Lietuvos archeologija

The article examines Lithuanian cartography from an archaeological perspective: it analyses the instructions for cartographers and reviews the results of their work: various sets of maps of Lithuania’s territory (late 17th–20th century). At the centre of the article is the 1891–1907 topographic map of the western provinces of the Russian Empire, 1:21 000 scale, in which the article’s authors analysed the mapped barrows of East and South Lithuania using GIS tools and surveyed them during fieldwork in 2008. The experience accumulated by the authors over three years has allowed them to formulate the general methodological prerequisites for forming a map archaeology research field.

This article discusses the possibilities of using GIS (Geographical Information Systems) technologies for mapping archaeological sites and analysing the features of their spatial disposition. The characteristic incompleteness of archaeological site databases and the ambiguities of interpreting the data greatly increase the difficulties in applying GIS methodology. The article discusses how scientific databases for archaeological sites should be structured, possible data coding systems, the selection of archaeological data and objects, and the options for data processing and scientific analysis.

Since 1865, the Viking Age cemetery of Wiskiauten in former East Prussia was investigated by first German and later Russian archaeologists. Its more than 500 burial mounds were found to contain mainly Scandinavian grave goods. They are interpreted as the remains of Scandinavian settlers, who ran a trading point in the land of the Prussians between 850 and 1050 AD. Although the cemetery was investigated by both German and Russian scholars, no settlement has been found in the past 140 years. A recent research project used geophysical survey methods covering an area of nearly 150 ha and discovered thousands of anomalies in the vicinity of the barrow cemetery. After archaeological examinations of the past four years some of these anomalies can be connected with settlement activities of the 6th to 13th cent. AD. The results are summarized in this article.

Shovel-test sampling was used as a method to investigate the prehistoric land-use of two prehistoric clusters in Yli-Ii (Finland). Starting from a single surface-visible pit dwelling, an attempt was made to define the boundaries of the clusters and to compare different activity areas. The dwellings in the investigated area had a very similar structure but different find assemblages and distribution. The results of two years of shovel-test sampling are in line with the results of the excavation. They confirm some kind of economic specialization not only inside the dwellings but also in the landscape around the dwellings.

The article analyses the possibilities of using intrasite spatial analysis in Lithuanian Iron Age settlements. It notes the need, prior to an analysis, for identifying the formation processes of the archaeological context. Spatial analysis is the main method for identifying the structure of settlements, although disregarding the changes, which occurred during the formation processes, in the archaeological context usually leads to erroneous conclusions. All the material found at an archaeological site: both individual finds and mass material, is essential for identifying the formation processes, but the most crucial condition is their precise fixation during the excavation.

Research on multilayer archaeological sites, especially sandy soil Stone Age settlements, seems to be less informative because of mixed artefacts from different periods. Nevertheless by using a multiple intrasite spatial-statistical analysis and observing the correlation and links between the results and natural science research data, experimental archaeology, and ethno-archaeology, it is possible to extract and date complexes from different periods, to define the internal structure of archaeological sites, and even to reconstruct the way people lived.

The article presents the most important statistical analysis methods applicable for archaeology and presents examples of their performance using SPSS software. The statistical research examples use chemical analysis data for lime mortar. The theoretical basis is the perception of a find as a text in a semiotic sense, which perception is compatible with the application of computer hardware and software and of mathematical statistical analysis methods.

The following article discusses the technological analyses of 15 bronze low flanged axes preserved in the National Museum of Lithuania and the Vytautas the Great War Museum. The analyses were carried out in order to determine the quality and functionality of the axes. For the first time in East Baltic archaeology, bronze axes were x-rayed, revealing their casting quality as well as the knowledge and the state of technology the local craftsmen possessed. To acquire more information about the alloys used to produce the axes, chemical analyses were also carried out on some of the axes. Furthermore, traces of the manufacturing process and usage of the axes were documented on the surface of the bronze objects. These traces, especially on the edge of the axes, point to their use as woodworking tools but also as weapons. Due to many relicts of casting equipment from the Late Bronze Age, we can be sure that many bronzes were produced locally. Although some casting moulds are known from the Early Bronze Age in the Baltic States, nevertheless a large percentage of Bronze Age axes may have been imported.

The article presents the results of a metallographic, mechanical properties, and elemental analysis of iron artefacts from Marvelë cemetery. Finds from 3rd–5th-century inhumations excavated in 2006: axes (3 examples), spearheads (4), knifes (2), and a buckle as well as metallurgical slag, clinkers, and iron droplets found in the vicinity were used for the analysis. Ordinary methodology was used for the analysis, thus the results are comparable with those from other sites. The metallographic analysis determined that a varying hardness was achieved in manufacturing the different parts of the artefacts. The axes were forged from two separate pieces of iron, the spearheads and knifes from one. The chemical composition of the artefacts is similar to that of artefacts from other Lithuanian archaeological sites; nevertheless some differences exist, which presupposes the idea of the non-local origin of some artefacts.