Lietuvos istorijos institutas

This article presents an analysis of the urban development of Samogitia’s border with the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia from the end of the 16th to the early 19th centuries by looking at the history of the small town of Vegeriai as one of the more important cases. The research shows that border-town urbanisation was slow and irregular, coming in three waves where the third and last wave in the late 16th to early 17th century was particularly long. Three attempts at founding the small town of Vegeriai are discussed (in 1602, 1652 and 1754), which were initiated by representatives of families belonging to the Samogitian elite. The importance of liturgical life on the small town’s appearance and its vitality are highlighted. Attention is also drawn to the fact that in the second half of the 18th century Vegeriai became an important border communications hub between Samogitia and the Duchy of Courland, where a multinational community was being formed, trade ties were being developed, and the influence of the Jews and the arriving German Lutherans increased.

In this paper, we present the main results of interdisciplinary project that allowed us to formulate a new perspective on the economy of the Late Bronze Age in the Eastern Baltic region. New excavations at the Late Bronze Age fortified settlements of Garniai 1 (Utena district municipality) and Mineikiškės (Zarasai district municipality) lead us to analyse the economy of the communities in much greater detail and to formulate a more reliable economical model than before. This paper reviews the new results of archaeobotanical investigations of these fortified settlements, as well as δ13C and δ15N data of food remains in Late Bronze Age pottery, grains and animal bone collagen samples. These analyses allowed us to refine and clarify the likely dietary practices of consumers of certain products in the Eastern Baltic region. The paper also publishes new data on the elemental composition and lead isotopes of metalware, thereby adding to our earlier findings These studies show that metallurgy as a specialized activity did not play a significant role in the Late Bronze Age economy, but its emergence was driven by the economic changes of the period. In contrast, the production of high-level bone-antler artifacts reflects the activity of specialized craftsmen in Late Bronze Age settlements.