Tackling erosion-accumulation events in a moat sequence from a unique Ottoman memorial
place (Szigetvár, SW Hungary) using 14C and geoarcheological data
(Hungary grant 20391-3/2018/FEKUSTRAT) Támogató: EMMI
One of the most influential rulers of the sixteenth century, Sultan Suleyman I, passed
away and was buried temporarily near the fortress of Szigetvár in SW Hungary in 1566.
Later, a memorial place was erected on the site in the second half of the sixteenth
century. The complex was surrounded by a palisade system and a moat on its northern
side. The site was fully destroyed in 1692, and the exact location vanished with time.
Recent investigations of historical sources complemented by geophysical, archeological,
and geoarcheological investigations managed to identify the location of the site,
and probe corings revealed the moat system. This study presents the results of complex
chronological, sedimentological, and geochemical investigations done on the sediments
accumulated in the moat. Based on geoarcheological data, two major changes could have
been noted in the nature of the deposit marking erosion and transportation of soil
from the banks of the moat. Elevated concentrations of Fe and K, and high MS values
mark the effects of fire on the deposit and accumulation of flue ash. A rise in heavy
metals in these horizons is attributable to anthropogenic sources related to the destruction
of the site. Chronological data comes from dateable artifacts reposited and 14C
dates of charred cereal seeds. A Bayesian age model built using 14C
ages constrained by written historical data on site use helped us to determine the
age of moat construction and the referred erosion-accumulation events. The older event
was dated around 1670, which is in line with historical records of the first siege
of Szigetvár. The second event postdates 1684 and thus must correspond to the time
of the site’s final siege and later destruction.