Predictive Archaeological Modelling in Somogy County

Somogyi Múzeumok Közleményei 18: 147–156 Ka pos vár, 2008 Predictive archaeological modelling in Somogy county CSanáD FekeTe national Office of Cultural Herritage H-1014 Budapest, Táncsics M. str. 1., Hungary, e-mail: [email protected] FEKETE, CS.: Predictive archaeological modelling in Somogy tor of the location of the sites. Some types offer better county. conditions of settling and agriculture, while others make Abstract: In this paper a GIS model, based on the physical it impossible. parameters of the geographical enviroment of Somogy county The universal use of the model is uncertain, because archaeological sites, is described. the different geographical environments offer different alternatives to dwell.1 Keywords: GIS, terrain, watercourse, relief The sites included into the modelling are restricted to the settlements, because the cemetaries could hardly Introduction be identified by the surface finds and their location had One of the main challenges of archaeology is to de- different logic. fine the characteristic geographical enviroment, where I would like to emphasize that involving GIS into the the sites could be predicted. The huge investments topographical research does not mean the neglecting of (motorways, junctions), being done for more than a de- fieldwalking. GIS is an alternative solution to help field- cade, have the proceeds of systematic archaeological survey. research of extensive areas. Its very first step is to explore the potential sites. The insurmountable obstacle of Choosing the sample and control area fieldwalking is the plenty of time that needed. Based on the topographical features of a well-defined geographi- The studied area must be well-searched, because cal unit, there could be tightened the area, where sites this fact has an important effect on the accuracy of could be located. Hence, these subjective experiences the model. Another criteria is to choose such an area, have not been systematize geometricaly. whose physical features are heterogeneous, in order to The spatial appearance of the sites has ceratin part the cathegories of site and non-site. The ideal area rules. For example, the fortresses were built on well-de- has diverse features of the terrain, varied water output fendable location, protected by natural features (steep and it is richly spiced with watercourses. The size of slope, river, etc.), as well as the middle-age churches the area is also an important factor. It should be small were located on the highest spot of the former villages. enough in order to be able to make the model and, on This fact influences the aspect of the settlements (loca- the other hand, it should be large enough to make sure tion of the houses and the cemetary). In this study I try the model is reliable. to collect and explain the geometrical principles of the Making the model I chose the villages of Somogyjád, location of the archaeological sites. Bodrog, Somogyfajsz, Csombárd, and Pusztakovácsi in The goal of the study is to create a predictive archae- Somogy county. The area was topographicly searched ological model, that helps to define the areas, where the by fieldwalking between 1999 and 2004, led by Dénes sites could be presumed. Jankovich-Bésán. The control area was determined by The elements of the model are some measurable two guidelines: it must had the same geographical en- physical parameters of a well-defined sample area: vironment as the sample area did and it also must had 1. the distance from watercourses been searched in order to check the authenticity of the 2. the aspect of the terrain model. This solution is not as smart as if I chose a „vir- 3. the slope of the terrain gin” area, but field-survey could not have been done. 4. soil types The control area includes the western part of Bodrog, All human settlement depends on water. The exis- the northern part of Somogyfajsz and the eastern part tence of civilizations has been based on the posession of Pusztakovácsi. and efficient utilization of waterflows. It is obvious that On the territory of these five settlements, the sandy the sites have been attached to the streams and riv- area of Inner-Somogy and the hills of Outer-Somogy ers. They are especially abundant where the different meet along the Pogány-víz and the Hetes watershed. branches of flows are met. The features of the terrain Our territory is bordered from the north by the longest have the same effect on the development of the sites. and broadest ridge of the hills of Outer-Somogy (Gamá- The dwelling and economical objects were built on such si–hát). Its southern-eastern part stretches over the adventageous surface, that had good microclimatic 1 conditions. The type of the soil is also a good indica- There are lowlander, hilly and mountain environment, that need different approach to use the model elements. 148 CSanáD FekeTe loessy area of Southern Outer-Somogy, while its west- A short archaeological introduction of ern part ranges into the silty area of Inner-Somogy.2 the inspected area The waterparting of the kapos and the Balaton is nearly N-S directed here. On the eastern part of the Drawing the prehistoric cultural picture is the hardest inspected territory the surface consists of strongly seg- task because the number of the sites that cannot cer- mented meridional ridges that rise towards north. They tainly be associated with any of the cultures is extremely are segmented by emphasised stream basins, the high. Hence, it is sure that the density of the prehistoric Deseda and its side-branches. The watershed can be sites is diverse, which matches the above-mentioned kilometres wide at certain places, while elswhere it only features of the natural environment: the greatest den- extends to a few hundred metres. It is a lower, less seg- sity was found where the largest open territories could mented territory with a thick loess cover, which is well be observed (Somogyjád), while the lowest density ap- outlined by the lack of archaeological sites as well. West peared where extensive forests cover the area even to of it, the valley of the Pogány-víz can be found, which is date (Somogyfajsz, Pusztakovácsi). another strongly segmented region with densely distrib- The conclusions of the settlement history of the 3 uted stream basins. Celtic-Roman Age uncover deeper connections. Farm- The territory of Outer-Somogy is covered by loessy stead-like units of both dwelling and economic functions soils that developed during the last Ice Age, which are were the basic constituents of the celtic settlements. only sporadically covered by brown forest soils of a They were either independent units or stood in a cluster chernozem character. The main soil type of the vast, forming a rural settlement (vici). In our region, settle- alluvial cone of Inner-Somogy and the sandy valleys of ments of this character appeared in a string along the Outer-Somogy is the brown forest soil mixed with clay, stream valleys. The farmsteads stood at a few hundred evolved on sand. The area was mostly covered with metres or, maximum, a few kilometres apart from each 4 beech and oak before the significant human activity. other. Sherds could be collected in the area of 50–200 m of the one-time manors. Field-survey The Romans deliberetly chose the best fields and it did not settle on territories on poor, barren sandy soils. The national Office of Cultural Herritage and the The results of the field survey support this observation Somogy County Museum archaeology Department since only two sites could be registered on the sandy launched a joint project in the spring of 1999 with the territory west of Bodrog village. purpose of the complex exploration of the environment The number of the sites dated from the Migration Pe- of the iron metallurgical sites in Somogy county with riod is the lowest. The Avar sites were mostly found at fieldwalkings. as the purpose of the field work was to the feet of the n-S extended hill ranges, on the banks of authenticate the sites in the course of systematic field- watercourses or next to springs. walking and to explore every pontential new sites, the Huge number of Middle Age sites were found on the extensive method was chosen. The available areas of inspected territory. Relatively few of them contained the fields of the individual villages were inspected at finds from the earlyá rpádian Period, in contrast with this least once, and fairly often repeated it more times. Re- many sites were contained finds from the later phases grettably, significant territories remained unattainable of the Middle Ages. They could be found everywhere during the five-year-research, because they were cov- where the environment was suitable for settlements, ered and not ploughed. Initially we chose the systematic which suggests that there were still many temporary, method of field-walking, that meant each approachable scattered settlements, which occured not only around field was inspected with the participants walking 50 me- villages with churches but everywhere. ters from one another. after knowing the geographical It is worth to mention the iron metallurgical sites that characters of the region this method was given up and can be found on the banks of shallow streams or springs, we only surveyed systematicly the areas, that seemed where meadow ore can the easiest be found. Another to be suitable for settlements and took samples from the important condition was the proximity of forests where 5 rest of the territories. raw material could be obtained for charcoal. Practically the entire Somogy county met these demands in the 2 This territory – is known as Southern-Outer-Somogy depression – Middle Ages.6 used to have a dipped basin-like surface that can hardly be recog- nized because it is covered by thick loessy soil accumulated on the surface, which towers above the floodplain of the river kapos nowa- days.

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