Gödény-halom, Prehistoric mound in Békésszentandrás, Hungary.
Gödény-halom is a prehistoric earthwork rising 12.26 metres above the plain, with a base circumference of about 160 metres. It lies 7 kilometres south of Békésszentandrás beside the old Szentes road, in the floodplain of the Hármas-Körös. Its surface is covered with continuous grass, and a young acacia grove grows on the lower southeastern side.
Gödény-halom is a Cumanian mound of uncertain age and origin, generally thought to have served as a burial place in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages; its size suggests it held a person of high standing. In 1735, during the Péró peasant revolt, rebels gathered here, and it was called Péró halma or Vértessy pihenője after Mihály Vértessy, Péró's Alföld ally, who summoned local insurgents to the spot. Part of its northern side was later removed for road and dam construction.
The name gödény means pelican: the mound stayed dry in the floodplain of the Hármas-Körös and pelicans roosted on it. In 1735, during the Péró peasant revolt, rebels led by Vértessy Mihály gathered here, so it was also called Péró halma or Vértessy pihenője.
The mound stands 7 km south of Békésszentandrás along the old road to Szentes, today route 44 105, and lies within Körös–Maros National Park. Its top reaches 97.26 m above sea level, about 12 m above the flat floodplain. A young acacia wood covers the lower southeastern side, and a survey marker stands on the summit.
The mound's top carries a cartographic marker, and its surface is covered by continuous grass grazed only occasionally; a young acacia grove covers the lower southeastern side. Part of the northern flank was dug away for road and dam construction, so the mound was once roughly 3 metres taller, probably exceeding 15 metres.
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