A river runs through it – Archaeological researches in Pest county

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The exhibition presents the most significant sites and finds discovered in Pest County in the past decade. Pest is the only county within the current borders of Hungary that is divided into two by the Danube, the largest river of the Carpathian Basin. This natural border not only creates two separate regions within the county today but also represented a sharp border in past millennia: in prehistory, diverse populations inhabited the two banks and the lands behind them, while in the Roman Period, the line of the limes, the eastern border of the Empire, aligned with the river. The area of the major towns of the Danube Bend, the Buda Hills, the Visegrád Hills, the highlands of the Pilis and the Börzsöny Mountains, as well as the lowlands, like the Zsámbék Basin and the Pest Plain, abound with the archaeological record of various historical periods. The favourable natural conditions and setting of the county make it one of the most dynamically developing regions of Hungary today. This rapid progress brought about several development projects, especially those of large industrial building complexes and motorways. Besides, other construction projects and changes in tillage involved the disturbing of the soil on an unprecedented scale, thus opening opportunities for archaeological research.
The exhibited material covers a broad spectrum. The remains of a Palaeolithic woolly rhinoceros from Pécel, the grave of the Sarmatian ‘princess’ from the Roman Imperial Period, the Avar burials with jewellery and ornate belts from Páty, and the artefacts crafted by medieval blacksmiths offer a wealth of new information and allow visitors to take a glimpse at the life of one-time people, Szentendre and its close area have a highlighted spot in the exhibition — at the centre of the room, by the stylised Duna River. On display is a selection of the finds from the recently excavated Avar cemetery in the town, and a part of the exhibition is dedicated to one of the most interesting archaeological sites under the modern Szentendre, where the remains of the one-time Roman military camp of Ulcisia Castra have been discovered.