8 CHAPTER 1
research of these weapons has largely addressed their classification and typol-
ogy, as well as ethnic identification and social interpretation. Here we will
review general problems pertaining to the broader history of research of Avar
arms and armour, whilst studies of detailed classification and typology will be
discussed in the following chapter.
2.1 Antiquarian Perspective and Cataloguing Artefacts
The antiquarian approach was a characteristic feature of archaeological
research in the Carpathian Basin (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire)
until the 1870s, followed by more positivist surveys which optimistically
focused on addressing a wider set of questions based on a greater abundance
of quantative data. This chapter deals not only with these 19th century surveys
of artefacts but also with similar later studies, which also addressed aspects
such as typology and society, as well as the history of technology.
The beginning of the systematic study of Avar-age weaponry is marked by
the birth of Hungarian archaeology and its museum system:24 the burial of
Kunágota found in 1857 contained a close combat weapon, with gold sheet
decorating the sword, although its full identification and reconstruction did
not occur until almost 100 years later.25 The first spearhead from a burial identi-
fied as ‘Avar’ was found between the 14th and 17th of August 1871 in Szentendre
near the brick factory of Nagykürti.26 Both of these burials played a significant
role in the archaeological identification of the Avars by Ferenc Pulszky who
dated them on the basis of Byzantine coins found in the graves.27
The following decades witnessed an abundance of activity by archaeologi-
cal societies and the foundation of museums in the Austro-Hungarian Empire,
which by the 1890s resulted in the discovery of a large number of Avar-age
cemeteries containing several weapons.28 A first synthesis of such ‘Nomadic’
24 The 19th century history of research of Avar finds has been discussed in detail by István
Bóna (1982–83).
25 Ferenc Pulszky could not identify the original function of the gold sheets, since the iron
components of the sword did not reach the Hungarian National Museum (Pulszky 1874,
1–12). Their function was determined by Gyula László using the sword from Kecel as a
model in the 1930s (László 1938, 138–148), but its reconstruction was only published after
World War II (László 1950, 31–33).
26 Bóna 1982–83. The site was identified by István Torma in 1981: MRT 7. 28/44.
27 Pulszky 1874, 1–12. The role of Ferenc Pulszky in the history of research of the Migration
Period and the archaeology of early Hungarians was discussed by Péter Langó 2007, 78–83.
28 The archaeological societies played a significant role in the formation of the county
museums (Maczó 2002), with most of the Avar-age cemeteries being excavated by these
societies, lead by some pre-eminent scholars of Szekszárd, Mór Wosinsky whose activity