Fifteen years of archaeological research in Hungary have been brought together in a major new publication documenting medieval settlements, coin hoards, weapons, craftsmanship and evidence from the Mongol invasion.
Published in 2026, Synergia I – Studies from the Kecskemét Medieval Workshop presents research led by the Katona József Museum in Kecskemét alongside archaeologists, historians, art historians and volunteer researchers.
Edited by István Pánya and Bernát Rácz, the 840-page volume focuses principally on the Danube–Tisza Interfluve, a region between Hungary’s two major rivers where large parts of the medieval archaeological record remain poorly documented.
The publication combines archaeological fieldwork with historical documents, metal-detecting surveys, geographical research and detailed catalogues of archaeological material.
Medieval coin hoard
Among the discoveries presented in the volume is a large medieval coin hoard recovered near Madaras in southern Hungary.
The hoard was discovered during community archaeological investigations in 2022, followed by further excavations in 2023.
Researchers recovered 558 coins, comprising 541 anonymous Hungarian denars and 17 Friesach-type coins minted in the territory of present-day Austria.
Agricultural ploughing had dispersed the coins across an area measuring approximately 40 metres by 16 metres.
Numismatic analysis suggests that the hoard was probably deposited during the reign of King Béla III, who ruled Hungary between 1172 and 1196.
It represents the largest known hoard of its type in Bács-Kiskun County, while previously unknown coin variants identified among the assemblage provide additional evidence for the study of medieval Hungarian currency.
Rare goldsmith’s toolkit
Another study examines 24 objects associated with medieval metalworking discovered at Nemesnádudvar.
The assemblage includes embossing tools, presses and objects associated with casting, providing evidence for craft production outside Hungary’s major medieval towns.
The objects were recovered in the Klösterle area near the remains of a settlement thought to have existed between the 11th and 13th centuries.
Researchers suggest that a craftsman working there may have manufactured clothing accessories, religious objects and other metal goods for the local population.
The finds do not conclusively demonstrate the existence of a permanent workshop, but they provide evidence for small-scale metalworking within a rural settlement.
The settlement itself may have been destroyed during the Mongol invasion of 1241–1242, although this remains an interpretation rather than a confirmed event.
Evidence of warfare and the Mongol invasion
Weapons and military equipment form another major theme of the publication.
Studies examine star-shaped maces associated with close combat and an unusual ceremonial crossbow bolt head discovered at the medieval village of Orbágyszentgyörgy.
A separate investigation combines archaeological evidence with written historical accounts to examine Mongol looting practices during the invasion of Hungary in 1241–1242.
Researchers have studied abandoned settlements, destroyed churches and buried objects across the Great Hungarian Plain to reconstruct the impact of the campaigns on medieval communities.
The approach provides archaeological evidence for an event that caused widespread disruption to settlements that had developed over several centuries.
Seals and lost settlements
Synergia I also contains what researchers describe as the largest published catalogue of medieval seal matrices and signet rings in Hungary to date.
Recovered across Bács-Kiskun County, the objects were used to authenticate documents and identify individuals and institutions.
Among them is a seal matrix associated with the tailors’ guild of Kecskemét, providing evidence for the organisation of crafts and professional groups within the medieval town.
Other sections of the publication examine thousands of coins, medieval iron tools, religious objects and the furnishings of the Augustinian friary at Bátmonostor.
Together, these finds provide evidence for trade, administration, craftsmanship, religious practice and everyday life across the region.
Mapping medieval Hungary
A major part of the research has been to find settlements and buildings that have disappeared from the modern landscape.
Fieldwork carried out between 2011 and 2026 has included archaeological finds, historical maps, documentary sources and geographical research.
Researchers have sought to identify former villages, churches, monasteries, manor houses, mills, roads and administrative boundaries.
Many of these communities disappeared or changed significantly during periods of warfare and political change so that their locations are poorly represented in surviving records and modern place names.
By combining archaeological and documentary evidence it is reconstructing the changing settlement landscape of the region between 11th and 17th centuries.
Fifteen years of archaeological research
Community archaeology has played an important role in the programme with volunteer researchers and metal-detector users working alongside archaeologists, historians, geophysicists and conservators.
Ground-penetrating radar has also been used, magnetometry, geographical analysis and digital mapping to locate and examine archaeological sites.
The first volume of Synergia collects results of this work and half of its contents is devoted to documenting thousands of archaeological objects.
Many contributions are available in Hungarian and English; the editors hope to publish more volumes every few years.
The research also shows how archaeological sites threatened by agriculture and other landscape change need to be documented as well as material that has remained unpublished or overlooked for decades being brought together.
Sources : KKJM
