478  

Avars merely possessed a couple of “antiquities” or, alternatively, that

the main focus of the distribution of the belt-sets with mask fittings
lay elsewhere, for instance in the Caucasus region and along the
coast of the Black Sea. In the Early Avar Period, casting technol-
ogy was used mainly for buckles and for some parts of the fittings
of Bócsa-Kunbábony type (pl. 19–22). Exceptions are some cast
strap-ends with “toothcut”-decoration, for instance from Budapest-
Farkasvölgy, typically with a well developed spout.41 The first cast
subsidiary strap-ends appear in the Middle Avar Period. A little later,
in Late Avar Period I, complete belt-sets first occur. In the Early
Avar Period, sheet-fittings were, as a rule, attached by filling the
reverse with a non-precious, soft metal alloy (lead or lead alloys) and
casting small strips of wire in with it. This production process is now
being examined in the form of a research project. In the Middle
Avar Period one appears, in the majority of cases, to have glued
sheet-metal fittings onto the belt, as neither traces of lead, nor holes
for rivets or threads, nor soldered-on attachment lugs or cast attach-
ment lugs could be detected. We do not know what kinds of glue
were used, however, we may assume that the Avars had access to
a wide range of materials, for instance tree pitch, resins, fish- or skin
glues, possibly mixed with waxes. All of these are highly effective
natural substances of quite different specifications. The production
of a composite bow alone, which is attested by several hundreds of
finds, required the knowledge of excellent glues, as has already been
mentioned.
The metalsmith’s grave from Kunszentmárton, which is at the
moment being examined closely as part of a research project, is one
of the most fascinating archaeological deposits from the Carpathian
Basin in the Avar Period. The smith’s grave from Kunszentmárton
was found in 1928. It is the burial of a man equipped with horse,
lamellae armour and sword, possibly also with bow and arrow.42 At

41
M. Nagy, “Awarenzeitliche Gräberfelder im Stadtgebiet von Budapest”, Monumenta
Avarorum Archaeologica 2 (Budapest 1998) pl. 83 A 13–15; F. Daim, “‘Byzantinische’
Gürtelgarnituren des 8. Jahrhunderts”, Die Awaren am Rand der byzantinischen Welt.
Studien zu Diplomatie, Handel und Technologietransfer im Frühmittelalter, ed. id., Monographien
zur Frühgeschichte und Mittelalterarchäologie 7 (Innsbruck 2000) pp. 77–204, esp.
fig. 90.
42
D. Csallány, A kunszentmártoni avarkori ötvössír [Goldschmiedegrab aus der Awarenzeit
von Kunszentmárton] (Szentes 1933).
   () 479

the same time, it contained the most extensive collection of metal-

smith’s tools and other accessories, as well as half-products and raw
materials, known so far from early medieval Europe.
The deceased lay on his back. On his breast there was a set of
lamellae armour, which—according to the reconstruction attempted
by Csallány—consisted of iron parts sewn onto a linen fabric, arranged
in nine rows and overlapping each other.43 A sword with a single
cutting edge, possibly with p-shaped attachment plates, had been
placed beside the body.44 It is not known whether the smith wore
a three-, four- or a multi-part belt. Two iron strap-ends (?) appear
to have decorated the belt.45 “A small horse” had been buried above
the feet of the dead warrior. Unfortunately, only two foot bones of
the animal remain and for this reason, Vierck has claimed that it
cannot be excluded that this may in fact have been a partial horse
burial. The latter are known several times from the Early Avar
Period. In these cases the horse was skinned, however, the foot bones
and the skull remained in the skin. The horse skin was then arranged
in the grave in a way which seemed natural, usually bridled and
with saddle and stirrups. In this case, however, the animal wore nei-
ther bridle nor stirrups. The smith’s grave from Kunszentmárton
contained 130 objects. Apart from a small number of personal pos-
sessions (armour, sword, knife, belt components) these are imple-
ments/tools, other devices, a few half-finished products and raw
materials. We may, tentatively, reconstruct some of the technical pro-
cedures of which the man was capable. It is extremely likely that
he produced iron objects, re-cycling old metals in the process. The
numerous moulds (pl. 6) which the man had with him were used
for serial production of sheet-metal fittings by hammering them over
such a device. This indicates a process in which a piece of sheet-
metal was placed on a softer lead plate or a firm piece of leather
and the model was put on it upside-down. The mould was then
“pressed” on top of the sheet by means of hammering forcefully.

43
H. Vierck, Awarische Schmiedegräber [working title, unpublished manuscript,
Universitätsarchiv Münster] pp. 246 ff.; regarding the lamellae armour from Hajdúdorog,
which is the second complete specimen from an early Avar grave: D. Csallány, “A
hajdúdorogi avar mellpáncél [Der avarische Brustpanzer von Hajdúdorog]”, A
Debreceni Déri Múzeum Évkönyve 45 (1958/59) pp. 17–23 [German summary: p. 23].
44
Csallány, Kunszentmárton, pp. 8–9; Vierck, Awarische Schmiedegräber, p. 231.
45
Vierck, Awarische Schmiedegräber, pp. 221–2.
480  

Some pieces of raw material and some drops of cast metal suggest
that the smith from Kunszentmárton also cast bronze objects. He
was also able to do fine soldering work. The precision scale and a
larger number of Byzantine precision weights prove that he also dealt
with precious metal, presumably he also used the process of mer-
cury gilding.
The smith from Kunszentmárton had full access to Byzantine arte-
facts and was familiar with Byzantine traditions and techniques (as
is suggested by the precision scale and sets of weights, for instance.)
However, to call him a Byzantine travelling craftsman would be
going too far, because for a Roman citizen an equestrian burial
would be unthinkable.
Pottery constitutes the largest group of finds in Avar archaeology
by far. At the same time, pottery from the Early and Middle Avar
Period is—due to long years of research by Tivadar Vida—appar-
ently the most thoroughly examined type of find in Avar archaeol-
ogy.46 Vida has succeeded in distinguishing numerous groups and
variations and has been able to show local developments and influences
at supra-regional level. It will now be crucial to examine thin-sec-
tion samples and to analyse the heavy mineral content of at least a
small selection of the pottery. The pottery of the Early Avar Period
shows eastern influences in many respects: Hand-made pots with a
funnel-shaped or square mouth, with wart- or lump-shaped decora-
tion (pl. 18,3–4). Certainly, it is not feasible to ascribe all objects
which have parallels in Eastern Europe and Asia to the first Avar
generation which settled in the Carpathian Basin. We should not
underestimate the mobility of population groups between the
Carpathian Basin and the East. The Avars’ victories against Byzantium
attracted both adventurers and settlers, the wealth of the Avar elite
during this period attracted merchants and travelling craftsmen, while
political changes in the East (we know of some of them, but of many
we have no idea) frequently brought refugees into the Carpathian
Basin. We must therefore avoid any interpretations which are overly

46
T. Vida, “Zu einigen handgeformten frühawarischen Keramiktypen und ihren
östlichen Beziehungen”, Awarenforschungen, ed. F. Daim, Archaeologia Austriaca 1.
Studien zur Archäologie der Awaren 4 (Wien 1992) pp. 517–77; id., “Das
Töpferhandwerk in der Awarenzeit”, Reitervölker aus dem Osten. Hunnen + Awaren, ed.
F. Daim (Halbturn 1996) pp. 362–4; id., Die awarenzeitliche Keramik I (6.–7. Jh.),
Varia Archaeologica Hungarica 8 (Budapest 1999).
   () 481

schematic, and should by no means assume that there was a kind

of “settlement evolution”.
Craftsmen’s traditions of Late Antique origin may also be dis-
cerned in the pottery of the period. The so-called “grey pottery” is
fine ware of a high technical standard. It was made on the fast
wheel, mainly for local trade, in small workshops which were pro-
ducing for internal trade (pl. 18,2; 5–6). Gyula Rosner has managed
to locate at least one of the workshops producing “grey pottery”, in
the vicinity of Szekszárd and has subjected it to archaeological exam-
ination.47 In addition to local production, there are some “grey” ves-
sels, which may have been brought into the Avar territory from the
Byzantine Empire, for instance the amphora from Kunbábony.
The Avar defeat at Constantinople in 626 marks a turning-point
in the history of the khaghanate. The effects are noticeable in the
archaeological record, but without written sources we would not be
able to draw any conclusions from the archaeological evidence. While
up to 626, large sums of yearly tribute entered the Avar territory,
they now stop, as is illustrated by the numismatic analysis of the
coins found in this region.48 The ransoms for Byzantine prisoners
were another important source of income for the Avars. The looted
luxury goods must also have represented considerable wealth. After
626 it was necessary to adapt from a war economy: the Avars now
earned their livelihood by means of crop husbandry, but especially
by breeding livestock. Trade may also have played a certain role,
which, however, cannot be expressed in quantitative terms.
The fact that Avar sovereignty survived the crisis is, not without
reason, ascribed to the fact that their neighbours were so weak. A
number of princely graves, which presumably belong to the middle
of the seventh century and, at the latest, to the 670s, testify to this
phase of re-organisation of the Avar Empire. The earliest of these
are presumably the “princely graves” from Tepe, Bócsa and
Kunbábony, even if the chronological placement (even in terms of
relative chronology) of the finds of Bócsa-Kunbábony type is still

47
G. Rosner, “Keramikherstellung und Handel im Karpaten-Becken in der frühen
Awarenzeit”, A Wosinsky Mór Múzeum Évkönyve 15 (1989) pp. 125–33; Vida, Keramik
I, pp. 88–96; 177–81; 206–19.
48
P. Somogyi, Byzantinische Fundmünzen der Awarenzeit, Monographien zur Früh-
geschichte und Mittelalterarchäologie 5. Studien zur Archäologie der Awaren 8
(forthcoming).
482  

subject to heated discussions. In Tepe there is apparently loot in the

form of the largest Byzantine silver plate hitherto known. It had
been cut up.49 The gold mounts of the sword scabbard from Kuná-
gota appear to be the remains of a looted casket with gold fittings
(pl. 7–8).
The grave from Kunbábony, which has already been mentioned,
was discovered by chance in 1971 and is one of the most precious
archaeological deposits to have been discovered in Hungary in the
twentieth century (pl. 19–22).50 The deceased had been buried with
two valuable belts with gold fittings, two swords, a gold pot with a
handle and several wooden vessels with gold mounts. There was also
a huge Byzantine amphora, in addition to a number of other objects.
Apparently, pieces of gold foil had been sewn onto his funeral robe.
The most striking ensemble among the dress accessories and grave
goods from Kunbábony is the belt-set with “pseudo-buckles”, deco-
rative fittings in the form of buckles which were mounted vertically
onto the belt and which cannot be opened, thereby serving purely
decorative purposes (pl. 19).
The so-called “pseudo-buckles” are decorative fittings of pure gold
in the shape of buckles, sometimes with glass- or precious stone inlay,
which decorate some of the belts not only from Kunbábony but also
from Tépe and Bócsa. In recent years, they have frequently been
described as Byzantine products, mainly because they have been
made in the “Byzantine fashion”, using an intricate “composite tech-
nique”. One argument against this view is the fact that not a sin-
gle “pseudo-buckle” is known from a Byzantine context. There is
merely an ensemble from Sirmium, where decorative techniques with
substantial Byzantine analogies, such as the arcade border and a
complicated openwork lattice ornament, occur (pl. 23).51 On the other
hand, clear Christian symbolism is avoided on the belt-set from

49
É. Garam, Katalog der awarenzeitlichen Goldgegenstände und der Fundstücke aus den
Fürstengräbern im Ungarischen Nationalmuseum, Catalogi Musei Nationalis Hungarici, Seria
Archeologica 1 (Budapest 1993) pl. 94; Reitervölker aus dem Osten. Hunnen + Awaren,
ed. F. Daim (Halbturn 1996) p. 260, fig. 22.
50
E. Tóth and A. Horváth, Kunbábony. Das Grab eines Awarenkhagan (Kecskemét
1992); F. Daim, “Kunbábony”, Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde 17 (2nd edn.,
2001) pp. 490–5.
51
I. Popovic’, Zlatni avarski pojas iz okoline Sirmijuma (Golden Avarian belt from the vicin-
ity of Sirmium), National Museum, Belgrade, Monographies 10. Archaeological Institute,
Belgrade, Monographies 32 (1997).
   () 483

Sirmium—as opposed to belt-ornaments which were definitely used

in Byzantium. From this, we may deduce that this particular belt-
set was produced by a local (Byzantine) workshop for the Avar mar-
ket.52 But where did the strange “pseudo-buckle” in fact originate?
For now, this question can only be answered hypothetically. The
pseudo-buckle-fitting can only be derived from buckles which serve
purely decorative purposes on the belt. Objects of this type are in
fact known from Eastern Europe, at least from the Volga-Kama-
region, but their position in terms of absolute chronology is not yet
clear, so that it is not yet possible to submit irrefutable evidence for
this theory. Nevertheless, for now, the available data give the impres-
sion that, with the help of pseudo-buckles and Byzantine technol-
ogy, there was a desire to create a representation culture which, on
the other hand, consciously tries to avoid a pale imitation of Byzantine
customs.
Around the middle of the seventh century, an increased inflow of
Byzantine coins can once more be observed and the most recent
princely graves from Ozora-Tótipuszta, which belong to the Middle
Avar Period, contain almost exclusively Byzantine objects (pl. 28).
We also hear once more about a Byzantine delegation being sent
to the Avars. There are two possible explanations for these obser-
vations: either the Avar Empire is once more becoming attractive
to the Byzantine Empire as a political ally and trade partner, or
there is in fact a connection between the end of the Bulgarian Empire
in the Black Sea region between 641 and 668 and the migration of
Bulgarian groups, in an attempt to escape the Chazars. The Bulgarian
Empire in the lower Danube region was established by Asparuch at
this time. This was the beginning of a rather changeable relation-
ship with the Byzantines. While they were allied closely during some
periods, during others the Byzantines attempted repeatedly to destroy
the Bulgarian Empire. Regardless of this, it definitely made sense
that, in times of changing political topography, Byzantium appar-
ently tried to establish more intensive contacts with the Avars.
We may assume that, as a result of the dramatic events at
Constantinople in 626, radical changes must have taken place in
Avar settlement, as from then on, they must have been forced to
earn their living exclusively by means of agriculture. However, the

52
Similarly: ibid., p. 85.
484  

finds do not permit us to come to any conclusions regarding this

question. There are two reasons for this: Firstly, only two Avar set-
tlements have been published to date53 and secondly, in order to
enable us to attempt a historical interpretation of this scope, we
would require a very exact chronological system as a basis and this
will be impossible even in the near future. Pottery from the Early
and Middle Avar Period can, as Tivadar Vida frankly admits, be
dated within half a century at best.54
Due to a lack of finds which are relevant in terms of fine chronol-
ogy, settlements and settlement layers are more difficult to date.
Nevertheless, they can reveal much about the way of life of the pop-
ulation. Byzantine building traditions never gained much popularity
among the Avars, a point that can be compared with the observa-
tions Priskos made about Attila and his court. Since comparative
analysis of excavation results is hindered by geology (for instance,
there is over a metre of pitch black humus in Örmenykút) and vari-
ations in excavation technique, regional differences in settlement
structure are not yet clear, although we would definitely expect to
find such. From the Early and Middle Avar settlement Dunaújváros-
Öreghegy, several rectangular, sunken huts whose roof was supported
by a pair of posts at each of the narrow sides are known (pl. 17,1).55
The entrance is usually in the south-east, the stone oven is located
in the north-eastern corner. Furthermore, there are free-standing
ovens and numerous pits within the settlement. However, what is
presumably a storage pit may be observed next to many of the huts.
Several systems of ditches permeate the settlement. These ditches
overlap some of the huts, or, in turn, are overlapped by them, so
that István Bóna was able to conclude that the Avar village had two
phases.
In Lébény near Gyor,  the hitherto largest Avar settlement, con-
sisting of two sites with a total area of 13–14 hectares, was exam-
ined as a result of the construction of the Wien-Budapest motorway.56

53
I. Bóna, VII. sz-i avar települések és Arpád-kori magyar falu Dunaújvarosban [Awarische
Siedlungen aus dem VII. Jh. und arpadenzeitliches Dorf in Dunaújvaros], Fontes Archaeologici
Hungariae (Budapest 1973); C. Bálint, Die spätawarenzeitliche Siedlung von Eperjes, Varia
Archaeologica Hungarica 4 (Budapest 1991).
54
Vida, Keramik I, pp. 15–26.
55
Bóna, Dunaújváros.
56
M. Takács, “Die awarenzeitlichen Siedlungen von Lébény”, Reitervölker aus dem
Osten. Hunnen + Awaren, ed. F. Daim (Halbturn 1996) pp. 378–82.
   () 485

The earlier settlement of Lébény-Kaszás-domb also includes a sys-

tem of ditches which encloses rectangular areas. The latter may be
interpreted as pens for livestock (pl. 17,2). The two huts correspond
more or less to those from Dunaújváros, additionally, there are
numerous pits and three wells, one of them with a stone border and
a wooden well-box. The evaluation of the early Avar settlement at
Kölked-Feketekapu, which has been excavated by Attila Kiss and his
wife Zsuzsa K. Zoffmann, will be of utmost importance.
Unfortunately, it was possible to excavate only a tiny part of the
settlement at Zillingtal. Nevertheless, the results illuminate some
important aspects of Avar archaeology, three of which will be men-
tioned here: The first concerns the process of settlement in our region.
After it had been shown that Early Avar finds, almost without excep-
tion, occur on formerly Roman sites,57 the question arose whether
the Avars made use of existing Roman ruins. In Zillingtal, a Roman
house was uncovered within a settlement from the Avar Period. Avar
post holes and small ditches situated above the Roman building do
not respect it in any way. This shows that the Avars erected their
own huts above and beside the Roman buildings according to their
own ideas.58 The reason for settling in a particular place was pre-
sumably the fact that the area, which had been cleared of wood-
land in the Roman Period could still be used agriculturally and apart
from that, there was still an existing network of roads and paths,
which must also have facilitated traffic for the Avars. One should
keep in mind that the deciduous and the mixed forest are the nat-
ural types of vegetation in the Carpathian Basin. The fact that today,
parts of Hungary appear to belong to the Eurasian steppe region,
is in fact the result of human mismanagement in the Early Modern
Period.
In Zillingtal, numerous different types of pits have been excavated.
However, none of them permitted the reconstruction of a pit house
of the Dunaújváros type. In addition to this, we found rows of
wooden posts, which definitely belong to the Avar Period. The wooden

57
Daim et al., Leobersdorf, p. 175; H. Winter, Awarenzeitliche Grab- und Streufunde
aus Ostösterreich. Ein Beitrag zur Siedlungsgeschichte, Monographien zur Frühgeschichte
und Mittelalterarchäologie 4 (Innsbruck 1997) pp. 73–7.
58
F. Daim and A. Distelberger, “Die awarische Siedlung von Zillingtal—Die
Grabungen 1994–95”, Reitervölker aus dem Osten. Hunnen + Awaren, ed. F. Daim
(Halbturn 1996) pp. 372–7.
486  

posts had been carefully worked into a square shape. Here, some
above-ground buildings supported by wooden uprights, of a type
which so far had not been observed in Avar areas of settlement,
must have existed. Three furnaces for iron working, which have been
excavated carefully and are now being evaluated, are also particu-
larly interesting. Two of them appear to have been used for ore
reduction, the others for forging.
It is obviously of interest to ascertain the type of economy used,
however, this is not yet possible. Due to the animal bones, which
are in fact the remains of grave accompaniments in the form of
meat, we are familiar with the whole range of Avar animal breed-
ing. Game, on the other hand, hardly occurs at all. It will surely be
possible, in the near future, to identify precisely the cereals culti-
vated, the other crops and the produce from gardening, from the
plant remains found in settlements, and it seems that we will be in
for some surprises. At present, ethnographical analogies play a pre-
dominant role in interpretation; however, it is vital to exercise cau-
tion in using them. We must assume that each village in fact practised
its own version of a commonly accepted way of life, in the same
way that the burial customs differ in some details between settle-
ments.59 Presumably, it was especially important to the Avars to own
cattle. However, the relative proportion between breeding livestock,
farming and gardening, between the production of goods and ser-
vices (trade) will have been different in every population group. In
the process of interpreting the cemetery and the settlement from
Zillingtal, we will attempt to create economic models, starting with
a given population size and the maximum area of land available for
cultivation.
Hungarian researchers have dealt intensively with Avar burial cus-
toms, especially with the equestrian graves (pl. 3; 25; 37; 39). At
first, this research was based on the assumption that it would be
possible to link ethnic groups with particular customs. These hopes
have been destroyed; however, most types of equestrian graves—not
surprisingly—show links with Eastern Europe. There are many different
types of equestrian grave. Usually the saddled horse—this means
with saddle, stirrups and bridle—was buried beside the dead war-
rior in a reclining position. Occasionally, partial horse burials also

59
Daim et al., Leobersdorf, pp. 165–6 with notes 14 and 15.
   () 487

occur and as a rule these are east of the Tisza (pl. 3). This means
that the horse was skinned, whereas the skull and the foot bones
remained within the horse skin. The latter was then spread out or
rolled together and placed in the grave together with saddle, stir-
rups and bridle. In exceptional cases, a combination of the two types
seems to have occurred, for instance in Szegvár-Sapoldal. This bur-
ial was interpreted from a culture-historical point of view by István
Bóna.60 The documentation of this excavation, however, is restricted
to ground plans. It seems likely that this was in fact a tunnel grave.
For this type of burial, a tunnel was dug outwards from the shaft
of the grave at an oblique angle and the deceased then placed in
it. The grave pit itself contains the horse (in Szegvár-Sapoldal also
the second horse which had been skinned; pl. 3) as well as any other
animals which had been killed. Tunnel graves occur in eastern
Hungary from the Early up to the Late Avar Period.
We know smaller and larger row-grave cemeteries of late sixth to
early seventh century date, from Keszthely and from formerly Lombard
western Hungary (Környe, Kölked-Feketekapu A). One gets the
impression that the Avars adapted their burial customs gradually to
the “western” model in the course of the settlement process. Some
early Avar burial places consist of inhumation burials, which were
located at considerable distance from each other (Kunszentmárton,
Leobersdorf, Sommerein, Zillingtal, Börcs-Nagydomb).61 In the case
of Leobersdorf, it is possible to observe the gradual transition from
single-grave burial to row-grave cemetery. In this process, not only
the distance between the graves, but also their orientation, has changed
successively from NNW-SSE to W-E.

2 Middle Avar Period (650/670–710)

If we had only princely graves from the second half of the seventh
century—the inventories from Igar and Ozora-Tótipuszta—then pre-

60
I. Bóna, “A Szegvár-sápoldali lovassír. Adatok a korai avar temetkezési szokhá-
sokhoz [Das Reitergrab von Szegvár-Sápoldal. Beiträge zu den frühawarischen
Bestattungssitten]”, Archeologiai Értesíto 106,1 (1979) pp. 3–32; id., “Studien zum
frühawarischen Reitergrab von Szegvár”, Acta Archaeologica Hungarica Academiae Scientiarum
Hungaricae 32 (1980) pp. 31–95.
61
Tomka, “Hirten”.