Peter Stadler, Avar Chronology Revisited, and The Question of Ethnicity in The Avar Qaganate', in The Other Europe in The Middle Ages Avars, Bulgars, Khazars, and Cumans, Ed.
Peter Stadler, Avar Chronology Revisited, and The Question of Ethnicity in The Avar Qaganate', in The Other Europe in The Middle Ages Avars, Bulgars, Khazars, and Cumans, Ed.
Peter Stadler, Avar Chronology Revisited, and The Question of Ethnicity in The Avar Qaganate', in The Other Europe in The Middle Ages Avars, Bulgars, Khazars, and Cumans, Ed.
---~
Florin Curta
VOLUME2
-----.. - - - - - - - -
~.
_____ ._____
___,, ____.____..
_~,.,.._vz----
Edited by
Florin Curta
with the assistance of Roman Kovalev
~ l-EG/[)<"
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.,.
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c.,
..
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/6 8 ~
BRILL
LEIDEN. BOSTON
2008
,t
ISSN 1872,8103
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored
cal, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the
publisher.
Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to
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_ _ _ _ ._ _. _ _
.~M_"'. _ _ _ ~~
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"
11
'I
CONTENTS
Preface ..................................................................................................
Introduction
Florin Curta
ix
1
13
47
83
151
237
Two worlds, one hoard: what do metal finds from the forest
steppe belt speak about? ... ..... ......................... ........... ........................
Bartlomiej Szymon Szmoniewski
263
297
327
viii
CONTENTS
339
363
379
413
References ...........................................................................................
457
483
Index ....................................................................................................
485
----~~----'-,-'--
tery B in
DlIection.
-earrings
gravc 8);
:h (Kesz
:hristian
rpalota
~rybythe
lctery by
Irt,grave
Drawing
~, Mller
The Avar age (ca. 570 to ca. 800) was aperiod of great significance for
the early medieval history of Europe. The Avar qaganate was the cre
ation of an elite of nomadic horsemen of eastern origin. Its early history
is known from literary sources, but for the later part (ca. 700 to ca. 800),
very few, if any such sources are known. However, the Avar age can now
be studied in great detail on the basis of archaeological excavations of
cemeteries and, lately, of settlements as weIl. During the last fifty years or
so, considerably energy has been invested in sorting out a firm chronol
ogy for the archaeological assemblages of the Avar age. Even though the
chronology of Avar history seemed clearly anchored to known moments
in history, in fact only the date for the Avar conquest of the Carpath
ian Basin (568) has received general acceptance. By contrast, the end
of the Avar qaganate, an event historians place in the early 800s, has
been dated by various archaeologists at various points in time between
800 and 900. More often than not, such differences in understanding
basic chronology stern from conflicting views on the medieval history
of the region, themselves based on differing views of national(ist) histo
ries. For example, most prominent among scholars inclined to date the
end of the Avar qaganate as late as possible within the ninth century are
Hungarian archaeologists and historians who insist that the first genera
tion of Magyars in Hungary coexisted with the last generation of Avars.
While absolute dates for the chronology of the Avar age remain under
discussion, great progress has been achieved in establishing a relative
chronology of archaeological ass em blages, especially for the later parts
of the Avar age for wh ich no coin-dated assemblages have so far been
found. More than forty years ago, Ilona Kovrig, the grande dame of
Avar archaeology, has proposed a chronological model based on the
division of the Avar age into Early, Middle, and Late periods. 2 Her chro
nology has meanwhile been greatly improved with the assistance of an
1
2
48
PETER STADLER
3 Oskar Montelius refined the concept of closed find first introduced by Christian
Jrgensen Thomsen and in the process laid thc foundations of typology as a key method
for archaeological research. See Montelius 1903.
4 T6th and Horvath 1992.
49
.er-assisted
rl)', Middle
ars with an
:e different
, periods.
Q)
-s
Ei
o
.-t1
....'"u
ible by the
I improve
e Swedish
came into
es pertain
all entered
:overage is
~shed arti
laeological
~nt mo des.
,mtheway
~y in most
burial, set
tone such
:md in the
le tomb of
:ypological
!Sie proce
lage could
computer
lillediately
ample of a
lecoration.
rk on such
ct into the
t:
<':!
"0
2U
Q)
'"
'S:
>
~~
>< ::l
Q)::r:
~~
E
o
\:i
0
U.o
Q)
'<':!
-S..g
~
-.S
ECil
('ij
.~
>< ;::
Q).o
\:i
<':!
0;; e.o
.2 ~
" Q)
'"<':!
..g
"iii
Cl
<':!
E
~
51
b. Christian
lkeymethod
Q)
"0 ....
e
'gJ
50
PETER STADLER
~
..-r...""'Ci
?-t..:...;"';~
"k"";~l
.'-~
database takes less than 60 seconds. In the typology mode, the search for
formal analogies for any artifact takes only about 30 seconds. The allo
cation of one image to an existing type takes a few seconds more. A new
type is created easily by creating a new folder. An existing type can easily
be split up into two or more sub-types. In conclusion, a great advantage
over conventional typological methods is that comparisons may thus be
made 100 times faster than normally.
Figures 3 and 4 display in a schematic way how images are entered
into the Image Database "Montelius" and evaluations obtained on that
basis. Figure 3 starts from the "raw" publications, either monographs
or articles. Illustration plates displaying assemblages are scanned, and
individual artifacts are then separated by means of image processing.
Every single artifact image is then described in the mask of the pro
gram MonteliusEntry. On the other hand, the "raw" publication is also
the source of written information, wh ich can be catalogued along with
artifact images. By means of the Montelius seetion of the program pack
age known as WinSerion, images can then be presented either in the
complex mode or the typological mode. Figure 4 shows what can be
expected from WinSerion, once the data is entered into the database.
WinSerion allows for various kinds of seriation, in order to reveal pat
terns in the archaeological material considered. Moreover, local or
global maps generated by means of AutoCad offer the opportunity of
mapping finds by means of a WinSerion embedded Geographical Infor
mation System feature. Furthermore, WinSerion enables the user to
Figure
Foaoi
;c:~
-.
7~1II
~
Find units
In Image
Browser
Publications
; Monographie<
Artkies
Browser
umode
unent.
weh for
Ihe allo
e.Anew
:an easily
d.vantage
ythus be
~
entered
ion that
lOgraphs
ned, and
ocessing.
the pro
m is also
ong with
lID pack
er in the
lt can be
database.
~veal pat
local or
tunity of
cal Infor
e user to
51
Access
Figure 3. A model for the creation of the Image Database "Montelius" on the
basis of the published archaeological record.
Find units
in Image Browser
e
I
---Dmagb
ata aSe ----
Montelius
..,...
V~nsenoy
1opoSeriation
Map ofEumpe
etc.
(GIS)
-h.t::;;;;;:::====?1
age.....
Typesm
. Im"'--Excavation maps _
Analysis of the
N Nexl /"
Neighbours
L,L--\-----v
I~
Absolute
Chronology
l
I
'
Chronology
.).L.._ _ _ _-"
{:.=====::zJL_L~=-=--====;:!:::----
J I
...--- ~ Mapping
p r ;7==:t====?1
--.
- ;I
~.-/'
Relative
,Chrooology
110.
Condensation /
I /
V /
Seriation
'Petrification
'Redprocal
Averaging
Triangulation
,c.=======?1
"Wiggle Matching"
Absolute Data
I
Figure 4. A model of the possible uses of the Image Database "Montelius"
for archaeological studies.
~:;:~
/:.;0
52
PETER STADLER
5 The method was invented and developed by Jean Paul Benzecri and his team of
the laboratory for Mathematical Statistics at the University of Paris VI (Benzecri 1973).
See B0lviken et al. 1982; Shennan 1990,283-86. Following the publication in English
ofthe first book based on Benzecri's ideas (Greenacre 1984), the CA gradually made
its appearance in Scandinavian and British, later in American, German, and Austrian
archaeology. For exemplary applications to medieval archaeology, see Hines, Nielsen,
and Siegmund 1999.
Bq
!,;.;:, -1
~t[
::+:tl
~511
".
....
S3
:h means.
he N-next
which can
urmed by
~ chronol
nd wiggle
purpose is
Beginn
100
Typen
400
600
SUO 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600 2800 3000 3200 3401.1 3600
200
1 0 0 1 .' ,+---~-+---~i------+----t-----~---+---+--"L
400
wo
ntire Avar
)ssible for
3,600 arti
ion. While
, thexand
rtifact cat
:ry artifact
100 points.
eis set on
5ht corner.
~, but pro
ysis (CA).5
yedin Fig
igure 8 for
Idicates an
lt types are
ldproduce
le case for
the seria
Clbola-like
shortly to
tly refined
ne relative
200+-~-c~t~~~~~~~~j+~--~------1c-----~--~~-~~~--t----~~
000
1000
300 ~t-~-~-~-~4~--~-~-~-:;:';"
~--~t-~~-~~~---t---~'~'~~+~~~~L 1200
1400
400
+--+.~.~._~~..:-:-"'-:
:L.
',1
1600
2
~
~
1300
soo
-+~-~-~-+~'----t~~~~,-"~,~+.~~~t-~--
--r---+---~-
2000
]
j:
2200
600
-+--
,+~~+--~-.F---'--+---;---+----:"- 2400
J~
2600
700
+-----+-----+---'-T---+-~-~__c~_':l~'c"~'--~+__-__+__--.J-
2800
3000
800
3200
3400
+-~-"'_+~"'-.'
-l----f
bis team of
zecri 1973).
in English
lually made
Id Austrian
es, Nielsen,
~-L.-L..f--'---.L-.L..-i---L------..L---l+~LJ~-+_- . .LJ..-~+-~L..:--I--_+--i..--L-L-1-~~-
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Sequenzdaten [Typen]
' ....
4000
tOOO
Ende
54
PETER STADLER
FIlkIOI
.....
+3
-2.0
-1.5
-1.0
::,:,0.5
O.O
+1.0
+1.5
-2.0
+2.5
+3.0
2.0
+2
+1
-1.5
rtl
-1.0
-1
-2
-0.5
-3
0.0
Ci'
500
.:""
600
-2
"
Q..
6:
k
0.5 ~
"1lr:r
-4
Ci'
"
700
<il
'""
1.0
+5
1.5
2.0
J
I
+4
+3
.2
.1
2.5
-1
-2
'"
~ ;;:
""
:;;
"
""
3.0
-)
-4
-5
-6
-6
-;
Figure 8..
55
KOfuFpoondemanlll,.s..>.Fu~
3650- T..UOll(
+4
+3
+J.O
-2.0
+2
+1
-15
.t{)
-1.0
-1
..
-2
-0.5
-3
0.0
"~
-4
0.5
..
-1
"
-4
+2
Tl
s{)
iS
"c:
1;l;
Fe!:t,,! i~tf)(-AdlW"qeqetl~'alrn>lla\,lI)'-~Me
t'l
!\OIIt1fpondOllJlz,an"lyse'l"Ilhd(> 1517
1.0
rl'PfM 7,21
-3
-2
-1
-)
-1
-1
+S
+4
1.5
+3"-'-'~-~~'--"-----"-'-"
+2
2.0
+1
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3.0
-)
over4,000
-5 -:-.-
-6
--6
-,
..,;
-4
{)
+'
+2
+)
+4
+5
+6
~
:~
56
PETER STADLER
:~
,.
.
57
ms of con
bout thirty
naH, espe
:onsidered
ler several
impossible
ns alone.
ent dating,
m sampies
~ collected
isemblages
ere doneat
lagen from
aboutthe
only from
19 any new
~ration the
ce of coins
were overIr standard
reeofover
from male
matching"
ray.9 As the
land ninth
es roughly
radiocar
iod begins
the basis
i to earlier
The direc-
I CSA-based
prepared fr
f'.
1987. Fr its
,Firsl]i""
i>::E~/:N
IG;];
73.3%
"'!<.fliE'
ib;~i;11
ib~:j:il
I:TJU\}24
IG~p23t2
1
118.4 % 1
:~~:1;il
'1'
ib~:i:~O
,nnOll
W6~9%
,rh
"~ smpls
.....
\'l~600%)}
rv~
liiIa.
..,!,;;,A.
:b;~i14
ATSOT"0195
ib;~;r
ATLeofo152
!K;:~:r
A pm!,! 0"1110.6%
~I"
~/.~
~-'\.A-
.4 TMoe.OO93
ATSm, !m.OO61
70.3%
!~;:1:[61
tlV
1",.u,,>o
1!6.0%
134.3%
.~~\.
;~\
'~''''. /',
.J~V,-j',
/;.l
;:&,"'-.J\
....t.: ',,'
1~~;1:4'5
~!;1;r
A TMo f.OO29
11
b;;1:r
11
b~~;l6
A1'Mvf0079
84.3%
I:
6~Rfi:1J
AT.7illi"oI0J'
125.1%
~\
/.1'--./",
122.2%
/..6: , .. '\
..~'~>"\.
b~:i;r
ATMoto222
132.9%
/~J'-,J',
I1
~~:1;jO
A1'Mof0489
142.0%
J:A,V'-. f
li
VERA 305
A1'.M0f'0334
VERA 291
o4TMoiOO35
v'ERA 277
ATLeof.OO78
VERA 309
o41'.Moe.0471
I ./:J...~A,
.
I
I
./.&../'......1\,
,'1vc,/'-,
/'-.\,
200AD
136.9%
I 79.1%
;~./"
129.2%
/24.5%
Ib~:1;ll
"'
~.-./\
81.0%
;K;:1if1
iK;;1;F
A1'Moto268
~,
J':.oI!.
91.7%
I1
11
BCiAD
~-
,0011
:b;~:r
1I
,96,9%
11
933 96.,
109.~.
IYE~(;I03 \ T ,Co
IG;;';
:13
!~~~:l~ A,
11
I
I
I
I
~:;f71~
'V_Sequence
400AD
600AD
800AD
!{){)()AD
Calendar date
Figure 9. Wiggle rnatching of radiocarbon dates with sequence dates frorn the
seriation of Avar-age burial assernblages.
58
PETER STADLER
T~
IA~94.4%(A'c~60.0%)J
---1
Phase I
I
200AD
300AD
400AD
500AD
600AD
700AD
800AD
900AD
1000.'\D
1100AD
Calend.r date
Figure 10. Wiggle matching of radiocarbon dates with sequence dates from
dates for the previously accepted chronology of the Avar age. The shift
dates were based, were in circulation at the time of burial, while most
acquired between the twentieth and thirtieth lifetime year of the person
with whom they were buried. In other words, the date of the burial is
later by a few years than the date of production and acquisition that
can be established for the artifacts. On a more general level, the shift to
of the last Avars and the first generation of Magyars in the Carpathian
Basin. In the light of the revised chronology, the end of ''Avaria'' must
now be placed shorty after 800, perhaps as late as 822, even though no
direct dates are available so far. By the same token, the beginning of the
radiocarbon dates. The column "Years AD 1" shows the new dates in
and
59
Years
AD2
EAI
568
600
90
Early Avar 1I
EAII
Middle Avar I
MAI
600
630
630
655
90
180
180
360
Middle Avar II
MAI!
655
680
360
550
Late Avar I
LAI
680
720
550
700
Late Avar I!
LA II
720
760
700
850
LA III
760
822
850
1000
Phase
Abbreviation
Early Avar I
..
--r
i
i
_,_I
lOOOAD
Sequenee- Sequeneedatesl
dates2
llOOAD
l,i
-~~,
60
PETER STADLER
"work:
excIud
bly lin
stern ,
theaI1
offem
cautio
in a D
tance
cal aJI
patter!
SUf\i1i
"miDi
andSllj
bef~
..:
~d sepa
h will be
lven that
he same
19hbors"
Ion con
lple, the
s depos
result of
asmany
enmore
checked
al distri
different
that pol
view. In
the only
ltified by
equated
)f course
!9-lificant
letery in
;e ofthat
treat the
Idle and
x>logical
iants are
mg into
,anthroTen area,
identify
"''Il by the
'a statisti
utions are
IIlS ofCA.
Llvsis.lhe
\'"estigated
61
" Brather 2004; Geary 2002. See also Curta 2007, with a critique ofBrather.
For the software, see WinSerion homepage at http://www.winserion.orgi.
12
:,~'
0\
4NRZ
AUCl''lLtJalt:>
A. R".i1erkarnpl
&.
Naa.1
..tt..HRBGreif
.~:tn(>;lVlfllPf
. . . Schtli'llle{,reil
MoIIUsk
Flng.1.7~!tt~nlPUnl
RZKelteozierPun;
Ohrrhk1AU
A lIIRB~ Anhanger
f
.Al'
HRIHlerkatTlp
A Ge!~Kerarnik
.At&.. Rieme,.".nhtmger
"Phdl~n'
Az..umLS
laumB~'Kid"9Ft'rau
iI.
Siirnbpschlag
...nt'fkl1(j~n _
,Di.mem
...
&~rnnqPerMl1h
AUalve1f
OhrrmgKt.lgi!k..hen
"0
i"he'
AGOrtel
.4 Schlo
~nh"r~rl*!4
..&.
.A,RaSs.e!
AAUf"'u
.a.stjrnbu!.Chhalter
(')hrrrngr.u-nuja_k:>t1~natt'
A ,,",H\Jf(~I$i'1n
.
..
.At..
tT1
!:>O
~g" "'''PI".I
ame
Schel
a-\, . .
AA
'"s;!
alv)/;:na er
t:1
AHRl
! __
ru:1k.r
..&.
lopfspange
Pir\lJ:rtte
S"iiAdegerat
t-<
"'JIlIU,iI.
Press.m.tHk'j..." Gewi(ht
YliJ~~<fi:h
"'lIt
A
~mmlR
~~k,n91'BTamcp W<l(lge
.T"~hlil9
S<hoaUela
A Anh'ng<eSpi
AHefttfl1
lt,'RBMill. . . RZfamga
~ild
tT1
!:>O
. . .T~ BesrnldgZa
AAttach'"
Spatha
RZFe
J/iont.iftlitatton
..
Kd;erbe.chl.~g
~ Boget'l~Khla9
Figure 11. Zoomed detail of the correspondence analysis scattergram of functional types of artifacts from
Avar-age burial assemblages.
',"&4~",~,,-,l
S1:&2
:;:~ ~ ~
::l.&
;s..PlO:n>
~ llf~hJ'!-.l~_
i..Q
,; 'I&A.--o
.',2.
pA . . . . . . . . . . .
eo
..t::
'"
u
t;
o;j
'0
<J)
Q.I
E
--;
s::
"B
t::
..El
......
e .
~ ~
e.o~
v.D
:: e
<tf
<l)
:Q
o;j
~ ~
",-
r~
o;j ...
;.E
<l)
<l)
...
<tf
"
o;j
OJ)
~
0..
'"
t
o
.s......o
63
'c;j
<l)
"
"
Five more clusters have been identified for assemblages with female
skeletons:
N
,...;
~
;:l
OJ)
i.i:
Ll The weapon known to archaeologists of the early Middle Ages as spatha goes back
to the first century or perhaps to similar weapons of the Latene tradition of the last cen
turies B.C. The typical weapon of the Roman legionnaire, the spatha was a straight, 0.75
to 1.0 m long, doubIe-edged sword with a Iong tip. As such, the spatha is much broader
than either single- or double-edged Avar-age swords found in horseman burial assem
blages. The latter later developed into the Middle and Late Avar sabers.
14 A sax (also known as scramasax) i5 a single-edged, long knlfe.
64
PETER STADLER
Male
Female
Horses
'~var"
ClusterOl,
Ciuster02
Cluster I 0
Cluster05
"Germanie"
Cluster03,
Cluster06?
Cluster08,
Cluster09
"Slavic"
"Byzantine"
Clusterll
Cluster06?
Cluster07
Curta 1998-1999.
l5
I
i
I
~.
of
.,
:lJ
:ales, keys,
r leg bind
mentation
"T-shaped
et.
,rses
iterOS
~nts
which
Similarly,
s be attrib
iman buri
. 3 and the
: attributes
rar society.
ofByzan
ras among
buckles, a
larsikY In
II artifacts
Byzantine
tddle Avar
65
periods, Falko Daim has recently analyzed a group of Late Avar belt
buckles and mounts to which he attributed a Byzantine origin. 19 What
all those studies have shown is that most artifacts regarded as Byzantine
were most likely imports and are therefore not necessarily an indication
of the presence within '~varia" of a Byzantine population. 20
The fact that bow fibulae which Joachim Werner first called "Slavic"
appear in Cluster 7 together with other "Byzantine" artifact categories
seems to confirm the conclusions of Florin Curta's studies, whieh have
meanwhile raised serious doubts about regarding such fibulae as badges
of Slavic ethnie identity.21 On the other hand, there can be no doubt
about the presence of the Slavs inside the qaganate, whieh is weH docu
mented in written sources. But there are apparently no "Slavic" artifact
categories, an indieation of the low resolution at whieh labels of "ethnie
groups" have so far been used in Avar archaeology. The famous lock or
ear-rings with S-shaped twisted end may well be a chronologically spe
cific artifact category, given that such rings appear at the end of the Avar
chronology, but continued to occur in post-Avar assemblages dated to
the ninth century long viewed as "Slavic:'22 I shaH return shortly to the
problem of the Avar-age Slavs. Meanwhile, a number of burial aspects,
such as inhumations with tunnel-shaped shafts, have been cited for eth
nie attribution, but work on this part of the database is still in progress. 23
Until then, the attribution of such graves to groups of nomads from the
steppes north of the Black Sea (Bulgars or Cutrigurs) may be treated
with caution. Cluster 3, 8 and 9, which can be assigned to "Germanic
tribes': lead over to the following section.
Daim 2000.
BaHnt 1983 advanced thc idea that the cluster of"Byzantine" artifacts in southwest
crn Hungary, in thc region of the Balaton Lake and around Pecs, may signal the presence
of the Sermesianoi mentioned in the Miracles ofSt. Demetrius.
21 Werner 1950 and 1960; Curta 1994, 2004, 2005, and 2006; Curta and Dupoi 1994
1995.
22 Tbe idca that thc lock ring with S-shaped end is "Slavic" gocs back to Lubor Nie
derle and is weil entrenched in the archaeology of the early medieval Central Europe
since Eisner 1933 and Korosec 1951.
23 For inhumations with tunnel-shaped shafts, see Lrinczy 1994 and 1995.
19
20
66
PETER STADLER
groups
!itead that
l1anic ele
Themost
:ieas must
tations of
Varpalota
graves in
tken offto
lr" burials
Id of time
tion B6na
~cting any
ements of
)gy of the
enced any
lis former
e earrings
tsoever to
je
produced
. Transda
>Osed that
forcefully
e revisited
)noflarge
lardi, and
monstrate
nents not
Merovin
~'ar age of
Pannonia.
aftermath
I1is book on
rner's ideas
Iceto Dezs
67
of the Avar conquest. Some time after the local community began bury
ing its dead, an ''Avar governor" was also buried on the outskirts of the
graveyard, together with his wife and child. During the first occupa
tion phase, until about 580 or 590, the burial of the "Avar governor"
was the only connection to ''Avaria'' of the "Germanic" community in
Klked Feketekapu. A population of different origin and conspicuous
Avar culture began settling among the natives only after that. The new
comers opened ground for a different cemetery (cemetery B), in which
there is clear evidence of a blending of cultural traditions. Cemetery
B ends at some point in the 600s, after which occupation ceased com
pletely. A new occupation occurred only in the 700s, when members of
yet another group settled in Klked Feketekapu. By that time, aH "Ger
manie" cultural elements had disappeared without any trace. The third
occupation phase in Klked Feketekapu is therefore characterized by
the "standardized" culture of the Late Avar period.
But what were the cultural differences between "Germanic" and ''Avar''
burials? As mentioned before, the main distinctions are to be drawn in
clothing and weapons. Combs, belt sets ornamented with dentil orna
mentation (Zahnschnitt), spathae or short dagger-like swords known
as sax appear only in "Germanic" burials. By contrast, gold earrings
(which appear in burials ofboth males and females), plait clasps, quivers
and bow bone reinforcement plates, single-e and double-edged swords
with P-shaped attachments are all typical for "Avar" burials. Whatever
the ethnic identity of those burying their dead in "Germanic" graves,
the evidence from the two cemeteries excavated in Klked Feketekapu
clearly points to sharp distinctions in material culture, which may have
weH marked ethnic boundaries. There are several ways in which this sit
uation may be explained historically. The "Germanic" cultural elements
may indieated the presence of a Lombard group that did not migrate
to Italy; of a Gepid group forcefully resettled from the eastern regions
of the Carpathian Basin; of a group of Sueves who had survived under
Lombard and now under Avar rule; a mixture of all these groups, as weH
as others not mentioned in the written sources.
During the last few years, Hungarian archaeologists excavated the
until now largest Avar-age cemetery in Zamardi, on the shore of Lake
Balaton. 27 Zamardi stands out among all other contemporary cemeter
ies by means of the large number of graves so far revealed (about 6,000)
and the conspicuous prosperity of the Avar-age community burying its
1984, 1987,
I to a Gepid
For a preliminary report, see Bardos 2000.
68
PETER STADLER
dead in that cemetery, which is evident in the quantity of gold and sil
ver belt sets recuperated from otherwise extensively robbed burials. On
the basis of both the size and the wealth of the cemetery, Istvan B6na
even suggested that Zamardi must have been a center of Avar power, an
ordu. 28 He saw no contradiction between such an idea and the fact that
most belt sets found in Zamardi have a dentil ornamentation (Zahn
schnitt) most typical for "Germanic" assemblages and evidently inspired
by the tradition of the Animal Style I. Equally interesting are the good
analogies in the western and southern Merovingian regions that can be
:= ]
established for belt buckles and mounts used to decorated shoe laces
or for belt-shaped pendants found in female burials. The evidence in
any case bespeaks the considerable wealth of a group, possibIy of Ger
manie origin, wh ich throughout the Early Avar period maintained dose
relations with distant communities in southern Germany and France.
The wealth of the Zamardi community may perhaps be attributed to
the participation of its members in the Avar campaigns against the early
Byzantine Empire.
"Germanic" traits have a peculiar geographie distribution. Figures 12
and 13 show the cluster of belt sets with dentil ornamentation (Zahn
schnitt) in Transdanubia. 29 The dentil ornament is currently regarded as
a Iocal development of the Animal Style II post-dating the conquest of
Pannonia by the Avars. The duster of finds in Transdanubia may indi
cate that this style of decoration originated from the lands on the shores
of Lake Balaton, which had been under Lombard control before 568,
even though artifacts with dentil ornamentation have also been found
along the Tisza River in formerly Gepid territory.
Two other maps (Figs. 14 and 15) showthe distribution ofthe archae
ologically attested custom of the comb deposition in graves. Attila Kiss's
excavations in cemetery A at Klked Feketekapu revealed that in both
~=
male and female burials combs often appear either on the Ieft or the right
~ ~,
side of the skulI, which suggests that they were perhaps meant to look
j'" ,
as if worn in lifetime. The distribution of graves with combs overlaps
~~
that of dress accessories with dentil ornamentation, even if, because of
i~
the specific state of research, the comb finds from cemetery A in Klked
Feketekapu seem to dominate the picture. Combs and dress accessories
;..~
with dentil ornament appear especially in those areas, wh ich before 568
~-
.c J
:1
:c
~i
28
29
Heinrich-Tamaska 2007.
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Figure l3. Distribution map of dress accessories with dentil decoration by production techniques.
~
>
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= Ix,
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Figure 14. Distribution map of combs with teeth in a single-row deposited in graves.
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KonfNivN-5
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.=<15x,
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Figure 15. Distribution map of combs with teeth in a double-row deposited in graves .
D"t
tI'
~i~I
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73
bh
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o
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rated with prick-like comb punches and potter's marks are attested
throughout the Middle and Late Avar period, from ca. 630 to ca. 800. In
other words, throughout much of the Avar age, such traits as prick-like
comb punch es and potter's marks seem to have typical primarily for the
-=
"
"E ::5
!",l~><
"'::C:
o.r; V
:-:
:.L::
11
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30 For the Keszthely culture, see Kovrig 1958, Kiss 1967, Mller 1996a and 1996b,
Bierbrauer 2004.
31 As this is a much debated topic in the archaeology of medieval Eastern Europe, an
abundant literature exists on the topic. Only a few, most important titles may be cited
here: Com~a 1961 and 1973; Diaconu 1986; Kolos-Szafranska 1953; and ToCik 1962.
--
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Topf00240
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Kerall1iktlbpllvcrzicrtlKamll1stempel/Strichreihe
Kerall1iktlbpllvcrzicrt/Kammstempel/Fingernagel
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.. '1()pfO03 JO
... Topf00320
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Keramik/Toptlverziert/Kammstempel/S
Keramik/Toptiverziert/Kammstempel/Stempel
Keramik/Topf/verziert/Kammstempel/Strichimitation
Figurc 17. Distribution map of ceramic wares with prick-like comb punch ornament.
'-.J
V1
'-l
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'r;I
..,
tr1
tr1
:;.:I
(.I')
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tr1
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KcramikITopfiverziertiTpfermarke/Kreis/klein
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'1"l'm()~70 :
'l 'lop(00580 : KeramikrJbpflverzkrtlTpfermarkelKreuzl
.. '1(11'11)(1050 : K,'n\lllikl'ltll'flverzk'rll'mplrrmarkdlhllll'l1
>'
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T
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Clu19
Clu20
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A Clu22
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-<l Clu24
m Clu25
o Clu26
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9 Clu50
Figure 19. Plotting of the analysis ofN next neighbors for all pottery features associated with Middle and
Late Avar burial assemblages,
"'-J
"'-J
78
PETER STADLER
Fredegar 4.48, in Wallace-Hadrill1960, p. 40. For the chronicIe, see Goffart 1963,
Kusternig 1982, and Wood 1994. For Slavs in Fredegar, see Curta 1997. For a survey of
the abundant literat ure on Samo, see Eggers 2001.
Bilint..
tsa
79
il1ate, such
md north
ssive pres
le collapse
but much
decorated
t becomes
Lai identity
which was
ne deposi
quite pos
1since the
.630. That
n from the
tern lands
st number
fthe Avars
the region
rlyto Avar
x>pulation
late where
i3eological
an burials,
er ca. 800.
volt ofthe
las a reac
f the early
:tSoutlived
in invent
Balint, Cs. 1983, "Az avarkor es honfoglalaskor bizanci vonatkozasainak regeszeti kuta
tasa Magyarorszagon 1970-1980 kztt': Antik Tanulmanyok 30, 116-25.
Brdos, E. 2000, "La necropoli avara di Zamardi'~ In wm degli Avari, ed E. Arslan and
M. Buora, Milan, 76-143.
Bayes, T. R. 1763, '~.c\n Essay Towards Solving A Problem In The Doctrine Of Chances':
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 53, 370-418.
Benzecri, J. P. 1973, Ilmalyse des donnees. II: D:malyse des correspondances. Paris.
Bierbrauer, V. 2004, "Die Keszthelv-Kultur und die romanische Kontinuitt in Westun
garn (5.-8. Jh.). Neue berleg~ngen zu einem alten Problem': In Von Sachsen bis
[} a much
;ombining
is that an
'the prob
ioffart 1963,
ra survey of
References
80
PETER STADLER
2006, "Slavic bow fibulae? Werner's dass I D revisited'; Acta Archaeologica Aca
demiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 57,486-535.
-.2007, "Some remarks on ethnicity in medieval archaeology'; Early Medieval Europe
15, 159-85.
Curta, F., and Dupoi, V. 1994-1995, "ber die Bgelfibel aus Pietroasele und ihre Ver
wandten", Dada 38-39, 217-38.
Daim, F. 2000, "'Byzantinische' Grtelgarnituren des 8. Jahrhunderts': In Die Awaren am
Figures
L I
Cl
81
)(}-11.
n polskieh':
Illustrations
'ugoslaviji,"
;ai Ertesit6
!Underts, ed
Figures
1. Image Database "Montelius", an example of the complex mode view: selected arti
facts from the qagan burial in Kunbabony (Hungary).
2. Image Database "Montelius': an example of the typological mode view: ceramic ware
with S-shaped, prick-like comb punch ornament.
3. A model for the creation of the Image Database "Montelius" on the basis of the pub
lished archaeological record.
"
82
PETER STADLER
4. A model of the possible uses of the Image Database "Montelius" for archaeological
studies.
5. Seriation by reciprocal averaging of over 4,000 Avar-age maJe burials.
6. Seriation by reciprocal averaging of the eigenvectors of over 4,000 Avar-age male
burials.
7. Seriation by correspondence analysis of over 4,000 Avar-age male burlals.
8. Seriation by correspondence analysis of Avar-age female burials.
9. Wiggle matching of radiocarbon dates with sequence dates from the seriation of
Avar-age burial assemblages.
10. Wiggle matching of radiocarbon dates with sequence dates from the seriation of
Avar-age burial assemblages.
11. Zoomed detail of the correspondence analysis scattergram of functional types of
artifacts from Avar-age burlai assemblages.
12. Distribution map of dress accessories with dentil decoration by ornamental motifs.
Data after Heinrich-Tamaska 2007.
13. Distribution map of dress accessories with dentil decoration by production tech
niques. Data after Heinrich-Tamaska 2007.
14. Distribution map of combs with teeth in a single-row deposited in graves.
15. Distribution map of combs with teeth in a double-row deposited in graves.
16. Distribution map of ceramic wares in the Carpathian Basin.
17. Distribution map of ceramic wares with prick-like comb punch ornament.
18. Distribution map of ceramic wares with potter's marks.
19. Plotting of the analysis of N next neighbors for all pottery features associated with
Middle and Late Avar burial assemblages.
NEW~
S~