Menoroth from Čelarevo: scientific meeting, February 23, 1983 (shorthand notes)

Abstract

The discovery of a large early medieval necropolis at Čelarevo, from the time of Avar, domination in the Panonian Plain, attracted exceptional attention from both Yugoslav and foreign experts. The striking feature of the find was Jewish symbols engraved on brick fragments found above and within some graves in a part of the necropolis. The very fact of finding Jewish symbols within a necropolis left by a Mongoloid tribe put the acting archaeologists in front of a puzzle. It intrigued the curators of the Novi Sad City Museum, as well as all interested scientists. The question has been about the connection between those symbols and the Avars. Did some elements of Judaism enter into their faith, or is the necropolis a remnant from a still older or just a contemporary but not yet identified' settlement, inhabited by various ethnic groups and among them also Jews, who arrived at the site on their century-old migrations. Serious damages in the necropolis, unexplored surroundings, as well as a lack of written sources, held any more precise answers beyond the limits of possibilities. The Yugoslav and foreign scientific community got an opportunity to get acquainted with the finds and questions at the exhibition „Menoroth from Čelarevo”, which took place in 1980 at the Jewish Museum in Belgrade in close collaboration with the Novi Sad City Museum, following the discovery of the necropolis. The exhibition catalogue, a well (documented manuel, has been written by Radovan Bunardžić, the archaeologist who directed the excavations at Čelarevo. To try the next step in solving the problems related to Jewish symbols in an Avaric necropolis, the Jewish Historical Museum convened a round-table, in Belgrade on February 23rd, 1981, on the premises of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Yugoslavia. The meeting was attended by thirty Yugoslav scholars, mainly archaeologists and historians, as well as nine foreign scientists and students of the early mediaeval Jewish diaspora, the history of Judaized Crimean Khazars, as well as migration of various tribes into the Danube Valley in the early Middle Age. Unable to attend, nine foreign scholars sent in their discussion papers. Prof. Dr Jovan Kovačević, Department Head for Medieval Archaeology at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, presided over the meeting. The round-table discussions were followed by archaeology students from Belgrade and Zagreb. We are pleased to express our gratitude to Blanka Kraus, who expertly handled simultaneous translations from and to the German language, as well as to Cvijeta Jakšić and Vida Janković who did the same in English. Their friendly efforts greatly contributed to smooth working at the meeting.