Hungarian ancestors in Italy? The Hungarian excavations at Rionero (1861)
This was the first and for a long time only Hungarian archaeological excavation in the Mediterranean. The excavator was Izidor Máttyus (1836–1870), an artillery officer in the Hungarian Legion that fought for the unification of Italy. He put his soldiers to digging for “Pelasgian” objects, as he believed the Pelasgians to be the indigenous people of Italy and the ancestors of the Hungarians.
Rionero lies in mainland Lucania in the Apennines. During their time there, the Hungarian gunners probably chanced on a cache of votive objects from a Lucanian sanctuary. The finds originated from Athens (1), Apulia (2–4), Paestum (5–6) and other regions of south and central Italy. Greek and Italic forms are equally present among the vases, the terracotta statuettes are Italic versions of Greek types (7–10). The most beautiful example for the connectivity of cultures is provided by the Apulian red-figure jug (2), whose bottom bears a votive inscription written in Greek and consisting of partly Greek and partly Italic elements, with words that only occur in this inscription. The objects outline the long history of this modest sanctuary. The majority of the finds were made between 370 and 250 BC, when the region was under Lucanian rule, the latest (11) dates after 88 BC, when Italy became united under Roman rule.
The 27 objects from Rionero were all found together, which makes them unique among works of art in the Collection of Antiquities.
This was the first and for a long time only Hungarian archaeological excavation in the Mediterranean. The excavator was Izidor Máttyus (1836–1870), an artillery officer in the Hungarian Legion that fought for the unification of Italy. He put his soldiers to digging for “Pelasgian” objects, as he believed the Pelasgians to be the indigenous people of Italy and the ancestors of the Hungarians.
Rionero lies in mainland Lucania in the Apennines. During their time there, the Hungarian gunners probably chanced on a cache of votive objects from a Lucanian sanctuary. The finds originated from Athens (1), Apulia (2–4), Paestum (5–6) and other regions of south and central Italy. Greek and Italic forms are equally present among the vases, the terracotta statuettes are Italic versions of Greek types (7–10). The most beautiful example for the connectivity of cultures is provided by the Apulian red-figure jug (2), whose bottom bears a votive inscription written in Greek and consisting of partly Greek and partly Italic elements, with words that only occur in this inscription. The objects outline the long history of this modest sanctuary. The majority of the finds were made between 370 and 250 BC, when the region was under Lucanian rule, the latest (11) dates after 88 BC, when Italy became united under Roman rule.
The 27 objects from Rionero were all found together, which makes them unique among works of art in the Collection of Antiquities.
1. Athenian black-glazed kylix, 475–450 BC 
2. Apulian red-figure olpe. Schlaepfer Painter, 360–350 BC 
3. Apulian red-figure hydria, 350–300 BC 
4. Apulian black-glazed guttus, 350–325 BC 
5. Paestan red-figure pelike, 320–310 BC 
6. Paestan type femaled head, after the second half of the 4th century BC 
7. South Italian female figure, 3rd century BC 
8. South Italian female figure, 3rd century BC 
9. South Italian standing female figure, 3rd century BC 
10. South Italian standing female figure, 3rd century BC 
11. Unguent jar, 50 BC – 50 AD 
12. South Italian relief with the representation of Silenos, 400–350 BC 
13. Italian bronze Hercules, 4th century BC 
14. Italian two-handled stamnoid olla, 6th–5th centuries BC (?) 
15. Lucanian red-figure epichysis, 320–300 BC 
16. Lucanian red-figure lekythos-aryballos, 325–300 BC 
17. South Italian black-glazed cup, 4th–3rd centuries BC 
18. South Italian black-glazed cup, 4th–3rd centuries BC 
18. South Italian black-glazed plate without handles, 4th–3rd centuries BC 
20. South Italian black-glazed bowl, 4th–3rd centuries BC 
21. South Italian lekythos-neck, 350–300 BC 
22. South Italian unguent jar, 325–275 BC 
23. South Italian unguent jar, 325–275 BC 
24. South Italian one-wick lamp, 400–250 BC 
25. South Italian one-wick lamp, 400–275 BC 
26. South or central Italian black-glazed skyphos, 325–275 BC 
27. South or central Italian black-glazed skyphos, 325–275 BC 