This paper is intended to give a review on the study of Carpathian Obsidian. The name implies the only source region in Central Europe, for long, the only source of archaeological obsidian in Continental Europe. Their archaeological, as well as geological research started in the sixties of the 19th century by the activity of pioneering personalities of Hungarian archaeology, geology and archaeometry. By the late 1970-ies, separation of Carpathian obsidian sources from other sources of European and other Mediterranean sources could be achieved (investigations of Warren and Williams), and intensive studies continued in the past decades. In spite of several publications devoted to the subject, there are still a lot of clearly erroneous views lingering in technical literature concerning the location of the sources and allocation of archaeological specimens. The first review of the author on the Carpathian obsidian was published in 1981: in the meantime, several research groups performed smaller or bigger research series on related finds, using various methods of analysis (NAA, EDS, XRF, FTD, PIXE-PIGE and recently, PGAA). Collection of obsidian distribution was completed using reference data as well as analysis of various assemblages dating from Middle Palaeolithic to Iron Age. Distribution maps were compiled for specific periods using percentage values. Access strategies, political implications could be claimed on the basis of changes in distribution areas. The present study contains a review of recent achievements, prepared for the project IGCP-442 (Raw Materials of Neolithic Artifacts) as well as in the frames of the project "Raw material atlas Non-metallic prehistoric raw materials on the territory of Hungary and adjacent regions" (OTKA- T 025086). 

Lapis lazuli is one of the oldest of all precious stones, with a history going back as far as 7000 years or more in the past. Lapis lazuli has been highly valued for thousands of years. It was often inserted into jewels, carvings, amulets and talismans that were believed to have occult powers. Archaeological objects made of lapis lazuli are widely distributed in the ancient East and some date back as early as the second half of the fourth millennium B.C. in Central Asia. Although considerable attention has been previously payed to the mineralogy of lapis lazuli, the new nondestructive analytical techniques offer wider perspectives to the archaeometry research. Knowledge of the elemental composition, including major and trace elements may provide clues concerning the provenance and raw materials. PGAA is one of the new candidates to answer these questions. In this project we succeeded to collect lapis lazuli samples from the most relevant quarries in the world. Rock samples from Afghanistan, from Lake Baikal, from Chile and from Ural Mountains have been investigated. With PGAA we were able to detect the major components, H, Na, Ca, Al, Si, S, Cl, K, and the accessory elements Mg, Fe, Mn. In addition, the trace elements of B, Sc, Cr, Co, Sm and Gd were identified. According to some characteristic element ratios the samples from Afghanistan and Baikal are more or less overlapping, while the samples from Ural and Chile are definitely different from the others. This paper also attempts to determine the origin of the natural ultramarine, based on provenance analysis on lapis lazuli by PGAA and complementary FTIR Spectroscopy.

This paper summarizes the archaeological context, objectives, methods and the preliminary results of an archaeometrical research project that started some years ago in order to characterize the oldest pottery production of Hungary from Early Neolithic sites of the Körös-Starčevo Culture (dated to the first half and middle of the VI millennium cal BC in a comparative study. To reach this goal, different scientific techniques - including petrography, X-Ray Fluorescence analysis (XRF), X-Ray diffraction analysis (XRD), SEM and electron-microprobe analysis - were used. Starevo culture represents the north-westernmost aspect of the large Early Neolithic archaeological complex of the Balcans, which comprises towards the north-east the Körös culture and furthermore eastward, the Criş culture. In Hungary the Körös culture spreads in the Great Hungarian Plain, while Starčevo occupies the southern part of Transdanubia, reaching its northernmost borders at lake Balaton (Kalicz et al., 1998). These cultures show strong similarities in their material culture. The characteristic pottery of the period is homogenous in form and macroscopic features over a wide area, suggesting a high degree of cultural contacts and transmission of technological skills. Representative pottery samples were studied from five different Neolithic settlements of the Körös Culture and compared to those coming from one Starčevo Culture site, namely Vörs. Moreover other fired clay artefacts of the Körös Culture (net weights, plaster) were also studied. Both Körös and Starčevo pottery products have a fine-grained, dominantly serial fabric, with a porous texture, containing vegetal tempering material, probably chaff. In some samples rounded, pebble-like, almost opaque inclusions can also be found. Petrography of ceramics and geochemistry of nodules suggest that argillaceous silt or silty clay was used as raw material for manufacturing pottery. Macroscopically, all the potsherds have a "sandwich-like" structure (black core and brownish red margin). Compositional differences between the core and the margins show that ceramics were fired at low temperature (maximum 700-750 °C) with short soaking times and high heating rate. Data available so far seem to confirm the great homogeneity - already noticed at stylistic level - of the ceramic production of the Early Neolithic in Hungary. Probably local clay sources were exploited for pottery production throughout a long period, most probably indicating cultural transmission within groups belonging to a traditionally structured, technologically stable society. This research is conducted in the framework of the Hungarian-Italian Intergovernmental Science&Technology Co-operation Program 2004-2007, Project "Archaeometry of the first ceramic pirotechnology in the Carpathian Basin". 

The earthwork of Borsod on the castle hill lies on the bank of river Bódva in the town of Edelény 30 km North of Miskolc, North-East Hungary. Excavations were going on here from 1987 to 1999. Archaeological research has proved that ramparts strengthened by a wooden structure, serving as walls of the fortress, were built at the end of the 10th, or at the beginning of the 11th century, at the time of the foundation of the Hungarian State. The fortress functioned as the county town of the newly formed Borsod County of the new state. There was a Hungarian village in the 10th century on the castle hill before the building of the earthwork. This settlement burnt down and eleven houses destroyed by the fire were found. Under the ruins a great variety of archaeological finds came to light among which pottery has an overriding importance. More than 100 complete pots, intact or deformed, were found. Up to now only pots coming from graves could give information on contemporary Hungarian pottery technology. It is now the first time that there is possibility for analysis of ceramics of a closed collection from that period. Besides typological and chronological classifications of the pottery assemblage archaeometrical examinations are also being carried out in order to gain information on pottery making technology and possibly on trade relations. We hope that our results will help to complete our present knowledge on pottery technology of the Hungarians of the 10 th century. 53 samples chosen from the pottery assemblage through macroscopic examinations were examined by petrographic (polarising) microscope and X-ray powder diffraction (XPD). The aim of the petrographic study was to classify ceramics on the basis of fabric and, where possible, to identify the origin of temper. Tempering material dominantly consists of quartz (monocrystalline quartz, policrystalline quartz, quartz with undulatory extinction) and feldspar (K-feldspar, plagioclase), and low grade metamorphic lithofragments. In addition to this, mica (muscovite), sedimentary (radiolarite, argillaceous rock fragments) and magmatic (extrusive rocks, felsitic quartz, fissure filling chalcedony) lithofragments were found in small quantities. Tourmaline, epidote, amphibole, pyroxene, biotite and opaque minerals appear as accessories. There are few ceramics that contain carbonate or carbonatized temper or that have got a black clay matrix related probably to a clay rich in organic matter. Most ceramics have got hiatal fabric with few exceptions of serial fabric. XPD was applied in order to identify clay matrix and new mineral phases produced by secondary refiring (conflagration). Clay matrix consists of mica (~10Å) type mineral(s). Analysis of temper proved the microscopical observations (quartz and feldspar). To sum up, it can be stated that temper of ceramics is mostly polimict (metamorphic, magmatic and sedimentary), and a little part of it is monomict (granitoid magmatic). Such a varied composition of rock fragments suggests that the area of provenance was the gathering ground of river Bódva that have got a complex geology. It can be detected that some samples were exposed to a conflagration.