Abstract
Százhalombatta-Földvár Bronze Age tell settlement is one of the most extensively studied sites of Hungary. Interdisciplinary approach is one of the key factors in understanding the past here. Therefore, a range of natural scientific methods are applied, including thin section soil micromorphology and phytolith analysis. The high resolution of these techniques is used to add details that are impossible via traditional archaeological means. In this paper, we aim to look at decision-making in choices of construction materials. A Middle Bronze Age house (ID 3147), belonging to the so-called Vatya Culture, was sampled to investigate the used materials, the building techniques and space use. Earthen floors, clay floor, wall and hearth material are under the microscope for a better understanding of Bronze Age construction and everyday life. Micro fragments are traced to investigate space use and activities inside the house. It is also our intention to further test the conjoint application of the abovementioned methods to add data and encourage work between the experts of the two fields as there is only a handful of such studies available.
Highlights
Archaeological backgroundSzázhalombatta-Földvár is one of the key sites in recent Bronze Age research in the Carpathian Basin
Data gained through the micromorphological and phytolith observations within the thin section collected at house ID 3147 shed light on the development of earthen and clay floors, as well as on material and technique choices made by the population of the tell settlement
Detailed results of the micromorphological analysis is summarized in ESM 1, while those of the phytolith analysis is given in ESM 2
Summary
Százhalombatta-Földvár is one of the key sites in recent Bronze Age research in the Carpathian Basin The Vatya culture chronologically is coeval with the timespan of the Middle Bronze Age (1900/1800–1500/ 1450 BC) in Hungary Their territory geographically is located in the central part of the country encompassing both banks of the Danube. It is a so-called tell-forming society, which means that their settlements have continuous occupation for hundreds of years and their households and activity areas were rebuilt and reconstructed over and over the remains of previous ones. Having more than one cooking/baking/roasting surfaces/structures in one house appears to be more common, than having only one hearth (Vicze 2013)
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