ACTA ARCHAEOLOGICA TOMUS 24 (A MTA RÉGÉSZETI KÖZLEMÉNYEI, 1972)

24. kötet / 1-3. sz. - J. FITZ: The Excavations in Gorsium

1964, also gives a perspicuous picture, in which, however, on account of the incomplete knowledge, several buildings have been included, which cannot be regarded as villas. 6 The elaboration of the certain groups of finds is in progress. The late ceramics, the bronze statues and frescos are elaborated by Zs. BÁNKI, the glasses by L. BARKÓCZI, the animal bones by S. BÖKÖNYI, the terrae sigillatae by D. GABLER, the hand-shaped barbarian vessels by E. KOCZTUR, the coins by V. LÁNYI, the iron objects by M. PETŐ, and the author of the present paper elaborates the sealed native ceramics, the brick stamps and the stone monuments. FITZ THE EXCAVATIONS IN GORSIUM (PLATES I-XVI) The systematic investigation of the Roman site in the vicinity of the village Tác, county Fejér (district Székesfehérvár), known since long1 and partly explored with several excavations since 1934,2 was started in 1958.я The settlement to be outlined on the basis of surface traces and air photographs is situated entirely outside the present inhabited areas and thus it renders favourable possibilities to get acquainted with a settlement of limer Pannónia. With the exception of the colony of Aquincum, we can have an idea about the topography, architectural monuments and periods of the one-time Roman towns ofthat part of Pannónia which is situated in the territory of Hungary, only from the mosaic-like data gathered from minor excavations.4 Even less is known to us about the dimensions, construction and history of the minor towns, settlements and villa farms situated in the inner territory of the province.5 The excavations of the years 1958 to 1970 carried on at Tác give us a view of a comparatively small part of the large settlement. In spite of this, the investigations, in regard to the topographic problems, as well as in respect of the chronology, the character and status of the settlement, have come to several new results even up to now, before the elaboration of the finds, and in the one-time centre of Gorsium a group of buildings has been discovered which is beyond the local significance. The publication of these results seems to be justified even before the closing down of the investigation of the centre of the settlement which can last still for several years. We propose to report on certain results of the excavation in progress, which can already be summed up. From this it also follows that in this work we shall not deal with those questions which require the elaboration and analysis of a material consisting of several hundred-thousand finds (workshops, ovens, etc.) even if we have recorded many observations on them. Therefore the economic conditions, the industrial and commercial life and activities of the settlement will be discussed by us after the elaboration of the finds at another place.® 1 F. PESTY: Directory of place-names, in manu­script, Vol. 15, 246; F. RÖMER: AK 6 (1866) 103. He calls it already at this time a site "frequently men­tioned in old times". 2 The description of the excavations with the literary data in a summarized form see E. THOMAS: Acta Arch. Hung. 6 (1955) 79—152. 3The reports on the excavations see in Alba Regia 1 (1960) to 8/9 (1967/68). 1 In a summarized from see A. MÓCSY: RE Suppl. 9 (1962) 693 — 701. 5Loc. cit.; on the position of the investigation E. THOMAS: Römische Villen in Pannonién. Budapest Acta Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 24, 1972

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