VII. Fields of Conflict Conference (2012, Budapest)
Abstracts
Duffy, Xavier: Contextualising military commemoration in archaic and early classical
Greece.
This paper is a modern reflection on late archaic and early classical Greek perspectives on
military commemoration. I will focus on public monumentalisation and seek to move beyond
the art historical approach of assessing the meaning of imagery by contextualising the
monument as a whole within, and including, the ‘inscribed’ landscape. This method may
implicate other structures, thus, by viewing these multiple elements we see how the
construction of a commemorative monument may affect the already established meaning of
the ‘place’. ‘Place’, when imbued with meaning becomes open to layers of (re)interpretation
by those who experience it and so while monuments are the focus of this paper; it is the
experiencers who I consider central in the interpretation process. The messages projected by
monuments are necessarily actualised by individuals and, by addressing the intended message,
multiple alternative and possibly competitive memory communities may be revealed.
Throughout this paper I will engage with the interaction between individual and communal
reception of the ‘official’ message projected through public monumentalisation. I argue that
the plurality of meaning found in commemorative trends is central when attempting to
provide insights into the cultural necessity of warfare. Cultural ‘memory’ will be presented as
a concept which is capable of manipulating the past, not temporally constrained and that can,
in fact, enter into the public realm outside time. This paper will address the broader question:
what role(s) do memorials have regarding the memory of conflict in ancient Greece?
Ble, E.; Rubio-Campillo, X.; Valdés, P.; Yubero, M.: Tracing a Roman siege from Late
Roman Republic wars in Puig Ciutat (North-Eastern Iberian Peninsula).
The site of Puig Ciutat (Oristà, Catalonia) lies in a high plateau of around 5 ha situated in an
uneven and quite inaccessible region called Lluçanès. Three archaeological campaigns have
been conducted since 2010, including geophysical surveys and excavations, and revealing
what seems to be a large Iberian fortified settlement. However, the first results generated
several questions regarding its inhabitants, as the proportion of Italic pottery was extremely
high for Iberian standards. Moreover, the entire site shows a general ash layer linked to the
presence of weaponry, pointing towards a violent destruction of the town. The large amount
of weapon findings linked to the presence of Roman troops seems to be related to a violent
engagement between soldiers of the Late Roman Republic. Two hypotheses emerge,
according to current analysed data: the assault took place whether during the Sertorian War
(around 80-72 BE) or the first phases of the Caesarian Civil War (50-49 BE).
In order to expand the knowledge about this assault a metal detector survey of the site's
surroundings was conducted in 2011. The main goals of these works were the improvement of
understanding on Roman siege techniques and the location of possible Roman besieging
camps. The preliminary results of this research will be presented in our communication. The
most interesting points in discussion will be the importance of caligae studs as a decisive
indicator to track the path of Puigciutat's attackers, the interaction between intrasite
1
excavations and metal detector outside surveys, and the use of multiscale spatial analysis to
understand the importance of surrounding landscape on battlefield archaeology.
Istenič, Janka: Traces of Roman military actions from Octavian’s Illyrian wars (35-33 BC)
in Western Slovenia.
A considerable quantity of metal work has been collected by unauthorised amateurs using
metal detectors at three sites (Grad near Reka, Gradišče v Cerknem and Vrh Gradu pri
Pečinah) in the mountaneus region above the River Idrijca and its tributaries in Western
Slovenia.
The Roman military assemblages found at the sites relate to a single event which should be
placed in the period 40/30 B.C, most probably in the first year of Octavian’s Illyrian wars, i.e.
in 35 B.C. (Istenič, J., Evidence for a very late Republican siege at Grad near Reka in Western
Slovenia. Carnuntum Jahrbuch, 2005, 77-87). The paper shall present the research of two
sites, Grad near Reka and Gradišče v Cerknem, that followed the 2005 publication. It included
recording of the distribution of metal work at the sites, which led us to a hypothesis of the
percourse of military conflict between the Roman and indigenous worriers.
Wilbers-Rost, Susanne - Rost, Achim: The Battlefield of Kalkriese - Recent results.
For 25 years archaeological investigations have been taking place at the Kalkriese Hill 20 km
north of Osnabrueck; nearly 6000 fragments of Roman military objects indicate an ancient
battle of Augustan times, certainly the battle of Varus against German attackers in 9 A.D
(Battle of the Teutoburg Forest). Two aspects of the research will be focused in this paper.
We will present an overview on the distribution of different parts of Roman military
equipment from the site Oberesch, which seems to be a main place of the fighting. Especially
the impact of different post-battle processes can be demonstrated by the find distribution.
However, the Oberesch site was only a part of a much more extended battlearea; therefore it is
necessary to look at the battlefield from a different perspective. Roman artefacts from the
combat are scattered over an area of more than 30 km2. To reconstruct the actions of the
Roman and Germanic troops we need to know the basic conditions formed by the cultural
landscape. As the Romans – on campaign in regions out of the territories which were under
their control – had to use Germanic infrastructure, we need for instance information about
indigenous settlements, transport routes and the dimension of cultivated areas. Furthermore,
we want to know what happened to the booty which was collected by the Germans after the
battle; at least some of the Roman weapons were recycled in settlements nearby. These
aspects are included in the recent project which deals with the investigation of the “conflict
landscape”. Last year excavations of Germanic settlements at the Kalkriese Hill started to
answer questions of battlefield archaeology in combination with methods of settlement
archaeology. The progress of this new approach to study the battlefield as a part of a wider
conflict landscape will be demonstrated in our paper.
Boštjan, Laharnar: Rome marches to Illyricum: evidence from Southwestern Slovenia
With regard to the typological – chronological determination of items associated with Roman
Army found at several fortified hilltop settlements in the region of Notranjska (SW Slovenia),
2
and considering the historical situation, we can assume the presence of the Roman troops
during several periods.
The hoard of Roman republican weapons from Šmihel (Horvat, J., The Hoard of Roman
Republican Weapons from Grad near Šmihel, Arheološki vestnik, 50, 215–257) is very
probably connected with the besieging in the 2nd century BC. Roman military equipment from
some other sites suggests Roman military interventions against local communities from
Caesarian period to the early Augustan period (70/60–15 BC) or presence of troops in the
hinterland of main military operations during the Pannonian wars (14–9 BC) and the
Pannonian-Dalmatian revolt (AD 6–9).
Nagy, Balázs: On the scent of the Tatars, coin-finds of the South-Transdanubia (Hungary).
The research knows 8 treasures from the area of the South-Transdanubia which are dated at
the age of the Tatar Invasion of Hungary (1241-1242 AD.) In my paper I would like to
analyse the coins of the treasure.
The find places of the treasures can help to reconstruct the route of the Tatar army at the
South-Transdanubia.
Kranzieritz, Károly: Sigismund of Luxemburg’s campaigns at the Hungarian South and the
itinerariums (1387-1410 AD).
The presentation intends to introduce the Hungarian army’s route and their residences in the
southern battles.
Besides the presentation aims to introduce the use and importance of itineraries in the analysis
of the Hungarian military history.
The research builds on the sources which can be found in the Zsigmond, Zichy, Raguza and
Southern Slav archives.
The composition of the itinerary concentrates on the Dalmatian-Croatian, Slavonian
governors and the governors of Macsó, and the overseers of Temes.
The analysis attempts to use the already composed itineraries’ results (the following
itineraries which belonged to King Zsigmond, Transylvanian vaivodes and Ozorai Pipo).
The presentation focuses on the analysis of the Turkish, Bosnian and Serbian wars between
the period of 1387 and 1410.
Other residences of officers and lords who participated in Southern military events will be
also used. Among the results of the research the compilation of such a map is also important
which shows the main routes and residences of the Hungarian armies.
Kázmér, Miklós – Major, Balázs: Aspects of crusader warfare and logistics – archaeometry
in al-Marqab citadel, Syria.
The largest crusader fortress in the Middle East, al-Marqab citadel in coastal Syria, suffered
from repeated sieges and recurrent earthquakes, both leaving behind their characteristic traces.
The first archaeological excavation by the Syrian-Hungarian Archaeological Mission since
2007 revealed a detailed construction history and found abundant evidence of contemporary
military, civilian, and religious life. Scientific aspects are outlined here. Shifted and rotated
ashlars, twisted walls, and intricate fracture systems of masonry are signatures of major
earthquakes as opposed to sieges. Orientation of failed walls and vaults offer clues for
3
attribution to known historical earthquakes. Charcoal preserved as carbon and as casts in
smithing slag yielded botanical data on the surrounding forests, while tree-ring studies offer
clues to contemporary forestry practices. Shooting ranges of crossbows and trebuchets are
calibrated by measuring distance between defenders and the enemy and by examining
projectiles. We suggest a method to distinguish incoming and own projectiles for trebuchets.
(Funding by SHAM & OTKA K67583).
Jones, Charles: Finding battlesites from the time before ballistic weapons.
The paper explores the options for locating battle sites that were fought at close quarters with
personal weapons such as spears, swords and axes that leave very little physical debris or
patterns of projectiles which can be plotted. A methodology is proposed based on the work
conducted at Fulford, an eleventh century battle in northern England.
The paper will cover the role and caveats about literature and the way it can be tested using
landscape archaeology. Techniques to gather landscape data and re-create the battle-surface
will be explored and how this work can test not only the literature but also guide the way the
search for physical finds is planned since it can reveal the accessible surface from the time of
the battle.
Search and statistical analysis methodologies are explored along with the role of XRF and
xray on the finds. The last topic will contain elements of my paper given at The Royal
Armouries in Leeds showing how the store-room debris of museums can be invaluable in
identifying fragments of battlefield debris.
The proposed methodology encourages a holistic approach and demonstrated how iterative
testing can increase the confidence in locating lost battlesites.
Buzás, Gergely: The impact of the firearms to the late medieval castle building. Born of a
particular defend system in the Jagello Age.
Already in the middle of the 15th century, in the military technological development the
spread and development of firearms played an important role and their role increased
excessively in the first half of the 16th century.
This had an essential effect on the military architecture that was transformed enormously and
quickly in that 100 years.
The forefront of the European military architecture’s development was influenced by the
development of gun, but the role of firearms should be considered as an important one too.
Throughout the development of the late middle-aged Hungarian military architecture the
abovementioned military devices were important ones in one significant era and had
prominent role too.
In the middle of the 15th century in France and Italy the first, rounded guntowers which
protected the forts appeared.
In the same period of time the Turkish also erected guntowers which protected the forts in
Constantinopolis and in its surroundings.
The effect of the Italian and Turkish military archeology can be observed in the southern part
of Hhungary and close to the Turkish frontier in the third part of the 15th century through the
apperance of sevral forts protected by guntowersand erected at Nándorfehérvár(Belgrade),
Bács and Szeged.
In the second part of the 15th century the round-shaped bastions and embankments for the
advanced posts appeared in France, Spain, Italy and in other Italian estates.
4
From 1480 the defensive system with bastion emerged in Toscana.
In this era, in Hungary’s inner regions the military architecture developed towards other
direction. The protective buildings built around Trencsén, Nagyvázsony and Eger in 1500
included embankments, advanced posts, entrenchments and towers which protected the moat
and sometimes only one guntower was added to the centre of the castle, but this was formed
not for gunfire fights but for the use of small arms. A bit later, in the quarter of the 16th
century by the fortification of Pécs's episcopal castle the use of the smaller calibre guns was
typical. The situation changed later, in the years of 1530 when in Hungary the gun towers
were widely known and used and the entrenchments used as gun rondelles and the Italian
bastions also appeared.
Domonkos, György: Computer Aided Design and History.
The Computer Aided Design (CAD) is a very useful tool for architects and engineers, but it is
used more and more in other sciences as in historical researches. Perhaps the most important
goal of that is to reconstruct old and demolished buildings, from the Antiquity to the 20th
century. To this object we can apply as the written and pictorial sources as the achievement of
the archeology and art history. As a military historian I deal with the castles and fortresses,
and tried to reconstruct some of them from Kingdom of Hungary. The first attempt was the
castle of Eger, of that famous siege of 1552 is an important event of the fights against the
Osmans. The problem is that the most of the old castle was destroyed during the siege and we
have only a 16 year later plane about them. Also the castle still exists, the rebuilding after the
archeological research made some questionable changes. The other castle, Tokaj was totally
demolished at the beginning of the 18th century, thats why we can deduce almost everything
only from the planes and pictures of the previous period. I tried to reconstruct two other
fortresses viewable today, Leopoldstadt and Komárom. The main shape of the fortresses
remained unchanged during the centuries, but in the parts there are a lot of differences to the
16th–17th century. In my paper I try to explain the problems of the using the different sources
and the way I make the reconstructions.
Hrncirik, Pavel - Matoušek, Václav: Rozvadov 1621. Archaeological excavation of Thirty
Year´s War Battlefield in West Bohemia, Czech Republic.
In the last two decades have gone on in Bohemia systematic field researches of three
battlefields from Thirty Year´s War. In 1988 – 2005 the Archaeological Institute of Prague
and Faculty of humanities of Charles University have carried out research of battlefield from
1647 by castle Třebel in West Bohemia. Focus has been provided mostly on searching,
geodetic documentation and archaeological excavations of relicts from field’s fortification.
In 2006 Faculty of humanities of Charles University has started research of battlefield from
1621 between Waidhaus in Bavaria and Rozvadov in West Bohemia. In first phase the
research has been focused on searching and geodetic documentation of extant system of field
fortifications on Czech side of battlefield. From 2010 there was started archaeological
excavation of small system of field fortifications on the Czech side. Importance has been
taken both for archaeological excavation of fortifications and for exploration by detectors,
searching of munitions on the places of anticipated battles.
In 2010 City Museum in Rakovník has started systematic field research of battlefield by
Rakovník from 1620. Accent has been from the beginning put on exploration by detectors and
searching and on documentation of relicts from field fortifications.
5
Prezentation on conference in Budapest will be devoted mostly to recent results of study of
battlefield by Rozvadov. Between Bavarian Waidhaus and Czech Rozvadov there was in
summer 1621 battle between army of general Peter Ernst II count Mansfeld and imperial army
under heading of general Hans Tserclaes Tilly. General Mansfeld fortified in proximity of
Bavarian city Waidhaus, General Tilly in proximity of Czech village Rozvadov. Battle started
in the middle of June and continued until second half of September 1621. During four months
both armies built huge system of field fortifications. In the forested landscape on both sides of
boundary it has been found all together 13 relicts of field fortification. Archaeological
research focused up to now on two fortification and systematic examination with detectors of
the area where on 16th July took probably place the biggest battle of whole conflict.
Rubio-Campillo, X.; Hernàndez, F.X.: Combined arms warfare in the Spanish Civil War.
The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) has been traditionally seen as a transition between
combat tactics of the First and Second World War. This idea was generated by studies
focused on fascist allied units (the German Condor Legion, Italian Corpo Truppe Volontarie),
specially on a technological basis. The reason is that some of the tanks and planes regularly
seen in Second World War made their first appereance in this previous conflict.
Several questions arise from this biased perspective: were these innovations adopted by all
sides and units? How these new tactics influenced the outcome of the conflict? Which tactics
were tested and discarded for better ones?
It is difficult to adress these questions using only textual sources, given the particularities of
this war. Fortunately, the integration of these sources with archaeology and spatial analysis
allows us to improve our understanding on the evolution of warfare. In particular we will
present an study reconstructing the assault on the last Republican defence line during the
Battle for the Ebro.
These positions were created during the battle by the engineers of the Republican army, in
order to protect the bridges that crossed the Ebro. This is an almost unknown assault, as it
occurred during the last days of the battle . Nevertheless the combat was analysed by the
Italian army, that in 1940 sent engineers to the zone in order to study and document the
fortifications created by the Republican army.
The excavation of a section of this defence line and the use of spatial analysis techniques have
allowed us to reconstruct the Fascist assault that conquered the positions. The defending
brigade was one of the best available units still available to the Republican army, and its
presence, combined with an effective system of trenches and forward bunkers, forced the
attackers to employ the stop the advance and assault the defence line. They used a combined
arms approach: the most vulnerable zone of the trench system was bombarded both by planes
and artillery: these actions were followed by an infantry assault with tank support. After three
days of combat resistance was annihilated, but the action allowed the bulk of the Republican
army to retreat to the northern side of the Ebro river.
Kelenik, József: The iconographical sources of the battlefield archaeology. Traps and
pitfalls in the research of the siege of Zrínyi-Újvár (1664).
Both the Hungarian historical literature and the Hungarian historical consiousness believe that
the imperial army led by Count Raimondo Montecuccoli in 1664 deliberately neglected to
defend the new Fort─ for political reasons─called Zrínyi-Újvár built by the order of Miklós
6
Zrínyi. Since in the Hungarian history Zrínyi is a prominent person, his castle’s(his Fort’s)
fate was considered as a significantly important thing.
The results of the military archeology refer to the fact that the Hungarian historiography
significantly overestimated the military value of Zrínyi-Újvár.
With our presentation we intend to give assistances to further field research by analysing the
available pictorial sources about the siege.
The analysis can provide newer points of reference to the research of military archeology. The
military archeology could reveal more pieces of information, which remain hidden in the
traditional sources.
The research regarding the story of Zrínyi-Újvár will be a successful example of the
interdependence of the traditional historical research and the military archeology and their
successful cooperation.
Fodor, Péter – Polgár, Balázs: Artifacts of the Hungarian revolution and liberty war (18481849). The archaeological research of a sunken Austrian barge at Gönyű (Hungary).
During the research of the Hungarian Revolution (between 1848 and 1849) few field searches
combined with archeological methods have been fulfilled so far.
In the past years more palpable evidences of an Austrian towboat transporting war materials
were excavated in the Gönyű reaches (that is the county of Győr-Moson-Sopron) of the
Danube River. Thanks to the collaboration of institutions we managed to do researches in
connection with the questions regarding the destruction of the Austrian towboat. Besides the
investigation of written sources field work with metal detector was also fulfilled and research
work with sonar in the river bed was also completed together with diver-submersion. The
researches of Gönyű demonstrate well that in the Hungarian archeology after the year of 1711
the end of the Rákóczi’s war of independence which is also the end of the archeological eras
there is reason for existence of researches by using archeological methods, because the
archeological observations could enrich and add to the information of a documented event in
the military history.
Donaghy, M. Kevin: Building Houses on Battlefields - The Challenge of Memorializing
Battlefields and Preservation.
Battlefields of the American War of Independence are rapidly disappearing due to both
commercial and residential development. Some battlefields have been completely lost to this
development, lost forever under avenues and neighborhoods. The Brandywine Battlefield
located in Delaware and Chester Counties, Pennsylvania is considered the largest engagement
of ground troops in the war. The remaining open space of the battlefield has been a success
story for preservation but there are still key areas of the battlefield that are not preserved and
at high risk. This paper will address the key site of Brandywine as well as several
engagements and static positions of the war around Philadelphia, including skirmishes,
encampments, and fortifications. The development of land usage versus preservation will be
examined using GIS technologies to further present an argument that battlefield preservation
may someday include a program of reclaiming land formerly developed.
Gietl, Rupert: The austrian hungarian emplacements on top of Mount Roteck (2390 m)
/Dolomites/ South-Tyrol. A case study for extensive survey and dokumentation on occasion of
the 100th anniversary of the begining of WW1 on the Italien Front 2015.
7
Between May 23th 1915 and November 4th 1918 Austro-Hungarian and Italian troops decided
one of the hardest conflicts until then, in a high-alpine environment on summits up to 3900m,
dominated by adverse conditions of terrain and climate. The remoteness of the frontline and
most of related military infrastructures has facilitated the preservation during the last 100
years. Since 2001 all remains of WW1 in Italy are under monumental protection and
considering the oncoming 100th anniversary in 2015, the Arc-Team research group – by
arrangement with the heritage department of the region of South-Tyrol is now starting with
first steps for an appropriate archaeological documentation of all preserved structures.
Although on south-tyrolean territory there was just an aproximately 60 km long segment
of the
whole frontline
(600km), the area of interest
has an extension of more
then
2,
200km almost all of that in high mountain region.
That for we are testing a way that allows us to collect as much data as possible, within the
realms of economic an temporal possibilities: It is based on a extensive GPS-survey,
descriptive data collection by use of mobile devices connected to a central server, 3ddocumentation employing the structure from motion tecnology, application of an aerial drone
for taking pictures of inaccessible structures, buildup of a comparative geodatabase of
historical and modern photographies.
Around the Austro-Hungarian emplacements of Mount Roteck (2390m) in the far east of
South-Tyrol, in autumn 2011 and spring 2012 first trials for finding out the efficiency of the
planned work flow have taken place.
It is our aim to draw until 2018 a general picture of all remains of the WW1 frontline and
hinterland in South-Tyrol. It shall be even more detailed and wholly, as it was known to the
general staff of the conflicting parties 100 years ago, as a base for further historical and
archaeological research.
Stencinger, Norbert: Research of gas attack areas on the Doberdo Plateau.
From the summer of 1915 the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy found itself opposite a new
enemy, Italy. This meant that another nearly 600 kilometre long frontline opened. The
Doberdo Plateau, which has utmost importance in Hungarian history, is situated at the southwestern end of this frontline. The trenches, lying at the western part of a 60 square kilometre
area, in the western Karst-Plateau, were defended by the 20th honved infantry and the 17th
joint infantry. Following the fourth Isonzo battle the frontline did not move which resulted in
trench warfare. To liquidate the defensive positions Archduke Joseph, after the proposal of the
7th army crop leader, carried out a gas attack on 29 June, 1916. A few days after the failure of
the military operations, the soldiers from the 17th honved infantry of Székesfehérvár used gas
to reoccupy a trench, according to the command of Lieutenant Colonel Gyula Sipos. Our
research team with János Rózsafi, Tamás Pintér and myself identified the area where the two
military operations took place.
Kok, Ruurd: WWII-archaeology in The Netherlands: recent results and research
perspectives.
The Nazi-occupation of the Netherlands (1940-1945) has left a wide range of traces in the
Dutch landscape and archaeological archive. In recent years archaeologists in the Netherlands
have shown a growing interest in the investigation of these WWII-sites. As opposed to
documenting wartime remains that were incidentally discovered while excavating older sites,
8
archaeologists now deliberately set out to investigate WWII-sites. These investigations are
based on the assumption that wartime sites can contain information that is not (correctly)
recorded in historical sources. For example, eyewitness accounts can be limited by the
restrictions of memory and official war-diaries are often biased by the perspective of the
author. The material remains in the archaeological record appear to be the only objective,
non-biased record of events.
This paper presents an overview of recent research and research topics in the Netherlands.
The research varies from battlefield archaeology on sites that have seen heavy fighting in the
early days of the Nazi-invasion in May 1940 to the investigation of defensive lines
constructed in the last phase of the war. Several investigations have been done at the
Grebbeberg, the scene of fierce fighting in May 1940 and a site of national importance in the
history of the Second World War in the Netherlands. Attention is also paid to archaeological
research in combination with aircraft recovery, a task of the Aircraft Recovery Unit of the
Ministry of Defence. The archaeology of the air war also includes German airfields and antiaircraft positions. Another research topic is the archaeology of the Holocaust, the persecution
of the Jews and others. This topic includes the mapping and spatial analysis of the
concentration camp of Amersfoort and the excavation of a landfill site near Westerborkconcentration camp.
The recent investigations also bring to light new dilemmas. For example, the standard siteevaluation method designed for older archaeological sites shows serious insufficiencies when
used for WWII-sites. A new evaluation method is proposed that is not merely based on the
scientific, historical meaning of wartime sites, but also on the wider significance that is given
to them by society, including symbolic and emotional meanings.
Wijnen, Jobbe: The battlefield of Devils Mount (1940).
In 2012 RAAP (archaeological consultancy) conducted an archaeological research to top soil
remains of the battle at the Grebbeberg of May, 1940. Two transects of 900 m and 475 m long
across the area where the main Dutch trench line was breeched by troops of the SS-Standarte
'Der Führer' were systematically searched using an all-round surface metal-detector. This
turned up unexpectedly rich results and strong implications for the possibilities of battlefield
study in the Netherlands.
The battle at the Grebbeberg is regarded as the key battle in the German 4 day invasion effort
in the Netherlands. With over 300 Dutch and an unknown number of German casualties it is
regarded as one of the bloodiest battlefields of the western front in 1940. As such the German
troops refer to the Grebbeberg in hindsight as 'Der Teufelsberg' (Devils Mount). RAAP was
asked to conduct a survey across the length of a planned bicycle road straight through the
heart of the Dutch trenchline. In contrast to the intensity of the battle itself, virtually nothing
of the trenches and battle remains visible at the surface today. Research expectations were
low, because the forested hill has been heavily used for decades by foresters, for recreation
and by amateur metal-detectorists. Part of the researched area serves as a memorial site
hosting thousands of visitors each year.
Schute, Ivar: Excavation of a landfill in the Westerbork transit camp for Jews.
In December 2011 an archaeological investigation was carried out on the landfill site to the
north of the former Judendurchgangslager Camp Westerbork. This investigation was required
because of the activities of amateur metal detectorists and treasure hunters. To prevent further
9
damage to the site it was necessary to determine the extent of the site so that a strategy for its
protection could be established. As well as a topographical survey of the site, trial trenches
were excavated to determine which periods of use of the camp are reflected in the material
culture. Out of just 12 m3 an astonishing 20.000 finds were recovered. For the determination
and registration it was needed to develop a new system because the general system of
registration used in the Netherlands is based on the materials the objects are made from. This
turned out to be of no value, therefore a system based on the function of the objects was
developed. The Westerbork camp was also used before and after the war, so with this
functional analyses we could determine whether the landfill was also used in other periods.
Secondly, the determination of the finds was improved by calling in the help of the public.
This was coordinated by the Memorial Centre Westerbork. The Centre, in fact a museum, was
used by the archaeologists to study the finds under the watchful eye and help of the public.
Babits, E. Lawrence: Kabul and Kalkriese – A Comparative Analysis.
The absence of contemporary documents relating to the AD 9 Roman disaster at Kalkriese
makes interpreting the archaeological and contextual evidence difficult. In 1842, a British
Army in Afghanistan faced a similar uprising and was annihilated. In each case, “there were
no survivors” but there obviously were survivors because details of each campaign and the
final disaster survived. After analysis, the better documented British defeat, may provide good
starting points for looking at what happened to the legions of Varus in Germania.
Tóth, Zsolt: Martyrs of Arad. The research and exploration of their graves.
After the surrender of Világos according to the decision of the Austrian courtmartial was
executed many leader of the Hungarian national army of the independence war of 1848-49 by
hanging and balls. The Hungarian people commemorate every year about the most famous
soldier-martyrs, about the Arad’s thirteen, but few people know the story is not over yet on
October 6, 1849. The ’generals’ corpses buried in the place of their execution, but
interestingly the exact knowledge of their graves got forgotten and those have benn found just
in the next century. The graves have been properly explored in 1913 and in 1932/33. The
presentation will summarize the former methods, which may be exemplary for posterity. The
lecture is mainly based on the notes of Sándor Pataky painter from Arad, which is discovered
in the Hungarian Archives of the Military History.
Kiss, Balázs: The research of the military cemetery of Kaposvár (Somogy county, Hungary).
The „South Cemetery” of Kaposvár, or in other name the Graveyard of Heroes could be
considered the archetype of the first world war heroes’ memorial cemeteries. Allies and
enemies were buried next to each other in this graves, who were forgotten equally after the
second world war. However, in the past decades the cemetery was „resurrected”. Work in the
libraries, archives and on the field can give great help to search the history of the cemetery,
which meanwhile also took in the remains of second world war heroes.
Maruzs, Roland: József Barankay’s grave in Ivano-Frankivszk, Ukraine (research and
excavation).
10
Sixtyeight years ago, on 13. July 1944., the „vitéz” and noble Captain Barankay József, the
commander of the 1. charge-artillery unit, died in action. Barankay was one of the most
eligible hungarian artillery officer of his time. He was donated the Hungarian Officer Golden
Medal of Vitézség, which was the proof of his bravery. This Medal was only donated to 22
hungarian and one german officers during the second world war. In this year in July, after
long search, the team of the Ministry of Defence’s Military Reenactor and War-grave Tender
Office founded, disinterred and identified his remains in the city of Ivano-Frankivszk, in
Ukraine.
Kovács, S. Tibor: Weapon-finds of a Danubian sloop at the Kopaszi-reef.
An important weapon-assemblage was found in the Danube in 1871-1874: some helmets,
breast plates, mail shirts, swords, sabers and barrels. The weapons came from South-German
workshops.
The sloop sunk near the Csepel Island after the battle of Mohács at the time of the thronediscord. After the death of Lajos II. Ferdinand Habsburg’s army besieged the castle of Buda
in 1530, 1540, 1541 and 1542. On Erhard Schön’s engraving of Buda (1541) we can see the
Csepel Island with a battle-scene (with sloops). On the basis of this engraving we can mention
that the sloop was sunk in the course of the fights of the year of 1541.
Tóth, János Attila: River heritage and its potential for military history researches.
The Danube, and the great rivers of Europe played important role in the history of the
continent. They were frontiers, trade routes and used by military campaigns. The rich cultural
heritage of this history was unaccessible for scientific researches for a long time. Modern
underwater archaeology of the rivers (and the complex, interdisciplinary study of the
interactions between human communities and the river environment - called river
archaeology) offers new data to military history.
Underwater archaeology of the Hungarian rivers discovered shipwrecks, bridges and sunken
sites, some of the are of military historic interst. The remains of an Ottoman Period floating
bridge at Drávatamási (Drava river) consists of more than 30 logboats, human remains and
some ottoman period finds. his bridge could be identified as the bridge destroyed by a
Hungarian raid in 1603. The underwater remains of the Roman period frontier system, called
Ripa Pannonica is another important focal point of underwater archaeology and military
history (the Ripa is a tentative UNESCO World Heritage site). The presentation summarises
the recent discoveries by the Argonauts Research Group, and the potential of cooperation
between river archaeology and military history.
Czakó, László: The research of the Monarchy’s shipwrecks.
About the Austrian-Hungarian naval force which was omitted from the Hungarian history.
The short history, technics and results of the remained ships or wrecks
SMS. Szent István (Saint Stephen battleship)
SMS. Kaiser Franz Josef patrol
SMS. Zenta patrol
SMS. Streiter destroyer
SMS. Flamingo torpedo boat
11
The morals of the researches, new consequences and new plans.
Magó, Károly: The aircraft wreck as a military grave.
According to the legend those pilots who disappeared are still flying above the big hunting
ground and are waiting for the end of their last missions. At present lot of pilots sleep
eternally in their airplane’s cabin. In the whirling vortex of war, near the front lines officially
nobody dealt with the pilots who died as hero in the wrecks of airplanes.
The local residents buried the dead pilots in nameless graves or they covered the pilots
together with the plane’s wrecks, so they covered up every traces. After the war lot of
relatives searched for their disappeared family members in vain, because they did not find
them. Nowadays, thanks to the spread of the detectors more and more wreck’s crash location
can be found.
It may happen that during the excavation such mortal remains come to light which could nott
be identified with the help of DNS-method due to the fact that the body was damaged
seriously at the impact.
Both in Hungary and in Slovakia two Hungarian pilots’ mortal remains were found but their
corps were not identified with the medical science’s available methods. To solve this problem
such a method was developed which helps proving the identity by using indirect proofs.
Légrady, Lajos: Wreck research in Russia.
The Hungarian Aero Archaeological Society was founded in 2006 to gather aviation
historians, civilians and military persons who involved in WWII aviation and militaryarchaeology. It plays main role to recover and collect WWII aircraft wrecks. It cooperate with
the Szolnok Aviation Museum.
2012 is a crucial year in Hungarian aviation-archaeology. For the first time Hungarian
researchers are visited Russia the Voronyezsh region, to locate and document WWII
Hungarian airfield at Ilovskoye and discover lost Hungarian aircrews. The expedition main
goal is to locate, document and recover the impact point of Captain István Horthy’s Reggiane
Re-2000 aircraft.
In the second half of the lecture Károly Magó would like to introduce a new kind of
identification process of lost Hungarian military aircrews.
Patricia Carman – John Carman: Towards an Integrated Conflict Archaeology.
Conflict Archaeology can be understood at present to be hampered in its development by its
division into separate communities who do not interact to any large extent. These separate
communities are divided by period, so that prehistory, historic battlefields, and modern
conflict in general represent entirely different domains of enquiry. They are also separated by
national differences, especially in the case of historic battlefield and modern conflict research,
so that a truly international Conflict Archaeology has yet to emerge. These divisions prevent
the exchange of information and ideas across the division boundaries and thereby limit the
scope of the field to develop as it should.
Drawing on work soon to be published (as J. Carman 2012 Archaeologies of Conflict,
Duckworth) this paper will promote the unification and globalisation of the field by
demonstrating the aspects of the different period-divisions which carry implications for the
others and how they can usefully inform each other. Looking beyond archaeology to other
12
fields that study conflict, I will argue for a move away from prehistory’s conventional
association with anthropology, historic battlefield archaeology’s with military history, and
modern conflict study’s with cultural resource management (CRM), to other connections that
can be made. In particular, the long-term perspective on human violence and conflict that
archaeology can provide will be discussed in terms of its value to those disciplines that also
seek to understand war and conflict rather than merely document it.
13