Lietuvos archeologija

Straipsnyje kalbama apie viduramžių Lietuvos degintinių kapinynų (XIII–XIV a.) geografiją, topografiją ir aplinką, išskiriami ir apžvelgiami regioniniai laidojimo vietų panašumai bei skirtumai. Tyrimo tikslas – išnagrinėti viduramžių degintinių kapinynų bruožus ir apibrėžti laidojimo vietų sampratą. Siekiant įgyvendinti šį tikslą, straipsnyje pirmą kartą į XIII–XIV a. degintinius kapinynus žvelgiama kompleksiškai: nagrinėjamas kapinynų ir juos naudojusių bendruomenių santykis, ryšys su supančia aplinka, o laidojimo vietų atmintis ir vaizdiniai atskleidžiami remiantis kalbos bei tautosakos duomenimis. Pabaigoje degintinių kapinynų būklė aptariama žvelgiant iš šiandieninės paveldosaugos perspektyvos.

Rubiķi Cemetery (Jēkabpils District, Rubene Parish), which had 31 barrows, is providing important information about Iron Age burial practices in eastern Latvia and eastern Lithuania, especially those relating to barrows with stone kerbs and the territory later inhabited by the Selonians. The cemetery was investigated by Pēteris Stepiņš in 1937 and by Elīna Guščika and Mārtiņš Lūsēns in 2012. In all, seven barrows were excavated. Despite the extensive disturbance of the barrows and the fact that only fragmentary remains of burials were discovered in 1937, the data collected in the 2012 excavation have enabled a detailed analysis of the 2nd–7th and 11th–12th-century burial practices at Rubiķi. The article presents for the 4rst time a complete description and analysis of the Rubiķi archaeological material (including AMS 14C dating), finishing with a discussion of some theoretical questions (burial site preconditions, burial practice continuity, etc.).

The worlds of the living and the dead are connected to one another in people’s worldviews and their physical setting in the landscape is a material expression of this relationship. In Lithuanian Iron Age (Roman period–Viking Age) archaeology, burial sites have been rarely approached from this perspective, except for some stereotypical remarks, e.g. it has been argued that water is a boundary between the spaces of the living and the dead. The paper analyses the spatial relationship between the East Lithuanian hillforts and barrow cemeteries and discusses how it reflects the local communities’ perceptions of their communication with their dead. The study is based on five spatial perspectives: distance, direction, location in the terrain in respect to bodies of water, communicative relationship, and visual contact. It concludes that no effort was made to isolate the burial areas from those for the living, i.e. the living maintained spatial bonds with their dead and shared one landscape.

Grave-goods belong to the sphere of sacrum where property donated for the dead might reflect a distorted picture of reality. They are the result of creative activity performed in „real life“. Therefore finds from dwelling sites have great importance for connecting artefacts from burial grounds back to the sphere of profanum. Several examples from Lithuanian archaeology are presented concerning dwelling sites as centres of production and exchange of artefacts that later found their way into grave-sets. Some considerations are presented regarding the elements of costume of people of the Brushed Pottery Culture; comparision of distribution of Roman imports in cemeteries and dwelling sites; the importance of chronological indicators has been distinguished thanks to databases of burial sites for the dating of layers in dwelling sites. Finally we present some hyphotesis about the possible everyday or ceremonial functions of outfit elements based on the example of female temple ornaments.

The category of cuff bracelets characteristic of West Balt Bogaczewo and Sudovian cultures during В2/С1 and С1 is examined in the context of previously unknown data from cemeteries in the Sambian-Natangian area. The paper presents the reconstruction and analysis of Sirenevo (Eisselbitten) burial 30, based on new data from Moskovskoye 1 Cemetery, making it possible to examine the chronology and range of this jewellery type in a somewhat new light.

This paper is the first attempt to summarize the state of research into the armament of the Bogaczewo and Sudovian cultures. Swords ended up with a higher than expected position. While shaft-hole axes and socketed axes played an important part, the military role of the so-called ‘fighting knives’ of the Roman period was rejected, with the exception of Dolchmesser, which were recognized as true weapons. Polearms and shields were used the most frequently. The latter, although fitting into the Central European pattern, had local traits. The bow was recognized as hunting equipment. And horses had a rather auxiliary character. Items with a Balt character that were discovered, for example, at Vimose Bog 1 and 2a and the sacrificial sites at Balsmyr, Sorte Muld, Kragehul, Skedemosse, and Uppåkra seem to prove that Balts participated in Scandinavian conflicts, which led to an exchange of ideas about such things as tactics and weapons.