TWO BRONZE AGE MINIATURE WAGON AND WHEEL BURIALS IN ENCS (NORTH-EASTERN HUNGARY)

During an excavation of a Bronze Age, Fuzesabony-culture cemetery at Encs (north-eastern Hungary), a clay wagon model with spoked wheels (grave 1290) and three miniature solid clay wheels were found (grave 1389). Miniature wagon and wheel models in burials began to appear in the Late Copper Age and lasted until the Iron Age in Central Europe. Their presence allows of several interpretations. These spoked wheels of grave 1290 provide early evidence about the appearance of such in the Carpathian Basin. Focussing on the two graves from Encs, this article reports AMS radiocarbon dates that suggest the spoked wheels belong to the early second millennium BC. The implications of these finds are interpreted though a comparative review of both wagon models from the Fuzesabony culture and the evidence for early spoked wheels in the Carpathian Basin.

Automated summary

During the excavation of a Bronze Age cemetery in Encs, Hungary, a clay wagon model with spoked wheels and three miniature solid clay wheels were discovered. These miniature models started to appear in burials during the Late Copper Age and continued until the Iron Age in Central Europe. The presence of these spoked wheels in grave 1290 provides early evidence of their existence in the Carpathian Basin. Radiocarbon dating suggests that these wheels belong to the early second millennium BC.