Search for the burial place of Suleiman Sultan
in the vicinity of Szigetvár, Hungary
PHASE I
REPORT
Client:
Prepared by:
RIEC Foundation
Ábel Hegedüs and
Represented by:
Tamás Tóth
Zoltán Nagy
Geomega Ltd.
Budapest, May 2006
Content
Content........................................................................................................................................... 2
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 3
2. Maps and photos collected ........................................................................................................ 4
3. Results of the data integration ................................................................................................. 5
4. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................ 13
1. Introduction
Map of Leandro Anguissola from 1689 is the only known map which clearly markes the
location of the burial place of Suleiman Sultan together with several important features in the
vicinity of the Szigetvár castle. These features include the Szigetvár castle itself, nearby
buildings, extent of the marsh area, roads of the time etc. No other known map from the area
marks the burial place of Suleiman Sultan, however several objects marked on the Anguissola
map are possible to identify on later generation maps.
Aim of Phase I was to transfer the information about the location of the burial place from
the Anguissola 1689 map to present day maps with the help of maps prepared since 1689, aerial
photos and digital terrain model. Using this methodology the most probable location of the
burial place could be identified.
Szigetvár Phase I – Geomega
2. Maps and photos collected
List of the maps and photos collected and used for the study:
Map of Szigetvár with the burial place of Suleiman Sultan, Leandro Anguissola, 1689
Kriegsarchiv, Wien, K_VII_k_277-900
Vestung Szigetvár (Map of the Szigetvár castle), Author and date not known
Kriegsarchiv, Wien, K_VII_k_278
Plan des Fortes Szigetvár und seiner nächsten Umgegend (Map of the Szigetvár castle and its
close vicinity), February 1849
Kriegsarchiv, Wien, Nachlässe B 1295 Nachlass Nugend Karton2188 1849-3-78-E3
Első katonai felmérés (First Military Mapping), 8-27, M = 1 : 28 800, 1784
Első katonai felmérés (First Military Mapping), 9-28, M = 1 : 28 800, 1784
Második katonai felmérés (Second Military Mapping), XXVII-63, M = 1 : 28 800, 1858-9
Második katonai felmérés (Second Military Mapping), XXVII-64, M = 1 : 28 800, 1858-9
Harmadik katonai felmérés (Third Military Mapping), 5559/4, M = 1: 25 000, 1880
Katonai térkép (Military map), L33-72-D-c, M = 1 : 25 000, 1950
Katonai térkép (Military map), L33-72-D-c, M = 1 : 25 000, 1986
Polgári topográfiai térkép (Topographic map), L33-72-D-c-1 (803- 431), M = 1 : 10 000, 1977
Polgári topográfiai térkép (Topographic map), L33-72-D-c-2 (803- 432), M = 1 : 10 000, 1977
Aerial photo (black and white), 6617/44-C/534, 20 May 1950. Flight height: 4000m
Aerial photo (colour)
Digital Terrain Model (DTM) derived from the 1:10 000 topographic map.
Szigetvár Phase I – Geomega
3. Steps of data integration
3.1 Digitizing Leandro Anguissola’s Map
As a first step main features of the Anguissola map were digitized. These include the Szigetvár
castle outlines, buildings and campsites, roads and edges of waterways. Different category
objects are marked by different colours in Figure 1 showing the digitized map.
Figure 1: Important features of Anguissola’s map digitized. Purple lines mark outline of
the Szigetvár castle, buildings, camp sites and limit of the map. Green lines indicate alleys of
trees, brown lines roads and blue lines edges of waterways or marshlands.
The digitized lines and objects of the map (shown in Figure 2) were used for fitting with
mapped lineaments and objects of later maps and aerial photos.
Szigetvár Phase I – Geomega
Figure 2: Digitized features of Anguissola’s map. Red arrow in the top right of the map marks
the pentagon indicating the burial place of Suleiman Sultan.
3.2 Matching the Szigetvár castle outlines to aerial photos
There are few features of the Anguissola map, which can be matched with features existing
today as well. One, and probably the most reliable is the castle of Szigetvár. The southern part
of the castle has changed significantly, and today is part of the town, however the northern, main
part of the castle still does exist and up to our best knowledge the eastern wall has not been
rebuilt since 1689. The digitized features of the Anguissola map were matched with the aerial
photo based on the mentioned eastern wall of the Szigetvár castle. Result of this match is shown
in Figure 3. with the burial place of Suleiman Sultan positioned in the forest situated nearby the
Almás stream (Almás patak).
Weak point of this match is twofold. On one hand the length of the castle wall, the matched is
based on is rather short compared to the distance between the castle and the burial place. On the
other hand the exact details of the castle are not fully reliable. This later problem is well
documented by matching the castle outlines of Anguissola’s map to a later, more detailed one.
Szigetvár Phase I – Geomega
Figure 3.: Match of the digitized features of Anguissola map and an aerial photo. The match is
based on the direction of the eastern wall of the Szigetvár castle.
Szigetvár Phase I – Geomega
This later, more detailed sketch of the Szigetvár castle is the “Plan des Fortes Szigetvár und
seiner nächsten Umgegend” (Map of the Szigetvár castle and its close vicinity) from February
1849. This map has been drawn with engineering precision and can be regarded as an exact
representation of the fortress in 1849. Match of the 1849 map and Anguissola’s map detail is
shown in Figure 4. The match is based on the bridge leading to the northern part of the castle,
which most probably remained in place during time. Ambiguity of the fit is well visible in
Figure 4.
Figure 4: Match between the outline of the Szigetvár castle in Anguissola’s map and a detailed
map from 1849. The match is based on the bridge leading to the castle.
3.3 Matching other features of the Anguissola map
Apart from the castle outlines several buildings and camp sites are marked on the map of
Anguissola. These were however either of temporal use (camp sites indicated on the map) or
Szigetvár Phase I – Geomega
have been rebuilt afterwards as the settlement developed. Similarly some of the roads migrated
together with the development of the settlement. This can be traced by comparing the first and
second military maps with recent maps.
There is one set of boundaries however on the Anguissola map, which can serve as the base for
match with later maps. This is the edge of the marshland, the low laying area around the Almás
stream. This natural boundary has most probably remained at the same, or very similar position
during the centuries. Luckily, the edge of the marshland is clearly marked in the map of
Anguissola, and even more the junction of the Almás-patak marshland and the valley joining
from the west from the direction of Basal is visible on the top of the map as a junction of two
valleys. All these were considered, when the Anguissola map was matched with the First and
Second Military Map and recent topographic maps. Main results are as follows:
Match of the First and Second Military Map support several observations (in Figure 5 the
Second Military Map is shown as an image, while main features from the First Military Map are
indicated by their coloured lineaments or outlines). Szigetvár and the castle of Szigetvár could
be matched with good accuracy. Main difference is clearly due to the development of the easter
part of the settlement between the two mappings. Migration of the roads is clearly visible
(marked by the double headed red arrows in Figure 5). It is important to note however, that
almost all roads kept their functionality and main direction, but changed their exact track. This is
an important observation, as the burial place is marked next to a road in the Anguissola map.
Significant change can be observed in the direction of the settlement of Ba(z)sal, in the NW
corner of Figure 5. This deformation could be responsible for the miss-location of the junction
of the valley running to the south on the eastern side of Ba(z)sal with the valley of the Almáspatak.
All in one we can state, that main features of the First Military Map (1784) are comparable with
the Second Military Map (1858), but there are systematic differences/distortions between the
two maps. After comparing the Second Military Map with recent topographic maps we can
clearly state, that the Second Military Mapping provided reliable, good maps with a precise
projection. This is not true for the First Military Map series, however.
Line drawing of the Anguissola map fitted on the Second Military Map pages is shown in
Figure 6. The correspondence of the two maps is surprisingly good in the vicinity of the
Szigetvár castle, but the difference is getting more pronounced with distance. Double headed red
arrows show those feature of the two map, which could be correlated. The edge of the
marshland is reliably imaged in both maps, however location of both the valley to the west and
the canal to the east, bounding the settlement is distorted. Based on these observations it can not
Szigetvár Phase I – Geomega
be excluded, that the burial place of Suleiman Sultan is mapped at a distorted position as well.
This is more likely, as it is just at the edge of the map of Anguissola. What can be determined
with great confidence however, is that the burial place was located east of the eastern edge
marshland and just on the eastern side of the road running to the north on the eastern side of the
valley.
Based on this comparison it seems to be logical that the burial place of Suleiman Sultan was
later marked as “Töröktemető” (see Second Military Map). This assumes severe distortion at the
edge of Anguissola’s map, but knowing the limitations of mapping of that age, this can not be
excluded.
Figure 5: Match of the corresponding parts of the First and Second Military Map series. Image
shows the Second, while line drawing the First Military Map pages. Double headed red arrows
indicate corresponding details of the two maps.
Szigetvár Phase I – Geomega
Figure 6: Match of the corresponding parts of the Second Military Map and Anguissola’s map.
Image shows the Second, while line drawing Anguissola’s map. Double headed red arrows
indicate corresponding details of the two maps.
3.4 Matching Anguissola’s map with Digital Terrain Model (DTM)
A high resolution DTM was derived from the present 1:10 000 topographic map for the vicinity
of the Szigetvár Castle. This DTM clearly outlines the valley of Almás-patak and its side-valleys
and canals. These boundaries can be used for matching the recent topographic maps with
Anguissola’s map. Figure 7 shows a possible match based on the western edge of the marshland
and the side-valley entering the valley of the Almás-patak from western direction. With this fit
the location of the burial place is just to the east of the edge of the marshland on a little
elevation.
It is clear however, that this match based on the western edge of the marshland creates
discrepancies on the eastern edge of the marsh-land and the canal bounding the settlement of
Szigetvár Phase I – Geomega
Szigetvár at the time of the Second Military Maps. This discrepancy draws our attention to the
fact, that Anguissola’s map was made without a projection system and it could be severely
distorted especially further away from the castle, nearby the edges of the map page. This
suggests, that the match shown in Figure 6 is more likely to mark the ancient location of the
burial place.
Figure 7: Match of the corresponding parts of the DTM and Anguissola’s map. Image shows the
DTM, while line drawing Anguissola’s map. Blue and green colours on the DTM indicate low
land, while brownish colours more elevated area.
Szigetvár Phase I – Geomega
4. Conclusions
Based on all the available information three possible locations have been identified:
1)
Based on the direction of the eastern wall of the castle and assuming no distortion of
the Anguissola map the location of the ancient burial place of Suleiman Sultan would
fall in the valley of the Almás-patak. Presently this area is surrounded by woods.
This solution is marked in Figure 3. Fitting error due to the relatively large distances
can be significant and the location clearly contradicts with the fact, that the burial
place is marked east of the eastern edge of the marshy valley of Almás-patak on the
map of Anguissola.
2)
Based on the fit to the western edge of the Almás-patak valley, and again not
allowing any distortion of the map of Anguissola the location of the burial place
would fall just east of the valley edge as marked in Figure 7. This solution is
however weakened by the mismatch of the eastern edge of the valley and the
mislocation of the canal.
3)
Allowing distortion towards the edge of the paper in the Anguissola map the most
probable solution for the location of the ancient burial place is marked by the
“Töröktemető” sign in Figure 6. This satisfies both the criteria for location relative to
the Almás-patak valley and the north-south running road.
Szigetvár Phase I – Geomega