The Budapest History Museum carried out a preliminary excavation of 1–11 Bástya street in preparation of the park and community centre planned for the area by the 5th District Council. The dig was completed between 6 July 2020 and 3 September on the northern area of the plot, writes the report by the participating archaeologist Anikó Tóth on regeszet.aquincum.hu.

A previous excavation in 2000–2001 uncovered various remains of settlement elements such as ditches, kilns, building ruins, and even part of a blacksmith's workshop. The largest find in the area is the section of the city wall built in the second half of the 15th century, the longest extant section of which can be found here.

The wall would have been approximately eight-and-a-half-metres-high, built from carved limestone blocks. A chemine de ronde (wall walk) ran the length of the section, as indicated by the remains of a wooden stair-like structure found at the corner of Bástya Street and Veres Pálné Street.

The artefacts found in the 230 square metres covered by the current excavation are in line with those found by earlier research. The earliest layer found in the area is from the late Arpad Period, the end of the 13th century. Fragments of pots, pans and lids were found in the uncovered ditches and waste pits.

Fragment of a 14th-century animal-shaped aquamanile (Photo: regeszet.aquincum.hu)

The later period of the 14th–15th centuries is less pronounced. A waste pit was found on the southern part of the dig-site including fragments of kitchen utensils, stove potteries and several animal bones.

The only building remains in the area found are from the Ottoman Period: the rectangular building had pile holes reinforced with stones at its corners and along its walls. Plates and glazed ceramics were found within its walls.

The most beautiful find of the excavation is a 14th-century fragment of an aquamanile. The head and neck of the vessel, made from a grey-burnt clay and covered in green glaze, have survived.

 

The full Hungarian article is available here.

Source: regeszet.aquincum.hu

Cover photo: Ditch and pit from the Árpád Period at the excavation on Bástya Street (Photo: regeszet.aquincum.hu)