Early Iron Age burials from Tihany, Hungary
Early Iron Age burials from Tihany, Hungary

Summary/Abstract: During 1970-72 two tumuli were excavated near the long-known prehistoric hilltop settlement of Tihany-Óvár. Its significance is reflected by the fact that it was populated from the late Urnfield period to theHallstatt Age, hence in this sense it is comparable with the most widely known sites of the Early Iron Age in Western Hungary, such as the Somló and the Ság Hill, Szalacska, Zalaszántó, Süttő and Sopron. Contraryto them, however, no burials from Tihany have been entirely published so far. This paper aims to changethis situation. The features found under Tumulus I strongly suggest that the comparison between Tihanyand the aforementioned sites is well-founded based chiefly on the ceramic vessels and the remarkablestructure of the barrow. On the other hand the mound seems to fit into a broader picture of the easternHallstatt zone with regard to the burial customs and rituals identified based on tumuli dated to the Ha C2-D1 phases from Styria to the northeastern part of Transdanubia. Secondly, a stone-lined grave is presented.Considering the grave form and the vessels comprising the grave goods it shows an utterly different picturethan Tumulus I. Consequently, a certain chronological distance between the two burials seems to be conceivable, i.e. the urn grave seems to date to the Ha C1-C2 phases. In addition, the example of the stone-lined grave raises the question whether other graves besides the tumuli might be reckoned with.

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