On the ‘pseudo-ditch’ system of the Late Neolithic Öcsöd-Kováshalom settlement complex on the Great Hungarian Plain

András Füzesi; Isabel Hohle; Norbert Faragó; Knut Rassmann; Eszter Bánffy; Pál Raczky

doi:10.4312/dp.50.23

Authors

András Füzesi Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, Hungary
Isabel Hohle German Archaeological Institute, Romano-Germanic Commission, Frankfurt, Germany
Norbert Faragó Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
Knut Rassmann German Archaeological Institute, Romano-Germanic Commission, Frankfurt, Germany
Eszter Bánffy German Archaeological Institute, Romano-Germanic Commission, Frankfurt, Germany; Hungarian Academy of Sciences, HUN-REN Archaeological Institute, Budapest, Hungary
Pál Raczky Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Budapest, Hungary

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4312/dp.50.23

Keywords:

Late Neolithic, Carpathian basin, pseudo-ditch system, site formation processes, geochemical analysis, chronological modelling

Abstract

The well-known Late Neolithic tell-like settlement of Öcsöd-Kováshalom on the Great Hungarian Plain gained a completely new context when a triple enclosure consisting of segments (hence the name ‘pseudo-ditch’) was discovered in 2018. Followed by two small excavation campaigns, this paper gives account of the construction stages, various digging and filling actions, of the chronology and of the structured deposits that marked the closing event of these long-lasting communal activities. A comparison with European Neolithic enclosures supports the interpretation on the diversity of the numerous ditch systems, and do not allow any generalizing views – it rather speaks for the freedom of local communities in their choices within their respective cultural frameworks.