Description: Altarpieces are artefacts characteristic of the Lengyel and Moravian Painted cultures, extending across central Europe from 4800-4300 BC. Ranging from 4-12 cm high, cubic in shape, with a small depression in the top, these clay objects have puzzled archaeologists.
Brief description: Eszter Bánffy is a Hungarian archaeologist, specialised in European prehistory, in particular of Central and South-east Europe, authoring several books and a wide range of papers. She has worked for the Archaeological Institute of Hungarian Academy of Sciences; as a professor of prehistoric archaeology and of geoarchaeology (Szeged University), and has been conducting Hungarian and international projects. Since 2013, she has been director of the Romano-Germanic Commission of the German Archaeological Institute in Frankfurt am Main. She is a Fellow of the British Academy.