the shadow of the Thera-Eruption?
4. Mitteldeutscher Archäologentag vom
14. bis 16. Oktober 2o11 in Halle (Saale)
4 Archaeological Conference of Central Germany
th
October 14–16, 2o11 in Halle (Saale)
Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt
landesmuseum für vorgeschichte
herausgegeben von
Harald Meller,
François Bertemes,
Hans-Rudolf Bork
und Roberto Risch

Halle (Saale)
2o13
Die Beiträge dieses Bandes wurden einem Peer-Review-Verfahren unterzogen.
Die Gutachtertätigkeit übernahmen folgende Fachkollegen: Prof. Dr. François Bertemes,
Prof. Dr. Olaf Bubenzer, Prof. Dr. Helga Bumke, Prof. Dr. Robert Chapman, Prof. Dr. Raf-
faello Cioni, Prof. Dr. Janusz Czebreszuk, Dr. Stefan Dreibrodt, Prof. Dr. Peter Ettel,
Prof. Dr. Andreas Furtwängler, Prof. Dr. Svend Hansen, Dr. Karl-Uwe Heußner,
Dr. Reinhard Jung, Dr. Flemming Kaul, Dr. Mechthild Klamm, Prof. Dr. Margarita Primas,
Prof. Dr. Hans Ulrich Schmincke, Dr. Ralf Schwarz, Prof. Dr. Frank Sirocko,
Prof. Dr. Ingmar Unkel, Prof. Dr. Dietrich Wildung, Dr. Bernd Zich.
Bibliografische Information Der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen
Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet
über http://portal.dnb.de abrufbar.
isbn 978-3-9445o7-oo-2
issn 1867-44o2
Wissenschaftliche Redaktion Kathrin Legler, Manuela Schwarz, Wolfgang Schwarz, Anna Swieder
Redaktion und Übersetzung Erika Hanning, Louis D. Nebelsick, Marion Page
der englischen Texte
Organisation und Korrespondenz Anna Swieder
Technische Bearbeitung Thomas Blankenburg, Nora Seeländer, Sylvia Gili Suriñach, Mario Wiegmann

Für den Inhalt der Arbeiten sind die Autoren eigenverantwortlich.
© by Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt – Landesmuseum für
Vorgeschichte Halle (Saale). Das Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich
geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist
ohne Zustimmung des Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt
unzulässig. Dies gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen, Übersetzungen, Mikroverfil-
mungen sowie die Einspeicherung und Verarbeitung in elektronischen Systemen.
Papier alterungsbeständig nach din/iso 97o6
Satzschrift FF Celeste, News Gothic
Konzept und Gestaltung Carolyn Steinbeck • Berlin
Layout, Satz und Produktion Nora Seeländer
Druck und Bindung Salzland Druck GmbH & Co. KG
Inhalt / Contents
9 Vorwort der Herausgeber / Preface of the editors
Sektion Naturwissenschaften/Section sciences
19 Hans-Rudolf Bork und Stefan Dreibrodt
Vulkanische Extremereignisse in der Nacheiszeit und ihre Folgen für den Menschen und seine
Umwelt in Mitteleuropa
23 Hartmut Leser
Paläo-Umweltgeschichte und Geomorphologie: Möglichkeiten eines geowissenschaftlichen
Forschungsansatzes
37 Walter L. Friedrich
The Minoan Eruption of Santorini around 1613 B. C. and its consequences
49 Clive Oppenheimer
Nature and impacts of the Minoan Eruption of Santorini
59 Walter Kutschera
Dating of the Thera/Santorini volcanic eruption
65 Mike Baillie
Radical thinking on the Thera debate
77 Christoph Siart and Bernhard Eitel
Santorini tephra on Crete: a mineralogical record of Bronze Age environmental change
89 André Billamboz
Der Standpunkt der Dendroarchäologie zu den Auswirkungen der Thera-Eruption nördlich
der Alpen
101 Gernot Patzelt
Bergstürze im 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr. im Ostalpenraum
109 Leo Rothacker and Frank Sirocko
Evaluation of flood events in three Eifel maar sediment records during the 16th century B. C.
117 Giovanni Orsi, Raffaello Cioni and Valeria Di Renzo
The Campanian Plain during the Bronze Age: development of volcanism and impact of the
Vesuvius Avellino eruption in a densely populated area
Sektion Archäologie/Section archaeology
137 Anna Michailidou
The final settlement at Akrotiri on Thera: the buildings, the people, and the eruption
149 Annette Højen Sørensen, Walter L. Friedrich, Samson Katsipis and Kirsten Molly Søholm
Miniatures of meaning – interdisciplinary approaches to the miniature frescos from the west
house at Akrotiri on Thera
163 Tobias Neuser
Willkommen sei die Ordnung, denn das Chaos hat versagt. Die Auswirkungen des Vulkanaus-
bruchs von Akrotiri auf das Selbstverständnis ägäischer Eliten
177 Wolf-Dietrich Niemeier
Die Auswirkungen der Thera-Eruption im ägäischen Raum
191 François Bertemes
Tav˛san Adası. Das Thera-Event und seine Auswirkung auf das minoische Kommunikations-
netzwerk
211 Katharina Pruckner
The so-called »Middle Helladic Tradition« in Aegean pottery production of 16oo B. C.
221 Joachim Friedrich Quack
Gibt es in Ägypten schriftliche Quellen zum Thera-Ausbruch?
235 Reinhard Jung
The time around 16oo B. C. in Southern Italy: new powers, new contacts and new conflicts
253 Halinka Di Lorenzo, Mauro Antonio Di Vito, Pierfrancesco Talamo, Jim Bishop, Nicola Castaldo,
Sandro de Vita, Rosella Nave and Marco Pacciarelli
The impact of the Pomici di Avellino Plinian eruption of Vesuvius on Early and Middle Bronze
Age human settlement in Campania (Southern Italy)
267 A lessandro Vanzetti
16oo? The rise of the Terramara system (Northern Italy)
283 Vicente Lull, Rafael Micó, Cristina Rihuete Herrada and Roberto Risch
Political collapse and social change at the end of El Argar
303 Mauro S. Hernández Pérez, Francisco Javier Jover Maestre and Juan Antonio López Padilla
The social and political situation between 175o and 15oo cal. B. C. in the central Spanish
Mediterranean: an archaeological overview
315 Francisco Javier Abarquero Moras, Antonio Blanco-González, Ángel Esparza Arroyo and
José A. Rodríguez Marcos
The Central Iberian Meseta at the time of the Thera-Eruption: an overview
327 Carola Metzner-Nebelsick
Gedanken zur Frage des kulturellen Wandels in der Zeit um 16oo v. Chr.
in Nordwest-Rumänien und Nordost-Ungarn
355 Klára P. Fischl, Viktória Kiss, Gabriella Kulcsár and Vajk Szeverényi
Transformations in the Carpathian Basin around 16oo B. C.
373 Jozef Bátora
The settlement structure problem and the end of fortified settlements from the final period
of Early Bronze Age in Slovakia
387 Jaroslav Peška
Das Besiedlungsbild in der Blütezeit der Frühbronzezeit im Gebiet des mittleren Donauraumes
411 Alexandra Krenn-Leeb
Sozialer Wandel um 16oo v. Chr. in Österreich
435 Margarita Primas
Settlement and interregional connections in the Central and Eastern Alps
443 Florian Innerhofer
Von der frühen zur mittleren Bronzezeit in Süddeutschland – Wandel oder Zäsur?
453 Michal Ernée
Bernstein und der Zusammenbruch der klassischen Aunjetitzer Kultur in Böhmen
469 Bernd Zich
Aunjetitz – Nebra – Sögel. Die Zeit um 16oo v. Chr. im westlichen Mitteldeutschland
493 Harald Meller
Der Hortfund von Nebra im Spiegel frühbronzezeitlicher Deponierungssitten
527 Johannes Müller
16oo B. C. – Social topographies and the development of Early Bronze Age societies in
Central Europe
539 Anna Swieder
Carpathian Basin, Oder, Baltic Sea. The role of the Oder River as communication corridor
at the end of the Early and the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age
551 Juliane Filipp
Southern Scandinavia around 16oo B. C. Signs of mobility, trade, and communication –
the scimitars from Rørby (Denmark)
567 José Gomez de Soto
The Bronze Age in Atlantic France around 16oo B. C.
577 Timothy Darvill
Dark sides of the moon: life, death, ritual, and regional identity in Britain ca. 16oo B. C.
Abschlussdiskussion/Final discussion
597 Roberto Risch und Harald Meller
Wandel und Kontinuität in Europa und im Mittelmeerraum um 16oo v. Chr.
Transformations in the carpathian Basin around 1600 B. c.
Klára P. fischl, Viktória Kiss, gabriella Kulcsár and Vajk szeverényi
Zusammenfassung Summary
Um die Zeit des Vulkanausbruchs von Thera fanden wichtige Around the time of the Thera eruption important transforma-
Veränderungen im Karpatenbecken statt. Diese sogenannte tions occurred in the Carpathian Basin. This is the so-called
Koszider Epoche korrespondiert mit der letzten Phase der Koszider Period, which corresponds to the last phase of the
mittleren Bronzezeit in der ungarischen Terminologie und Middle Bronze Age (MBA) in the Hungarian terminology and
stellt den Übergang zur späten Bronzezeit dar. Die Untersu- represents a transition to the Late Bronze Age. The assess-
chung dieser Epoche hat sich bisher als kontrovers erwiesen ment of the period has been controversial among both Hun-
– sowohl unter ungarischen als auch mitteleuropäischen Wis- garian and central European scholars. In the past few years
senschaftlern. Erst in den letzten Jahren ist diese Epoche nicht this period has been interpreted not as a short »horizon« con-
mehr als kurzer Zeitraum, mit der ein bestimmtes histori- nected to a specific historical event, but as a longer period
sches Ereignis verbunden werden kann, interpretiert worden. that represented the heyday of the MBA in the Carpathian
Vielmehr sieht man sie nun als eine länger dauernde Periode Basin, which ended with significant transformations. The
an, welche die Blütezeit der mittleren Bronzezeit im Karpa- main elements of this transformation, however, are still un-
tenbecken markiert und die mit einschneidenden Verände- clear. Our aim is to investigate this transformation through
rungen endet. the comparison of several aspects of three subsequent phases
Die Hauptelemente dieses Wandels sind allerdings noch and to amend the previously offered interpretations of the
unklar. Unser Ziel ist es, den Wandel durch den Vergleich ver- changes with a few new considerations.
schiedener Aspekte dreier aufeinanderfolgender Phasen zu
untersuchen. Am Ende sollen einige neue Erwägungen ste-
hen, die die bisherigen Interpretationen dieser Veränderun-
gen erweitern können.
Introduction In the past few years this period has been interpreted not
as a short »horizon« connected to a specific historical event,
Around the time of the Thera eruption important transfor- but as a longer period that represented the heyday of the
mations occurred in the Carpathian Basin, today covering MBA in the Carpathian Basin, which ended with significant
Hungary and parts of Austria, Slovakia, the Ukraine, Roma- transformations (Bóna 1992; Bóna 1992a). The main ele-
nia, Serbia and Croatia (Fig. 1). This is the so-called Koszider ments of this transformation, however, are still unclear. Our
Period, which corresponds to the last phase of the Middle aim below is to investigate this transformation through the
Bronze Age (MBA) according to the Hungarian terminology, comparison of several aspects of three subsequent phases
and represents a transition to the Late Bronze Age (LBA). – the classic phase of the MBA (Reinecke Bronzezeit [here-
The assessment of the period has been controversial among after: RB] A2b–c; ca. 18oo–16oo B. C.), its final phase, the
both Hungarian and central European scholars. Koszider Period (RB B; ca. 16oo–15oo/145o B. C.) and the
The eponymous bronze hoards that had been found in beginning of the LBA, the classic Tumulus Grave Period
the uppermost layers of the tell settlement of Dunaújváros- (RB C1–C2; ca. 15oo/145o–13oo B. C.) – and to amend the
Kosziderpadlás were published by A. Mozsolics and I. Bóna previously offered interpretations of the changes with a few
in the 195os together with other hoards of similar composi- new considerations.
tion. The burial of the hoards – based on the traditional con-
cept of culture and then dated to 135o B. C. – was connected
to the attack of the mobile pastoralist warriors of the The Early and Middle Bronze Age background
»Tumulus Culture« from southern Germany, whose appear-
ance brought an end to the flourishing »Tell Cultures« of the At the beginning of the Early Bronze Age (EBA) in Hungary
Danube and Tisza regions1. Accordingly, the Koszider (28oo/27oo–26oo/25oo B. C.) ceramic styles delineate com-
Period was considered a short, war-ridden and turbulent munication networks covering large areas within the whole
phase. Carpathian Basin with two main groups characterized by
1 Mozsolics 1957; Bóna 1958; Mozsolics 1967.
Tagungen des Landesmuseums für VorgeschichTe haLLe • Band 9 • 2013
356 KLára P. fischL, ViKTória Kiss, gaBrieLLa KuLcsár, VajK szeVerényi
Northwestern Carpathians Northeastern Carpathians
E
a
s
te
rn
Apuseni Ca
Mountains rp
a
th
ia
n
s
Southern Carpathians
100 km
Fig. 1 The Carpathian Basin with modern state borders and major rivers and mountains.
the Makó-Kosihy-Čaka and Late Vučedol/Somogyvár- One of the major features of the period is the formation of
Vinkovci ceramic styles2. With a few exceptions, the settle- tell settlements that were inhabited for many centuries
ment pattern of this phase indicates little social stratifi- along the Danube and Tisza rivers and their tributaries5.
cation, with not much differentiation between the larger These settlements imply increased sedentism and intensive
centres and the smaller or larger open settlements. agriculture on the one hand, and a new attitude towards ter-
In the second half of the EBA (25oo/24oo–2ooo/19oo ritoriality, the emergence of a new relationship with the
B. C.), we can observe a transformation that probably grew past, traditions and ancestors, and of new rituals – primarily
out of the contact of a southern, Balkan and a northwestern that of deliberate house burning6 – on the other.
and central European (Bell Beaker) network within the Car- It is important to note, however, that within the distri-
pathian Basin; the exact process, however, still remains un- bution area of the so-called »Tell Cultures« tell settlements
known. In place of – and partly beside – the previous two themselves are not present everywhere. According to
large stylistic units, new ones covering smaller areas appear P. Sümegi’s results, on the macro level, tells emerged in areas
along the Danube and to the east, and develop continuously with a sub-Mediterranean climate and an alluvial environ-
into the MBA (RB A2; from 2ooo/19oo B. C.) (Fig. 2)3. West ment with mosaic patterning (Sümegi/Bodor 2ooo). For
of this region we encounter the Transdanubian Encrusted example, in the case of the sites characterized by Hatvan
Ware in the MBA (Kiss 2oo3; Kiss 2o12). Even more to the style material it is striking that tells characteristically do not
west communities belonged to the wider Aunjetitz circle occur north of the Pannonian forest steppe vegetation zone
(Gáta/Wieselburg, Unterwölbling) and the southeast Alpine (Fig. 3). This indicates that tell settlements are important,
regional groups4. All this indicates the emergence of smaller but not exclusive features of the cultural and social units of
groups that communicated their identities with new, increas- the period. The often fortified tells along the Danube and to
ingly distinct ceramic styles. the east, and the fortified hilltop settlements in the central
2 Bóna 1992; Kulcsár 2oo9; Reményi 2oo9. 4 Bóna 1975; Neugebauer 1994; Krenn-Leeb 6 S tevanović 1997; Chapman 1999; Szeverényi
3 Hatvan, Maros, Vatin/Vattina, Vatya, 2oo6. 2oo4.
Füzesabony, Gyulavarsánd styles: Bóna 5 Sherratt 1993; Gogâltan 2oo2; O’Shea 2o11.
1975; Bóna 1992.
Tagungen des Landesmuseums für VorgeschichTe haLLe • Band 9 • 2013
TransformaTions in The carPaThian Basin around 1600 B. c. 357
100 km
Fig. 2 Distribution of Middle Bronze Age (MBA) ceramic styles in the Carpathian Basin.
part of Transdanubia – where tells are missing – are usually label Koszider metallurgy (Fig. 5). In Austria and Germany,
interpreted as chiefly centres, surrounded by larger single the emergence of this new type of jewellery was connected
layer settlements and smaller satellite settlements. It to the appearance of elements from the Carpathian Basin. In
remains debated whether this three-level settlement hier- Hungary, however, the new metal types were connected to
archy, probably integrating a few thousand individuals, can the appearance of a new ceramic style that was thought to
be taken to indicate the presence of chiefdom type polities in arrive from the western part of central Europe through the
the area7. migration of the »Tumulus Grave Culture«8. The best expla-
nation for this paradigm change that can be observed in a
number of regions may be the emergence of a new commu-
Typochronology and absolute dates nication network throughout most of central Europe, whose
point of origin is still unknown, perhaps can never be
One of the most salient phenomena in the youngest layers of known, or should be considered »multi-centred«.
tell settlements is that the borders between previously more Within the framework of the radiocarbon-based high
distinct pottery styles become blurred, and generally pot- chronology, the MBA in Hungary is placed between ca. 2ooo
tery becomes more uniform. There are a number of possible B. C. and 15oo B. C. Within this period the date of the end
explanations for this: perhaps the different local identities phase of the MBA, the Koszider Period (RB A2c–RB B)
communicated through distinct ceramic styles became more remains somewhat uncertain. The first – and up till this day
open and inclusive, causing a change in stylistic features the larg est – series of radiocarbon dates scatter between
and the gradual dissolution of differences. Another possible 18oo B. C. and 14oo B. C., with most of them around 17oo–
reason is the increase of the intensity of contacts between 15oo B. C. (Raczky et al. 1992). These were, however, pre-
MBA communities, which may be connected to the wid- AMS dates with large standard deviations, and beyond the
ening of regional and interregional exchange networks name of the site neither their proper context nor the material
through which raw materials and exotic items were ac- they were associated with were published (Fig. 6). New
quired. Another general characteristic of the period is the radiocarbon measurements from the period (e. g. from
lavish and varied decoration on pottery observed in every Mošorin-Feudvar, Nagyrozvágy-Pap-domb, Százhalombatta-
local style (Fig. 4). Földvár, Včelince)9 reinforce this date, although some dates
In this period new jewellery, weapon and tool types make from apparently Koszider Period contexts seem to be earlier
their appearance that are summed up by research under the than expected (ca. 18oo–16oo B. C.), which warns us that we
7 Sherratt 1987; Sherratt 1993; Sherratt 1994; 8 Mozsolics 1957; Bóna 1958; Hänsel 1968; 9 Görsdorf 1992; Roeder 1992; Görsdorf et al.
Kristiansen 1998; Duffy 2o1o; Earle/Kris- Bóna 1992a; see also Benkovsky-Pivovarová 2oo4; Koós 2oo9; Koós 2o1o; Uhnér 2o1o.
tiansen 2o1o. 1996; David 2oo2; Blischke 2oo2.
Tagungen des Landesmuseums für VorgeschichTe haLLe • Band 9 • 2013
358 KLára P. fischL, ViKTória Kiss, gaBrieLLa KuLcsár, VajK szeVerényi
6
3
5
3
5
4
1
3
2
100 km
Fig. 3 Correlation between tell settlements (o) and other sites (o) characte- pean forest region; 4 Balkan oak forest region; 5 Central European oak
rized by Hatvan style material and the vegetation zones of the Carpathian forest region; 6 Beech and coniferous forest; Northern distribution
Basin. 1 Pannonian forest steppe region; 2 Submediterranean oak forest of Tilia tomantosa (silver lime).
region; 3 Mixed zone between the Submediterranean and Central Euro-
may have to rethink solely typology-based chronologies in above-mentioned EBA antecedents. However, a number of
the future. There are even less dates from Tumulus Grave important transformations did occur, which indicate signifi-
Period contexts from Hungary. An Early Tumulus Grave cant social and economic changes.
Period burial at Nagydém-Középrépáspuszta (Grave 1A) Based on the available data, during the MBA the extent of
yielded similar dates (Fig. 6; Ilon 1998–1999; Ilon 2oo5). tell settlements increased at many sites, and often the ditch
Dates from the younger Tumulus Grave periods settlement surrounding the settlement was filled up and its area was
from Német bánya start around 14oo B. C., thus these are built over (Fig. 7; e. g. at Ároktő, Carei, Bakonszeg, Nižná
beyond the scope of this study (Ilon 1996). Myšľa, Polgár-Kiscsőszhalom, Sălacea)10. Life on numerous
According to new radiocarbon dates from southern Ger- tell settlements ended already before the Koszider Period
many, early Tumulus Grave assemblages, which correspond (e. g. Bölcske, Nagykőrös, Gomba), while others continued to
to the Koszider Period in Hungary, were dated after Bayesian be occupied in the Koszider Period11, or rarely even into the
analysis to ca. 155o–145o B. C. The south German RB C1–C2 Late Bronze Age (e. g. Včelince, Nižná Myšľa, Pecica). At the
phase (ca. 145o–14oo B. C. and 14oo–13oo B. C.; Müller/ same time, a few tell or tell-like settlements (e. g. Solymár,
Lohrke 2oo9) corresponds to the first phase of the LBA, the Alpár, Mende) or »horizontal« settlements (Buják, Nagyroz-
classic Tumulus Grave Period in Hungary. vágy) were founded in the Koszider Period12.
It is a general problem in the research on the central part
of the Carpathian Basin that sites beyond the above-men-
Settlement and subsistence patterns tioned, well-known tell settlements are hardly known or
have been excavated. The almost complete lack of proper
During the MBA the settlement structure of the polities in radiocarbon dates also warns us to refrain from the analysis
the Carpathian Basin developed continuously from the of the number and extent of settlements according to chron-
1o Sz. Máthé 1988; Sz. Máthé 1992; Bóna 1992; 11 E.g. Tószeg D, Jászdózsa 1–3, Százhalombatta 12 Bóna 1992; Koós 2oo3; Reményi 2oo5; Tár-

Németi/Molnár 2oo2, 16–17; Olexa 2oo3, 1–3, Košice-Barca, Dunaújváros-Kosziderpad- noki 2o1o.
Tab. V; Dani et al. 2oo3, 94–96; Molnár/ lás 1–2, Baracs 1–2/3, Tiszafüred, Túrkeve.
Imecs 2oo6, 48; 53; P. Fischl 2oo6; P. Fischl
2o12; Duffy 2o1o.
Tagungen des Landesmuseums für VorgeschichTe haLLe • Band 9 • 2013
TransformaTions in The carPaThian Basin around 1600 B. c. 359
3
1 2 4 5
Fig. 4 Koszider style pottery. 1 Túrkeve-Terehalom; 2 Csanytelek; 3–4 Buják; 5 Százhalombatta-Földvár.
ological phases, especially in the case of field surveys. Thus, vár, Route 61, Site 1 a 1,5 ha large area was excavated where
only tendencies can be delineated in a few better studied 3o features belonged to the Kisapostag period, while 18o to
microregions in Hungary. the Encrusted Ware period (Kiss/Somogyi 2oo4). At the
According to the results of systematic surveys in Békés same time, of the 9 fortified hilltop sites known from the
County (SE Hungary), in the Körös River region the size of a classical MBA phase only six were still inhabited in the Ko-
few settlements increased in the MBA Gyulavarsánd (Oto- szider Period15.
mani II) period, compared to the Ottomány (Otomani I) An opposite dynamic can be observed in the Borsod Plain
period at the end of the EBA. At the same time the number of (northeast Hungary), where the MBA settlement network
sites increased by 24 %13. The situation could be examined with Füzesabony style material (RB A2) was much sparser
in more detail in the Eriu Valley and the Carei Plain (NW than the precedent network characterized with Hatvan style
Romania), where the number of settlements increased signif- material (RB A1: P. Fischl/Rebenda 2o1o, Fig. 2; P. Fischl/
icantly during the MBA, but decreased in its final, Koszider Rebenda 2o12). Around the end of RB A2 and within the
Period (Molnár/Imecs 2oo6, Pl. 4; 6; 8; for dates see Németi/ Koszider Period we cannot refine further this picture. Most
Molnár 2oo2, 32–33). MBA tell settlements (e. g. Ároktő) can be placed to the clas-
In central Hungary, in the valley of the Benta, a tributary sic phase of the period, and it seems that not many remain
of the Danube, within a 5o km2 microregion, the increase of occupied in the Koszider Period, as opposed to the appear-
the size of a few sites can be demonstrated in the MBA; e. g. ance of Streda nad Bodrogom type material in the Bodrog-
the tell settlement of Százhalombatta-Földvár increased köz area to the northeast (e. g. Nagyrozvágy). It is conceiv-
from 2 ha in the EBA Nagyrév period to 5,5 ha. Here the cen- able, however, that in this region other ceramic forms are
tral settlements are 5,5–12 ha large, while the smaller ones characteristic for the final phase of Füzesabony type mate-
are 2–3 ha large. At the same time, the number of settle- rial.
ments doubled (five in the Nagyrév period, 13 in the MBA Based on the above-described cases it seems that the
Vatya period; Artursson 2o1o; Earle/Kolb 2o1o). A similar increase of the size and number of settlements in the MBA
increase in the number and size of settlements could be indicates demographic growth. In the final phase of the
observed on the left bank of the Danube as well during pre- MBA beside the lower number of continuing settlements we
liminary surveys in the Kakucs region (Szeverényi/Kulcsár can also count with the foundation of new ones, thus it is
2o12). hard to determine whether we can actually observe settle-
In the distribution area of Transdanubian Encrusted Ware ment nucleation, which would indicate the movement of
we can also see an increase in the number of sites: based on people into the larger centres and the presence of centralized
the results of systematic surveys in Veszprém County (west chiefdoms (Earle/Kolb 2o1o, 69–78). The picture is further
Hungary), 23 EBA Kisapostag period and 52 MBA Encrusted refined by other data indicating a restructuring of settled
Ware period settlements are known14. We have much less areas, e. g. the depopulation of the Körösszög region in the
information on the changes in the size of the sites. At Kapos- southeast, or the settlement of the piedmonts of mid-altitude
13 Ecsedy et al. 1982; Jankovich et al. 1989; Jan- 15 Süttő-Nagysánctető, Veszprém-Várhegy,
kovich et al. 1998; Duffy 2o1o. Somogyvár-Kupavárhegy, Harc-Várhegy,
14 Bakay et al. 1966; Bakay et al. 197o; Éri et al. Kölesd-Csonthegy, Dunaszekcső-Várhegy:
1969; Dax et al. 1972. e. g. Honti 1994; Kovács 1994; Kiss 2o12.
Tagungen des Landesmuseums für VorgeschichTe haLLe • Band 9 • 2013