Square-Shaped Belt Fittings from the 10th Century in the Carpathian Basin : Archaeological and Archaeometric Analysis

When analysing archaeological finds, some questions cannot be answered using traditional archaeological methods, therefore the involvement of the natural sciences is extremely important when examining certain types of objects. Thanks to modern technologies, the relationship between workshops and objects in different remote areas can also be explored. Decorated and undecorated square-shaped belt fittings, which are rare amongst the 10th-century relics of the Carpathian Basin, can be traced back to the Altai region. The castings that can be connected to the first generation of conquering Hungarians are very diverse. Every single one of them is unique in terms of size, materials, and ornamentation. The study below reports the new material analyses of the square fittings of Tiszaeszlár–Bashalom, Budaörs–Tűzkőhegy, and Hajdúböszörmény–Erdős tanya, comparing them to the metal composition of foreign analogies.