Nagykőrös - The Lady of the Black Valley

Preceding the reconstruction works of Road 441, excavations started between Nagykőrös and Kecskemét in the spring of 2022. The fieldwork reached the site of Nagykőrös–Fekete [’Black’], a hilly ploughland on the two sides of the current road, in May 2022. The excavation yielded 194 archaeological features, of which 192 belonged to a Sarmatian settlement from the Roman Imperial Period. The remaining two were two Avar graves, about 40 m apart. The dating of one of them could not be specified, but the other proved to be a lavishly furnished burial from the 7th century AD.
The area consisted of small hills already in historical periods, and a considerable amount of black humus accumulated in the valleys between the elevations. A regular soil stain became visible on the cleaned surface after removing the disturbed topsoil in one of these lower zones. It was rectangular, N–S oriented, and filled by a soil admixed with yellow clay inclusions. The skull of the deceased was reached at a depth of 1.60 m, and when we started cleaning it, gold flashed after the next swing of the trowel: a spherical pendant earring.
It has become certain that the feature is actually a rich burial. The meticulous excavation brought to light a small heap of six amber and glass beads in the head area, a bronze buckle on the pelvic bone, a carved bone purse lock by the left hip, and an iron knife. After removing the bones, we also found a pair of gold earrings.
The grave, like the Avar man’s burial at Szalkszentmárton, was lonely. Long depressions at the short ends of the grave pit marked the one-time funerary structure. The man was also given food for the afterlife: the loin of a small ruminant, of which only the vertebrae were found next to the deceased, had been placed, likely on the coffin.
The anthropological analysis of the remains has revealed that the man died relatively young, at about 20–25 years old, and had strongly Mongoloid features. Interestingly, his right foot was considerably shorter than the left and featured severe athropic lesions at the ankles, which means he could hardly use it during his short life.