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Roman Heritage in Hungary: The Case of the Fertőrákos Mithraeum on the Iron Curtain

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Digging Politics
This chapter is in the book Digging Politics

Abstract

This chapter discusses the role of Roman heritage in the Hungarian national narrative from the mid-twentieth century to 2015, analysing the role of archaeology in connection to the influencing political circumstances which range from the Communist Period to the first three decades of democratic Hungary. To illustrate this, the chapter takes the Mithraeum in Fertőrákos as a main example, a site that is located next to the border between Hungary and Austria. It is apparent that neither the closeness of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, nor the successful UNESCO World Heritage nomination from 2001 supported the conservation and public acknowledgement of the site. Textual sources documenting specific decision-making processes on local and national levels (including parliamentary decisions and regional resolutions) as well as marketing and tourist publications are used as sources and compared and contrasted with on-site investigations. The chapter highlights a number of reasons why the Roman remains in Hungary are not included in the country’s heritage.

Abstract

This chapter discusses the role of Roman heritage in the Hungarian national narrative from the mid-twentieth century to 2015, analysing the role of archaeology in connection to the influencing political circumstances which range from the Communist Period to the first three decades of democratic Hungary. To illustrate this, the chapter takes the Mithraeum in Fertőrákos as a main example, a site that is located next to the border between Hungary and Austria. It is apparent that neither the closeness of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, nor the successful UNESCO World Heritage nomination from 2001 supported the conservation and public acknowledgement of the site. Textual sources documenting specific decision-making processes on local and national levels (including parliamentary decisions and regional resolutions) as well as marketing and tourist publications are used as sources and compared and contrasted with on-site investigations. The chapter highlights a number of reasons why the Roman remains in Hungary are not included in the country’s heritage.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents VII
  3. List of Contributors IX
  4. Digging Politics: The Ancient Past and Contested Present 1
  5. Balkan Antiquity as Decolonial Eurocentrism During the Cold War 17
  6. Thracian Archaeology and National Identity in Communist Bulgaria: The Ideological Pattern of Museum Exhibitions 45
  7. Imagining King’s Landing: Dubrovnik, the Diegetic Heritage of Game of Thrones, and the Imperialism of Popular Culture 77
  8. Slavic Archaeology as “A Special Obligation”? Researching the Early Slavs in Communist Poland and East Germany 107
  9. Allies out of Ashes? Polish Ideas for the Refounding of Medieval Western Slavic States after 1945 131
  10. Roman Heritage in Hungary: The Case of the Fertőrákos Mithraeum on the Iron Curtain 157
  11. ‘Eurasian Magyars’: The Making of a New Hegemonic National Prehistory in Illiberal Hungary 181
  12. Beyond Radical Right Politics: LGBTQ+ Rights in Hungary and Romania 217
  13. The Protochronistic Depiction of the Transylvanian Saxons in Nicolae Ceaușescu’s History Textbooks (1976–1989) 241
  14. Dacian Blood: Autochthonous Discourse in Romania during the Interwar Period 257
  15. Why Nationalism Survives in Romanian Archaeology and What Could Limit its Impact 287
  16. Archaeology and the Challenge of Continuity: East-Central Europe during the Age of Migrations 307
  17. Index 347
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110697445-007

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents VII
  3. List of Contributors IX
  4. Digging Politics: The Ancient Past and Contested Present 1
  5. Balkan Antiquity as Decolonial Eurocentrism During the Cold War 17
  6. Thracian Archaeology and National Identity in Communist Bulgaria: The Ideological Pattern of Museum Exhibitions 45
  7. Imagining King’s Landing: Dubrovnik, the Diegetic Heritage of Game of Thrones, and the Imperialism of Popular Culture 77
  8. Slavic Archaeology as “A Special Obligation”? Researching the Early Slavs in Communist Poland and East Germany 107
  9. Allies out of Ashes? Polish Ideas for the Refounding of Medieval Western Slavic States after 1945 131
  10. Roman Heritage in Hungary: The Case of the Fertőrákos Mithraeum on the Iron Curtain 157
  11. ‘Eurasian Magyars’: The Making of a New Hegemonic National Prehistory in Illiberal Hungary 181
  12. Beyond Radical Right Politics: LGBTQ+ Rights in Hungary and Romania 217
  13. The Protochronistic Depiction of the Transylvanian Saxons in Nicolae Ceaușescu’s History Textbooks (1976–1989) 241
  14. Dacian Blood: Autochthonous Discourse in Romania during the Interwar Period 257
  15. Why Nationalism Survives in Romanian Archaeology and What Could Limit its Impact 287
  16. Archaeology and the Challenge of Continuity: East-Central Europe during the Age of Migrations 307
  17. Index 347
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