Archeological finds in NE-Transdanubian travertine

At the northeastern part of Transdanubia, connected to the karst-water system of the Gerecse Mts, travertine pools were formed in several localities, at different times and at various altitudes. Quarrying of the travertine is documented since the Bronze Age. The hand-operated quarries are known to have also functioned during the Middle Ages. Several relics of architecture and sculpture from the Roman province of Pannonia and Medieval Hungary were made of this material, specifically from the quarries of the study area. Exploitation of the limestone opened the large, vertically-walled pools preserving the settlements of Paleolithic people in the loose sediments and the travertine cover: at Vertesszolos, remains of Homo erectus, and at Tata, habitations of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis were found in the travertine. Collaboration between geoscientists and archeologists could, apart from identifying the sources of worked travertine, also result in the discovery of new archeological sites.