Beehive stone
A limited number of rocks with niches can be found even close to Budapest, in the area of the Pilis mountains and the Budai-hegység hills, especially on its Tétényi-fennsík plateau.
[4] According to the definition in decree 17/2014 of the Minister of Agriculture[5] (on establishing places of nature remembrance and on nature conservation management plans to protect beehive stones), which came into effect on the 4th of November 2014, a "kaptárkő" (beehive stone) is a natural or artificially altered stone formation that has, on its surface, one or more visible carved niches – and similar artefacts, in some cases – with significance in the history of culture, therefore representing value in the conservation of both landscape/nature and cultural heritage.
[7] Beehive stones and the stone culture of the Bükkalja region were declared as a Hungarian-specific value (so-called "Hungarikum"), due to its unique natural nature – at the meeting of a committee dealing with Hungarian-specific values (Hungarikum Bizottság), on the 17th of June 2016.
The special, conical rocks and rock groups of the Bükkalja had been prepared from the ground surface composed of mostly ash-flow tuffs and ignimbrites with rhyolitic ingredients, by the key factors of landscape formation in the ice-age, namely: downcutting and lateral erosion, attrition, weathering, rinsing effects of wind and precipitation, and frost erosion.
Later, largely due to the research and studies by Andor Saád, beehive stone (kaptárkő) had become the most widespread and common term.
This naming was applied in later studies by researchers working on resolving the mystery of such rocks: Ferenc Kubinyi, Gyula Bartalos, Gáspár Klein, Andor Saád, Péter Mihály and Csaba Baráz.
The most typical ones can be found in the area surrounding Eger (Nyerges-hegy, Mész-tető, Cakó-tető), near Szomolya (Vén-hegy, Kaptár-rét) and near Cserépváralja (Nagykúp on the Mangó-tető, Furgál-völgy, Csordás-völgy).
You can find such rocks also in the areas surrounding Sirok, Egerbakta, Egerszalók, Ostoros, Noszvaj, Bogács, Cserépfalu, Tibolddaróc and Kács.
These are listed (with details) in the table, and described in the Beehive rock registry (for the Bükkalja area) section of the Hungarian article.
Gáspár Klein, a chief archivist of Borsod county, suggested that the dummy windows could have served as idol niches, and dated them to the age of the so-called Hungarian conquest (9th–10th centuries).
In the early 1960s, he even conducted some archaeological excavations in front of beehive rocks, with archaeologist József Korek, at sites near Cserépváralja and Szomolya.
[10] The number of archaeological excavations conducted to reveal the secret of beehive rocks is relatively low, and those few did not bring up many finds.
In the early 1960s, the dominant agent of the beekeeping purpose opinion (Andor Saád, a medical doctor from Miskolc) conducted some archaeological excavations in front of beehive rocks, with archaeologist József Korek, at sites near Cserépváralja and Szomolya.
[11] Despite the lack of significant archaeological and ethnographic data, the accepted and publicly known view is still the theory that such rock niches are mementos of forest rock beekeeping in the medieval period, and this way of beekeeping was introduced by Kabars who joined the Hungarians during the so-called Hungarian conquest or by Agrians (a group of Thracian-Illyrian refugees from the Balkan peninsula) in earlier ages.
However, the results of research to date, accompanied by the statistical probability based on evaluation of topographic data, make the idea of the beekeeping use rather doubtful; while "reasons to exclude cultic, sacrificial use of the niches have not been drawn up".
In the current situation, we can orient ourselves in two aspects: So, reviewing and analyzing different carved features (holes, channels, bowl-shaped pits, rock caldrons) is really important, at least for multiple-aspect comparison and analysis with the known analogies.
Quote from the Latin source: "Quicunque ritu gentilium iuxta puteos sacrificaverit, vel ad arbores et ad fontes, et lapides oblationes obtulerit…” (Whoever practices pagan or national rites of sacrificing at wells, or offers sacrifice at trees, springs and stones...).
"The migratory-dynamic-wandering lifestyle of our nation can make us suspect that, in our ancient times, demonstrating respect to the divine provider was conducted similarly [as by Scythians, outdoors], at certain ad hoc locations.
Ipolyi suggests that the term "boncos" [dissector] reminds us that "they could have been the entrail inspectors, the prophets working from animal entrails, who are still remembered by our chronicles…” Ministers with divine connection of ancient, pagan Hungarians are denoted by various words: táltos, mágus [magician], bölcs [wise], jós [prophet], bűvös [conjurer], bájos [charmer], varázsló [wizard], bélnéző [entrail inspector], hugybanéző [urine-looker], áldozatnéző [sacrifice inspector], oltáron néző [on-altar looker].
So we have another thread to start to follow in search for the origin of beehive rocks, diverging from the early medieval period; investigating the story of the Agrian people.
Historical studies do not consider the information from Bonfini about the city of Eger to a sufficient degree, however his statements are supported by a series of facts.
Accordingly, to Antonio Bonfini, Eger belonged to the domain of Metanastae or Jász or Iazyg people [the Hungarian word "íjász" means archer].
Strabo, in his work titled Geographica, had already reported on the Illyrian peoples called Agrians living on the Balkan peninsula.
The invasion of Thracian-Cimmerian tribes from the northern foreground of the Black Sea started to escalate around 730 BC, in the age of the pre-Scythian immigrations (Mezőcsát group).
The fortification of the settlement of the Kyjatice culture on the Vár-hegy [Fort hill] above the city of Eger (but belonging to the town of Felsőtárkány) was built in this particular age (8th century BC, at the beginning of the so-called HaB3 period).
Persian king Darius I crossed the river Danube in 513 BC, and got into the land of the Scythians; he was defeated, but his action made Trachian groups of people leave their territories [based on Herodotus].
