Lietuvos istorijos institutas

This article examines 22 metal artefacts from Lithuania dated to the Bronze and Pre-Roman Iron Ages (2nd–1st millennium BC). Most were found either accidentally or through metal detecting, while some were uncovered during archaeological investigations. Additionally, archaeological excavations were conducted at three sites where Early Bronze Age axes have previously been found. This article presents the results of these investigations, alongside an analysis of the typology, chronology, and distribution of the newly discovered Bronze Age artefacts. Additionally, a comprehensive contextual analysis was carried out on all 368 metal artefacts that date from this period in Lithuania. The analysis draws on data concerning find contexts, surrounding environmental features, archival records, and associations with other contemporary archaeological sites. The study proposes the hypothesis that some stray bronze artefacts may be interpreted as hoards, either as votive deposits or as intentionally concealed items.

The research of the area between Lakes Amalvas and Žuvintas was conducted as part of the topic ‘Reconstruction of the Development of the Social Structure and Economic Activity in the Late Ice Age – Early Holocene (10th–1st millennia BC) society in the Trans-Nemunas region (Užnemunė)’ within the framework of the ‘Archaeolandscape’ scientific research project. The fertile top soils of the Dovinė basin encouraged the expansion of the farmed land and the adaptation of the area to farming. This caused the reconstruction of the hydrographic network, which occurred in the Amalvas and Žuvintas basins as early as the mid-19th century. The first news of isolated archaeological finds discovered in ameliorating Amalvas Bog reaches us from that time. The few stray finds did not receive any attention from archaeologists, the only investigated object in the microregion being Varnupiai hillfort, which was excavated by P. Kulikauskas in 1971. The complex investigation of the microregion, which included a pollen analysis of the sediments of Lake Amalvas, supported by abundant radiocarbon dates of the layers, and archaeological research, which were supported by a critical analysis of the sources, the precise location of long known and newly discovered stray finds, and the detection of new objects, created opportunities to look more deeply at the natural and cultural development in the microregion from the oldest times to historical times.