Arpadian and Germanic Graves Found in Tatabánya

Several Árpád-period (11^th-13^th century) graves, a Germanic warrior buried with swords and house traces from the early Iron Age have been found in a small area in Tatabánya, west of Budapest, the director of the city museum told MTI.

According to archaeologist Gabriella Pál, the area was once a prominent sandy mound at the junction of two watercourses, which was always in use. The artefacts span several millennia, which is how, for example, a food storage pit could have been placed next to a grave. The recently completed excavations started in December in the Dózsakert district of Tatabánya.

The latest find is the grave of a Germanic man who probably lived in the 6th century. Next to his feet lay two iron swords, which were excavated in their entirety, and the grave was even able to preserve stone-lined ornaments of clothing or belts.

Next to it, an empty grave with the same orientation was discovered. However, the method used to mislead grave robbers did not work here, as “the missing feet of the warrior were probably taken for his fancy footwear," the director said.

Four or five other graves were found in close proximity to each other, from which no artefacts were recovered, belonging to an Árpád-period cemetery from the 1200-1300s.

The oldest finds in the area are traces of houses dug into the ground from the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age, around 1000 BC. If the traces can be proven to be of Early Iron Age, this could be the site of the settlement associated with the cemetery previously excavated at the beginning of the Dózsakert district.

The finds will be scientifically processed at the Tatabánya Museum after cleaning and sorting, and the institution plans to organize a small exhibition of the finds.