488  

sumably the Middle Avar phase, the second group according to Ilona
Kovrig,62 would never have been identified. This is because the
archaeological material preserved in these graves is either linked
much too closely to the Early Avar material (Igar; pl. 24) or, alter-
natively, it consists almost exclusively of Byzantine objects (Ozora-
Tótipuszta; pl. 28). Important innovations during this period were
merely the sabre, which replaces the early Avar single-edge sword,
as well as a number of different types of jewellery. The sabre scab-
bard now has different types of attachment loops, for instance “don-
key-back-shaped” (Gyenesdiás 64: pl. 26,1, Ozora-Tótipuszta) or
D-shaped loops (Igar III: pl. 24,4). However, in the large necrop-
olises, the Middle Avar group may be discerned with remarkable
clarity. Moreover, in many cases it constitutes a large proportion of
the cemetery (Mödling-An der Goldenen Stiege; Zillingtal). In the
Middle Avar Period a certain homogenisation may be observed, a
standardisation of the archaeological material which makes imported
goods, from Byzantium, Italy or southern Germany, stand out with
unusual clarity. Today, this standardisation may appear to us as a
kind of impoverishment, nevertheless it suggests the existence of a
cultural power, which becomes noticeable once more at a later point,
in the process of adapting new stimuli from the South to suit its
own taste. At the same time, we may interpret this homogenisation
of Avar culture as the result of a political process, through which
all the khagan’s “people” were united. Under this system of alle-
giance, all the small groups which were united under Avar sover-
eignty, but nevertheless frequently became (temporarily) independent
under the leadership of their warlords, were absorbed by a society
which was divided—first and foremost—into horizontal strata. The
local cultural variations are clearly not so important.
The interlace- and chain-ornament of Igar type constitute the
Middle Avar version of Germanic Animal Style or its Pannonian
variant, the “toothcut”-decoration. The beginnings of such ambitions
are related to classical Byzantine interlace and can be seen on a
mould for sheet-metal strap-ends from Kunszentmárton. In the princely
grave Igar III, the strap-ends and fittings, which are made individ-
ually by chasing and punching sheet gold, are decorated with chain

62
I. Kovrig, Das awarenzeitliche Gräberfeld von Alattyán, Archaeologia Hungarica 40
(Budapest 1963).
   () 489

ornament, whereas the gold buckle is decorated with “toothcut”-dec-

oration (pl. 24,3). With its chain-ornamented belt-set made of sheet
silver and the strap-ends with triple-hemispherical end (pl. 29,1), the
relatively rich grave Mödling 35 links the equestrian grave from
Gyenesdiás (pl. 25,4) with the finds from Igar III. Apart from that,
ensembles without or with only simple geometric decoration also
occur. They may be derived from early Avar belt-sets of Szegvár-
Sapoldal type. The Late Roman, Hunnic and Germanic roots are
no longer apparent in the Middle Avar Period; mirrors, omega
brooches and belt pendants with sieve spoons no longer occur. There
is no doubt that the belt-sets of Byzantine type, especially the set
from Ozora-Tótipuszta, as well as other Byzantine jewellery, which
is remarkably abundant in the archaeological record of the Middle
Avar Period, as well as Byzantine coins, which once again, occur
more frequently in the Carpathian Basin, signify a change in the
overall situation of the Avar elite. It seems possible that the reno-
vation of the Avar Empire has, after one or two generations, reached
a stage where it was once more possible to practise active foreign
policy. At least, there is evidence of an Avar delegation to Constan-
tinople in the year 678/679.
The princely grave III from Igar and the equestrian grave from
Gyenesdiás 64, on which remarkably thorough research has been
done, may serve as examples of archaeological complexes from the
Middle Avar Period:
The three finds from Igar (Igar I, II, III) are among the most
well-known archaeological assemblages of the Middle Avar Period.
Nandór Fettich has dealt with them repeatedly, however, a precise
examination of the original documents and the inventory records
was only carried out a few years ago by Gyula Fülöp. He also
attempted to contact the descendants of the finder and succeeded in
clarifying a number of errors.63
The third find from Igar, which we would now like to look at
more closely (pl. 24), has given its name to a type of sheet-metal
belt-fittings with chain decoration (“Igar type”), which is character-

63
G. Fülöp, “Awarenzeitliche Fürstenfunde von Igar”, Acta Archaeologica Hungarica
Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 40 (1988) pp. 151–90; id., “New research on finds
of Avar chieftain-burials at Igar, Hungary”, From the Baltic to the Black Sea. Studies in
medieval archaeology, ed. D. Austin and L. Alcock, One world archaeology 18 (London
1990) pp. 138–46.
490  

istic for Middle Avar Period I. In 1928, the equestrian grave was
discovered in the process of removing a hill, at a depth of 4 m. As
the finders were unable to agree on how to divide up the valuable
objects, the police heard about the find and collected the gold fittings
from the villagers. According to the landowner, the bronze and gold
objects lay in the stomach region, the sword to the left of the body,
the silver cup near the left hand, the wooden vessel near the feet,
the coffin clamps around the skeleton. The man wore two small gold
earrings decorated with small spheres and two plait fasteners, con-
sisting of gilded bronze tubelets of hexagonal section (pl. 24,1–2).
The belt-set (pl. 24,3) made of sheet gold (for information on the
buckle see below) had not—as is usually stated—been pressed in a
mould. Instead it had been given individual form by chasing and
punching, whereby the basic lay-out of the ornament had first of all
been scratched on the front with a needle.64 The set is definitely not
complete, however, apart from the strap-loop and the hole-rein-
forcements all the different types seem to be present: Buckle, main
strap-end, one double escutcheon-shaped mount, one “double-bow-
shaped” and three escutcheon-shaped fittings as well as one broad
and four narrow subsidiary strap-ends. The gold buckle with inflexible
fitting has been cast and is decorated with a fine, symmetrical “tooth-
cut”-ornament. The “chain decoration” on the sheet fittings has obvi-
ously been created in the Middle Avar period by developing the
“toothcut”-ornament further. The latter is a Pannonian variation of
the Animal Style II in the form of interlace, in the “chain decora-
tion” the interlace is usually split up into separate chain links. The
silver cast and gilded hook-fitting may also have been part of the
belt. The sabre with “star-shaped” hilt is bent considerably and was
worn by means of two D-shaped attachment loops. The latter were
framed by strips of silver. If one considers the sabre from Gyenesdiás
for comparison (pl. 26,1), the two square gold fittings with face-
shaped protuberances in the corners could have decorated the attach-
ment loops of the sabre sheath. The handle was partially covered
in gold- and silver foil and has two bronze nails with decorative
function. The mouth of the scabbard is decorated with sections of
gold foil. The function of another, quite large Byzantine buckle (pl.
24,7) is not quite clear. Fülöp thinks there may have been a second

64
Birgit Bühler (forthcoming).
   () 491

belt, to which, apart from the buckle, the cast-fitting with a hook,
a broad strap-end made of low-quality silver and some fragments of
silver sheet may have belonged.65 Another possibility is that the
buckle, together with a small bronze buckle with inflexible fitting,
was used for fastening the straps belonging to the sabre, although it
seems a little too large for this purpose. In the case of both buck-
les, the lost bronze tongues had been replaced by ones made of iron.
The slightly flaring chalice made of low quality silver has fallen apart
during restoration; the pottery vessel is made of well-tempered clay
and finished on a slow wheel. It is well rounded and has a flaring,
rounded rim.66 There is also an iron sickle, which is unfortunately
heavily corroded, so that its shape can only be described vaguely.
Sickles occur only rarely.
In Gyenesdiás, just 2 km northeast of Keszthely, an Avar ceme-
tery was excavated between 1963 and 1991. Among other impor-
tant burials, it also includes a Middle Avar equestrian grave with a
Byzantine coin (pl. 25–27).67
The grave’s orientation was precisely E-W. The man lay facing
east, in a coffin which had been placed in a large, rectangular grave
pit over 2 m deep. On the southern side, beside the coffin, a horse
had been buried with the same orientation. A goat’s skin with com-
plete skull and legs had been spread out over the horse’s head and
forelegs. The warrior was outstandingly equipped. On both sides of
his skull lay gold earrings, on one of them an oval amethyst had
been preserved (pl. 25,1). There was a gold finger-ring on each hand,
one with a round cabochon on three small columns, the other with
pyramid-shaped decoration and a small red precious stone (pl. 25,2).
The belt-set consists of a Byzantine bronze buckle with inflexible
fitting, triple hemispherical openwork and three cast attachment lugs,
a variant of the Sucidava type of buckle, and gilded sheet-bronze
fittings and strap-ends (pl. 25,4). The basic shape of the strap-ends
resembles an elongated trapezium, the lower end is decorated with
three hemispheres. The fittings each consist of four hemispheres: in

65
Fülöp, “Awarenzeitliche Fürstenfunde”, pp. 165 ff.
66
Ibid., pp. 168–9.
67
R. Müller, “Vorbericht über die Freilegung des Grabes eines hohen Militärs
aus der Mittelawarenzeit in Gyenesdiás”, Communicationes Archaeologicae Hungariae (1989)
pp. 141–64; id., “Das Gräberfeld von Gyenesdiás”, Reitervölker aus dem Osten. Hunnen
+ Awaren, ed. F. Daim (Halbturn 1996) pp. 411–6.
492  

the centre there is a truncated cone which has been turned by 90

degrees. The strap-loop is decorated with a motif resembling a St.
Andrew’s cross. The latter may well reflect the—much earlier—cross
motif on the strap-loop from Kunágota. The belt-set is completed
by two hole-reinforcements and two fragments of fittings. Near the
right lower arm of the deceased, there was an iron dagger of excep-
tional length, approximately 20 cm. To the man’s left a sabre, with
an exceptionally long handle, had been placed (pl. 26,1). The attach-
ment loops are “donkey-back-shaped”, similar to those from Ozora-
Tótipuszta. They are ornamented with gold fittings in the shape of
a square which has been rotated by 90 degrees, again with a flat
truncated cone in the centre and four heart- or face-shaped protu-
berances. These fittings correspond closely to the chased gold fittings
from Igar III, which may therefore also be considered sabre orna-
ments. At the man’s left elbow there was a biconical spindle-whorl.
These are found predominantly in women’s graves. Near the man’s
feet there was a hand-made clay vessel. In the mouth of the deceased,
Róbert Müller found a so-called “coin of Charon”, which, accord-
ing to tradition, is the dead man’s payment for the ferryman who
is supposed to take him over the river Styx. The gold coin, fresh
from the mint, belongs to the reign of Constans II, minted between
654 and 659.
The horse was saddled and bridled. Its bridle was decorated with
fittings and strap-ends made of gilded sheet-bronze (pl. 26,2). In
some ways they seem very traditional (triple-hemispherical fringed
mounts), in some ways very modern (strap-ends in the shape of an
elongated trapeze, with star-shaped ends). The horse had an iron
snaffle-bit in its mouth, which must originally have had side-bars of
unknown form made of some kind of organic material. Beside the
horse’s flanks there were round stirrups. The quiver with the arrows
had been placed to the right of the horse, maybe it was hanging
from the saddle. It was apparently decorated with tin foil, which
however, fell apart in the excavation process. It contained four arrows
with triple-winged arrow-heads, one of them with a horizontal blade.
The composite bow with bone reinforcements in the centre and at
the ends lay to the left of the horse (pl. 27). Possibly, it had already
been broken when it was placed in the grave.
In Middle Avar Period II, there is a tendency to make the fittings
more geometric, for example by placing a square boss in the cen-
tre (pl. 29,3). While in the Early and Middle Avar Period, usually
   () 493

only buckles had been cast (exceptions can be found among the
group of belt-fittings with “toothcut”-decoration), now, at the end of
the Middle Avar Period, the first cast strap-ends and fittings appear,
usually only with geometric ornament and frequently together with
sheet-metal fittings. In the cemetery of Mödling, this phase, which
is a period of transition leading to the “griffin and tendril industry”,
is particularly clear (pl. 30,1–2). It would be useful to know when
exactly these innovations were introduced to Avar belt fashion. Usually,
we place the beginning of the Late Avar Period in the years around
or just after 700, however this is based more on intuition and con-
vention than on hard facts. If one would like to move the transition
between the Middle and the Late Avar Period further into the eighth
century, one would, in turn, have to move the material from Late
Avar Period III into the ninth century in order to prevent “over-
crowding” of chronological phases in the eighth century.
The fact that three types of iron belt-sets with silver inlay, which
otherwise occur mainly in southern Germany, but which could also
have originated in Italy, are found in Avar territory, is particularly
interesting: The first type is characterised by depictions of human
faces (“Feldmoching type”), the second by striped inlay and the third
by vertical stripes and zig-zag ornament:

• Iron belt-sets with silver inlay depicting human faces (“Feldmoching

type”): Eloszállás-Bajcsihegy;
 68
Zamárdi69 (third quarter of the sev-
enth century).
• Iron belt-sets with silver inlay in the form of stripes: Alattyán
520;70 Mödling-An der Goldenen Stiege 240;71 Pókaszepetk 67;72

68
Bóna, “Ethnische Verhältnisse”, pp. 64 ff. and fig. 4.
69
Exhibition Museum Kaposvár 1999. Compare also the exhibition catalogue:
The largest cemetery from the Avar period in the Carpathian basin. Selection from the restored
material of the Avar cemetery at Zamárdi (Kaposvár 1998).
70
Kovrig, Alattyán, pl. 34,47–51.
71
Mödling—Goldene Stiege, ed. F. Daim, K. Matzner and H. Schwammenhöfer
(forthcoming).
72
Á. Sós and Á. Salamon, Cemeteries of the Early Middle Ages (6th–9th c.) at Pókaszepetk
(Budapest 1995) pl. VII 67,5–12. The distribution of belt-sets with striped inlay was
examined by U. Koch, “Das fränkische Gräberfeld von Herbolzheim, Kreis Heilbronn”,
Fundberichte aus Baden-Württemberg 7 (1982) pp. 387–474, esp. p. 461, fig. 37 and 469,
as well as R. Marti, “Das Grab eines wohlhabenden Alamannen in Altdorf UR,
Pfarrkirche St. Martin”, Jahrbuch der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Ur- und Frühgeschichte
78 (1995) pp. 83–130, esp. pp. 109–10.
494  

Sommerein 1673 (third quarter of the seventh century) (pl. 16,5).

• Iron belt-sets with silver-inlayed zig-zag ornament: Gyenesdiás 5,74
Záhorská Bystrica 2075 und Zalakomár 54576 (third quarter of the
seventh century).

It is possible that these three types of belt-sets entered the Carpathian

Basin during a very short phase only. On the other hand, they may
be linked with a particular workshop or with a particular trade route.
Technical studies of the objects in question will help answer this
question.
The numerous large cemeteries which were used continuously in
the Middle and Late Avar Period now permit us to observe the cul-
tural development in the Avar Empire more clearly. However, the
reason why large necropolises were established at this particular
time—the end of the Early Avar Period or the beginning of the
Middle Avar Period, is difficult to determine. But certainly, the set-
tlements—inhabited for seven to nine generations—belonging to these
large cemeteries are proof of a tendency to settle down, even if the
Avars maintained many elements of traditional pastoral farming in
the process.
One of the “provincial” necropolises, which was used from the
end of the Early Avar Period up to the end of Late Avar Period is
the cemetery at Mödling-An der Goldenen Stiege.
Mödling is located south of Vienna on a slope of the Vienna
woods. In 1967, during dredging work in preparation for building
a house, Avar graves were found and then examined by the
Bezirksmuseumsverein of Mödling, the rescue excavation service of the
Urgeschichtliche Arbeitsgemeinschaft today known as Gesellschaft für Ur- und
Frühgeschichte and in particular by Hermann und Lotte Schwammen-
höfer. By 1973, a total of 497 Avar graves had been rescued.77 There

73
Daim and Lippert, Sommerein, pl. 15–16.
74
Müller, “Gräberfeld von Gyenesdiás”, p. 412.
75
L. Kraskovská, Slovansko-avarské pohrebisko pri Záhorskej Bystrici, Fontes archeolog-
ického ústavu Slovenského národného múzea v Bratislava 1 (Bratislava 1972) fig.
13; 14,1–2.
76
For an illustration see: R. Müller, Der Häuptling von Gyenes. Awarenzeit in der
Umgebung von Keszthely, Kataloge des Niederösterreichischen Landesmuseums N.F.
256 (Wien 1990) fig. 4.
77
Exhibition catalogue Germanen, Awaren, Slawen in Niederösterreich: das 1. Jahrtausend
nach Christus, ed. H. Windl (Wien 1977); K. Matzner, “Völkerwanderung und
   () 495

were also 55 cremations from the Hallstatt Period and 40 settlement

pits predominantly from the Neolithic Period. Another interesting
detail: there is also evidence of a ditch—presumably also from the
Neolithic—enclosing the area.
The cemetery from Mödling is not an example of a really rich
necropolis. It does not contain horse graves and only two graves are
spectacular: This is the man’s grave 35, from the Middle Avar Period,
with a silver belt-set of Igar type and the woman’s grave 144 from
the Late Avar Period with a more than complete repertoire of grave
goods, including the famous coat-clasp with images of two archers.
However, for two reasons the cemetery is particularly suitable for
archaeological interpretation: First of all, it has a relatively clear
structure. The central section belongs mainly to the Middle Avar
Period and starting from there, in the Late Avar Period, further buri-
als were added to the west and east. Only the northern part of the
cemetery was apparently used more than once; here however, some
of the overlapping graves assist interpretation.
As mentioned previously, the cemetery at Mödling is particularly
suitable for examining and illustrating the chronological development
of the archaeological material, especially in the Middle Avar Period
and during the transition from Middle to Late Avar Period. The
two most interesting assemblages of Middle Avar Period I come from
grave 35 and 93 (pl. 29,1,2). In grave 35, a man had been buried
with his silver sheet belt-set, decorated with chain ornament of Igar
type. He wore earrings consisting of silver rings and hollow gold
spheres decorated with granulation. Beside his head a spindle-whorl
had been placed, in the pelvic region there were bone ornaments
from the quiver and a triple-winged iron arrow head. In grave 93
a man with his bronze sheet belt-set, decorated with “wrapped” inter-
lace had been buried. On the square fittings, the interlace disinte-
grates once more to form separate chain links, which proves that
the two types of ornament are related. A vertical fitting with dou-
ble symmetry and decorated with a blue precious stone, is particu-
larly characteristic. It was worn on the back part of the belt. The
grave also contained two knives, an iron tool for making fire with

Awarenzeit”, Mödling. Landschaft, Kultur, Wirtschaft (Mödling 1975) pp. 67–88; H.

Schwammenhöfer, “Ein awarenzeitlicher Bestattungsplatz in Mödling bei Wien”,
Antike Welt 7,2 (1976) pp. 11–8.
496  

several flint stones, two arrow heads and a vessel hand-made from
clay containing small pieces of chalk or marble and finished on a
slow wheel.
Square belt-fittings with geometric decoration, which can no longer
be traced back to Animal Style ornament, are typical for Middle Avar
Period II. Grave 79 is a good example (pl. 29,3). Two square belt-
fittings which belong to the set are decorated with bosses in the form
of truncated cones with zig-zag ornament around them. A little later,
one began to cast belt-fittings with geometric decoration. A number
of graves contain mixed assemblages: parts of the belt consist of
sheet-metal, while others have been cast, for instance grave 242,
which also includes a pot finished on a slow wheel and decorated
with distinct wave-band ornament (pl. 30,1; 33,4). In grave 100,
there were square fittings with lattice decoration which match the
main strap-end as well as a cast fitting with a hook, which no longer
occurs in Late Avar Period I. The main strap-end from grave 242
has a real spout for fastening the belt-strap, while the one from grave
135 only has a gap, to which the tip of the strap is riveted by means
of a supplementary sheet of metal (pl. 30,2). Grave 135 also con-
tained a clay vessel which had been finished on a slow wheel, but
seems more archaic: It has an almost conic shape and a flaring rim
(pl. 33,2). The early women’s graves in Mödling are not very remark-
able. Bead necklaces with colourful biconical beads and “eye beads”
are characteristic of Middle Avar Period I, while the earrings are
frequently decorated with hollow spheres made of sheet-bronze, for
instance those depicted here from grave 54, which however, cannot
compare to those splendid specimens found in the contemporary
“princely graves”.
As far as pottery is concerned, changes can be detected not only
in the fine ware (“grey pottery”) but increasingly also in the simple
household pottery, made with the help of technical devices. Some
of the pots from the cemetery Mödling-An der Goldenen Stiege
which were finished by turning them on a slow wheel can be dated
with certainty to Middle Avar Period I (pl. 33,1).78 These early ves-
sels have a gentle, S-shaped profile and are made of clay which has

78
F. Daim, “Zur nachgedrehten Keramik aus dem awarischen Gräberfeld von
Mödling—An der goldenen Stiege”, Slawische Keramik in Mitteleuropa vom 8. bis 11.
Jahrhundert, ed. ’. StaÏna, Internationale Tagungen in Mikulcice 1 (Brno 1994) pp.
29–52.
   () 497

been tempered with small chalk stones, possibly even with ground
marble. This technique was already used in Late Antiquity; it seems
to have survived locally.79 Those vessels which are characteristic of
the Late Avar Period but still occur in the later Early- and Later
Middle Ages, have been finished on a slow wheel and have an angu-
lar rim (pl. 33,6–7). They may in fact be traced back to the Middle
Avar pots mentioned above. Regarding the Late Avar Period in
Mödling see below.
Some Hungarian archaeologists have linked the development of
the Middle Avar spectrum of finds with the immigration of a Bulgarian
population group led by Kuver, who is believed to have been the
son of the Bulgarian ruler. For methodical and thematic reasons,
this theory must be refuted, even if, for demographic reasons we
must assume that there was considerable immigration in the middle
and the second half of the seventh century, presumably also from
Eastern Europe.

3 Late Avar Period

In the Early and Middle Avar Period, metal-casting technology was
well known, however it was used mainly to produce buckles. The
majority of Avar belt components was either pressed or chased. In
the Mediterranean region, both techniques were used at the same
time, however, there appear to have been regional preferences. Only
in Northern Italy do we find belt-sets which consist exclusively of
cast components (second and third quarter of the seventh century,
at least; pl. 16,1). Similar sets, as well as cast buckles with U-shaped
fittings also find their way into the Carpathian Basin.80 Among the
Early Avar belt-sets with “toothcut”-decoration, there are also some
cast specimens of high technical quality.81
Within a relatively short period—if we allow that the Late Avar
period begins with this important innovation—casting becomes the
preferred technique for the production of buckles, strap-ends and
fittings (fig. 4). At the beginning of this period, for a considerable

79
Vida, Keramik I. I would also like to thank Roman Sauer (Vienna) for infor-
mation on this topic.
80
Bóna, “Ethnische Verhältnisse”. Most recently: Daim, “Sechs Gräber mit west-
lichen Gegenständen”, with further literature.
81
Daim, “‘Byzantinische’ Gürtelgarnituren”, pp. 160 ff.