Archaeological geophysical surveys along the Pannonian Limes between 2015–2017

In the article the authors present the results of the magnetometry survey campaign supporting the World Heritage nomination of the Hungarian section of the “Frontiers of the Roman Empire – The Danube Limes” between 2015 and 2017. During this task 116 hectares had been surveyed with geophysical methods alongside the Danube on elements of the Roman limes. Most of the features surveyed were temporary camps, watchtowers, settlements and the limes road itself on 65 archaeological sites. Even though more than 110 hectares had been surveyed, we are only scratching the surface of this enormous site complex. As the limes is comprehensible only at landscape-level, the opportunity to make large-scale surveys is very important. The opportunity to collect relevant data on that scale is crucial for research, so further surveys are needed

Folyó, táj és település a középkorban: tájrégészeti, környezettörténeti és lelőhelydinamikai kutatások a Körös-vidéken. A flott-projekt indulása

Az ember és a természeti környezet kölcsönösen egymásra ható kapcsolatának alakulása napjaink globális stratégiai kérdése. A tervezett kutatás ennek a dinamikus folyamatnak a múltbéli megértését célozza három Körös-menti mintaterület középkori, folyószabályozások előtti környezeti viszonyainak rekonstruálásával, valamint az itt élő közösségek tájhoz alkalmazkodó vagy éppen annak erőforrásait felhasználó életmódjá- nak, településeinek vizsgálatával. A kutatás fontos célja továbbá, hogy a feltett kérdésekre a választ több tudományág együttműködésével és a korábbi hagyományos régészeti topográfiai adatgyűjtéseket modern, hatékony kutatási technikákkal megújító alkalmazásokkal kiegészítve keresse

River, Landscape and Settlement in the Middle Ages: Studies on Landscape Archaeology, Environment History, and Site Dynamics in the Körös Region

The development of interdependence between human communities and natural environment is a global stra- tegic issue determining the lives of coming generations. The planned research intends to contribute to a deeper understanding of this dynamic process by reconstructing the environmental image of three study areas along the Körös River prior to river regulations or in the Middle Ages, and by examining the communities’ settlements and lifestyles adapting to or exploiting the landscape around them. The planned research answers these questions by interconnecting several disciplines and by renewing twenty- to thirty-year old archaeolog- ical datasets with state-of-the-art methods of archaeological prospection and field survey analysis

A Unique Megalithic find from the Great Hungarian Plain : Preliminary Report on the Research of a Stone Stele from Kevermes

Large, complex megalithic monuments erected in great numbers on the Atlantic coast and in northern Europe during the 4th‒2nd millennia BC have never been found in Hungary, and the architectural forms and decorative arts of passage and chamber tombs, dolmens, stone circles, and menhirs have not been linked to the archaeological heritage of the Carpathian Basin. This is what renders a stone stele, with engravings evoking some megaliths in western Europe, found near Kevermes in the southeastern Great Hungarian Plain so extraordinary. In this article, we report the results of our research related to this unique object to clarify the circumstances of its discovery, to examine the possibility of forgery, to specify the raw material and provenance of the stele, and to explore the original context. In our next paper, we will present detailed descriptions of the analytical results and discuss the interactions and networks that may have led to the appearance of the motifs on the Kevermes stele on the Great Hungarian Plain

Switching To Digital Tools: heritage Evaluation For Preventive Archaeology in Hungary

During the last decade in Hungary, preliminary operations for large-scale archaeological excavations have became more and more important: the stakeholders have realised that it is cost-effective to spend more on the assessment phase rather than incurring higher expenditure because of problems related to an ill-planned project. Thorough knowledge of the size and characteristics of archaeological sites can largely contribute to the protection of the cultural heritage, as well as saving time and money. From 2011 Preliminary Archaeological Evaluations have been a mandatory part of the permission process of large-scale constructions (that is to say, a total minimum cost of c.1,600,000 EUR). These evaluations consist of desktop studies (such as analyses of historical documents and maps), as well as field investigations with a budget of 0.35% of the total construction cost. The goal is to make precise archaeological project plans, and to assess the optimal mitigation process. The Forster Centre – and its predecessor – has been responsible for the coordination and execution of preventive archaeological evaluations since 2013. During that time we have established and tested a GIS-based method which has been effective in large-scale investments and which – due to financial constraints – relies greatly on non-invasive methods as tools to help our investigation strategies. Our current strategy relies on three interdependent tasks: GIS-based field surveys, large-scale magnetometer surveys and targeted trial excavations. The scale of our tasks is challenging and demanding at the same time: the investigation of large areas with various methods gives us substantial and reliable datasets on the archaeological landscape. Collecting and comparing these GIS-based datasets on a nationwide scale gives us an opportunity to determine the most effective methods to identify and protect the archaeological heritage. One of the most promising opportunities is to create a comparative database, where the outcomes of geophysical surveys and excavations from hundreds of hectares are available across the country. Using the results, we can set up a comprehensive archaeological geophysics database that would facilitate making our magnetic prospections more accurate and our methods more targeted