DEFiNitiON, DEScRiPtiON ANd MAPPiNG OF ... - Danube Limes

19. Budakalász – Luppa csárda (Bolhavár)
KÖH id. nr.: 10048
Burgus Ulcisia – 2
Lajos Nagy excavated this between 1932
and 1934, but the excavation was not published.
It is mentioned in several articles, and from
these we are familiar with the dimensions,
history and significant finds of this watchtower.
These include stamped bricks, a mortar
imprint of a lost inscription, the remains of
grain seeds and a copy of a glass cup with a
reticulated design.
Sándor Soproni performed a survey on the
watch-tower in 1952, and the ground plan we
know of also comes from him. He also
excavated a gravestone that had been
subsequently built into the northeastern pillar.
At that time the area was already being used as a
farmyard, and a stable was found built onto the
walls of the watch-tower. Since then a summer
home has been built on the southwestern
corner of the watch-tower.
The watch-tower has a square ground plan,
16.3×15.5 or 14.8 m. It is oriented
approximately in a north-south direction. The
walls are 1.5 m thick. Its entrance was on the
southern side, and there were stairs on both
sides of the entrance. The interior of the watchtower
is divided up by 4 columns, which may
have held up the upper stories. The watchtower
was surrounded by a 39×39 m enclosure
wall.
The characteristics of its ground plan place
this tower in to the group of small forts from
the time of Valentinian (364-375) (Leányfalu,
Visegrád-Lepence, Őcsény-Soványtelek).
Today, the enclosure walls cannot be seen,
only one pillar remains, and the entryway has
been demolished. The summer home that has
been built onto the structure is actively used,
and the property is an orchard and farmyard
with several outbuildings. The lot is a fenced
private property and cannot be visited. The dirt
road leading to it is closed off with a gate. Its
display and access could be possible with the
consent of the owner, or if it is expropriated
and the modern structures are removed.
50
Boundaries of core and buffer zones:
The borders of the core zone are provided by
the enclosure wall of the watch-tower, which we
have determined with the aid of its visible and
surveyed foundations and the published ground
plan from the excavation. The buffer zone
includes all of the properties bordering on the
core zone. In addition to this, to the west the
neighboring dirt road with the land registry
number 0230/2 and a property, which if it were
constructed upon could possibly impact access
to and the view of the site, are also included.
Bibliography:
MRT 7, 48-49.
SOPRONI 1978, 71.
45. The remains of the watch-tower in 2009
(Photo: Dénes Jankovich-Bésán)
46. Ground plan of the watch-tower
(Digitalization: PTE)