160 CHAPTER 3
drew attention to the relative frequency of these weapons in Early phase burial
grounds of Eastern Transdanubia and Transylvania which he connected to the
Gepid continuity.8 The existence of this type in the Tisza region was then dem-
onstrated by the publication of the Tiszafüred cemetery by Éva Garam.9 The
study by Tivadar Vida concerning the suspension of the spathae and spatha
belts is especially significant.10
53 spathae are known from the Early Avar Carpathian Basin, which is 44.1%
of all Early Avar double-edged swords. The geographical distribution of these
weapons is very disproportionate (map 27), however, with 12 examples known
from the ‘A’ and ‘B’ cemeteries of Kölked–Feketekapu and ten examples from
the cemetery of Környe. Almost half of the known examples were therefore
found on these two sites.
The Early Avar spathae are concentrated in Eastern Transdanubia, their num-
ber being especially high on sites such as Környe (fig. 58), Kölked-Feketekapu A
and B (figs. 56/2–3, 57), and Szekszárd–Bogyiszlói út. Western Transdanubia is
less represented, two pieces being known from Zala county, a spatha button
from a richly furnished burial chamber in Fenékpuszta–Pusztaszentegyházi
dűlő11 and a spatha from grave No. 1 from Kehida-Központi Tsz-major dated
to the second half of Early phase. Altogether 39 spathae were found in
Transdanubia (73.58% of all examples). The Great Hungarian Plain is rep-
resented by three cemeteries from the middle reaches of the Tisza river:
Tiszafüred,12 Tiszaderzs13 and Tiszaroff. The latter site is known from a burial
with typical Gepid grave goods but dated by a coin of Maurice (582–602) to the
turn of the 6th–7th century.14 These sites from the Tisza region are regarded
as proof of a local Gepid continuity: only four examples (7.5%) were found
on the Great Hungarian Plain. The Gepid continuity has already been proved
in the case of Transylvania, where several cemeteries begun during the first
8 Kiss 1992; Kiss 1996.
9 Garam 1995, 345; Kiss 1999/2000, 359–365.
10 Vida 2000, 161–175.
11 Róbert Müller dated this find to the first half of the 7th century based on the interlace
ornaments on the golden mounts of a wooden cup found in the burial (Müller 1999/2000,
- 355–356). This chronology was verified by the research on the Germanic Animal Style
(Heinrich-Tamáska 2006b, 513–514) and C14 dating (Stadler et al. 2003, 268–269), both of
which date the burial to the second half of the 6th century.
12 Grave No. 44, 114b and 768 (Garam 1995, 13, Abb. 5, Taf. 123, 21, Abb. 8, Taf. 174/1, 94, Taf.
184).
13 Grave No. 1 or 2 (Kiss 1993, 65).
14 The find is unpublished, with only an online report available: http://www.mnm.hu/
Upload/doc/mnm_sajtoanyag_tiszaroff.pdf.