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Szerelmes vers - Love Poem Babits Mihály For Valentine’s Day, this love poem seems appropriate. His sweetheart’s eyes mesmerize the author, and loving her as he does, he hears little bells tinkling in their gray depths . A szemedet, arcod mélységes, sötét szürke tavát homlokod havasa alatt, homlokod havát elfeledtetı fényes nyári szemed szédületét szeretem és éneklem e szédület szeretetét. Mélységes érctó, érctükör, fémtükör, mesebeli, szédülsz, ha belevillansz; ki tudja, mivel van mélye teli? Szellemek érctava: drága ércek nemes szellemei fémlenek villanásaiban; de mily ritka fém szelleme tudhat így fényleni? Hunting plate Mély, fémfényő, szürke, szépszínő szemedben, édesem, csodálatos csillogó csengık csilingelnek csöndesen, At the onset of the Middle Ages, Pannonia was a province csendesen, - hallani nem lehet, talán látni sem: of the Roman Empire, covering a significant part of Euro- az látja csak, aki úgy szeret, mint én, édesem! pean geography. Valeria was one of the four parts of the province, bordered by the river Danube (Duna) on the Babits Mihály (1883 – 1941), poet, essayist, novelist, north and east, by the Drava River on the south and in- was one of the most learned and respected writers of cluded most of Transdanubia ( Dunántúl), thus had been the 20th century. part of what has been Hungary for the last eleven hun- dred years. Archeological relics, verifying incredibly high cultural and The Seuso Treasure technical achievements of the Roman era, have been Olga Vállay Szokolay ubiquitous in the Pannonia Valeria area of Hungary: ruins of roads, bridges, temples, villas, aqueducts, amphithea- Do you enjoy unsolved mysteries? Do you admire ters, baths, just to name a few. Over the centuries, spectacular works of art? Are you fascinated by unsung peasants turned up broken pieces of stone and ancient history? metal objects while plowing or digging in the fields, unaware of the potential colossal cultural value of their Then you may appreciate reading of the international findings. The Romans’ artistic and engineering develop- scandal surrounding the mystery of the Seuso Treas- ment had been about a millennium ahead, a feat that ure. It embraces several decades, but its roots are well was never equaled or revived until the Renaissance: over one and a half millennia deep . hence the name! A mysterious f ind, unearthed from collapsible tripod. The sensation ing two men at the bar, the three of its hiding in Pannonia Valeria in the prompted it to be sent to the Paris them set out on foot to the dirt road 1970s, became known as the Seuso World Exhibit. (Ironically, during a toward Kıszárhegy, toward the omi- Treasure . Although the identity and 2002 further restoration, the tripod nous cellar. After that Sümegh was origin of SEUSO (spelled SEVSO) turned out to be a quadripod.) never seen alive. remains unclear to the present day, the only trace of it as a name of Almost a century later, in 1974, a Suicide, as originally declared, a person appears on the sizable retired carpenter discovered ruins of should be ruled out on several Hunter or Seuso Platter , the most a huge late-Roman residential edi- counts, such as three sets of foot- important piece of the vast collec- fice on the shores of Sárviz, near prints in the snow going toward the tion of silver artifacts. The inscrip- Szabadbattyán. There he also found cellar and only two sets away from tion on its edge reads: “HEC SEVSO and turned in to the museum a gi- it. However, the still ongoing inves- TIBI DVRENT PER SAECVLA MVLTA gantic, relief-adorned lead cauldron tigation for the killer(s) has pro- POSTERIS VT PROSINT VASCVLA and some coins, for which he was duced no conclusive results. DIGNA TVIS”. It translates as: “May paid about a month’s pension. In these dishes remain yours, Seuso, his version, the original location of After the unresolved death of and your worthy descendents' for the Treasure was the ruined Sümegh József, the location of the many centuries. “ villa. Others maintain that it was Treasure’s discovery became cov- (Translation varies) found several hundred meters fur- ered in mystery, unidentifiable, thus ther, on Kıszárhegy by Sümegh any further would-be owners could So who was Seuso? He had to be a József in 1976. claim any locale within the Roman high-ranking person, a legatus , a Empire as its origin. The Treasure successful defender of the Empire, Sümegh József worked as a laborer had been removed from its millen- deserving the highest honors. His at the local quarry. He lived at Pol- nial resting place and illegally kept name is not Roman. Some authori- gárdi, where everyone knew that in hidden on private property. The ties guess its origin as Celtic, others 1975-76 he had found some huge, time and means of its leaving Hun- as Thracian or Germanic. The plat- valuable pure silver platters and gary is mostly hearsay. What is ter may have been a commemora- jugs. A local man later testified that known is that at some time by some tion of a celebratory dinner ensuing he had seen two cauldrons loaded obscure way IT, or pieces of it, had a greatly enjoyable hunt, potentially with many larger silver objects as he been taken to Vienna. with the Emperor himself on the was helping Sümegh transport them guest list. It gives two other signifi- in a horse-drawn carriage to Pol- By now we could justly ask what IT cant clues about Seuso. One is the gárdi. Between 1977 and 1979, is, what the Treasure really in- Christogram (Chi-Rho) separating Sümegh allegedly sold some pieces, cludes? the start and the end of the inscrip- not fully realizing their value. tion, indicating that Seuso most There we bump into another un- likely was a Christian. The other is A few years later, on December 17 th , known. Opinions about the scope of the word PELSO, the name of Lake 1980, the hanged body of Sümegh this Treasure vary greatly, although Balaton in antiquity, that ties József was found in an abandoned the largest guess is probably the Seuso’s residence, thus the treas- cellar at Kıszárhegy. correct one. All original numbers ure, inalienably to the Balaton re- enumerating platters, jugs, buckets, gion. The demise of Sümegh József has wash-bowls, cosmetics containers, remained a mystery to the present utensils are again hearsay. In Hun- It was in May 1878 that 10 broken day. It was preceded by his finding gary, 14 pieces (plus their holding silver pieces turned out from the the treasure and hiding it for years; vessel) are known but over 40 have ground when a local man was dig- his military service from 1978; by been “seen”. The numbers grow ging up a plum tree on the south- his cheerful demeanor purchasing a significantly if we consider 37 gold- east slope of Kıszár-hegy, a hill building lot and construction materi- plated silver cups and 187 spoons, near the town of Polgárdi. He duly als as he planned to build the great- all of which, in company of further surrendered the pieces to the au- est house at Polgárdi after his de- platters and such are guarded at thorities. Experts of the Nemzeti mobilization. Yet, shortly before his some unspecified vault. Originally, Múzeum (National Museum) identi- military term ended, he turned un- most or all the above were kept in fied them as produced in the fourth explainably distant and depressed. lead or copper cauldrons, to be hid- century and restored them into a On the eve of his death, after meet- den from attacks by the barbarians. TOP ROW: TheTreasure's "Birth Certificate"; Amphora handle with panthers. SECOND ROW: Picture of Seuso's supposed villa; Thefirst seven returned pieces. THIRD ROW: Sümegh József; Thetripod / quadripod; Lord Northampton. BOTTOM ROW: Top of theSeuso Platter with tiny Chi-Rho in themiddleof theinscription; Illustrating sizes and scale of the pieces. According to Scotland Yard, be- Having completed extensive soil sam- Olga Vállay Szokolay is an architect tween 1980 and 1987 various collec- pling at the site with results matching and Professor Emerita of Norwalk tors purchased some silver pieces. the traces on a cauldron, in 1993-94, Community College, CT after three A Lebanese art dealer conducted busi- Hungary filed four lawsuits against decades of teaching. She is a member ness from the Vienna Hilton and he Lord Northampton and lost them all. In of the Editorial Board of Magyar News managed to obtain some Roman orna- 1998, Hungary ratified the Unidroit- Online. mental silver dishes, which he sold pact about illicit trafficking of cultural with export papers from Lebanon. property, which mandates that stolen Tracing the Story of One objects of cultural value be returned to Immigrant Family On the international market, first one the country of their lawful ownership. EPF silver jug was offered at the reputable Nevertheless, in 2006, Lord Northamp- Mansour Gallery in London. It was ton attempted to organize selling the There was a personal connection for me bought by the president of the auction Treasure until the British art dealers’ to the recent tragedyof the Montecito house Sotheby’s, as a private person. association declared that exhibiting a (CA) mudslide. László Laky(last contri- Later, as further pieces of the collec- collection of disputable fame would be bution to MNO in September 2017), sent tion appeared, he realized the invest- against ethical rules. me a photo depicting his cousin Sándor ment opportunity, but lacked capital. Hodosyrescuing someone from the He successfully approached art inves- In 2012, after years of frustrated ef- mud. Sándor does not want to be in the tor Lord Northampton (a.k.a.