Archaeologia Baltica

The grave goods from Linkuhnen (Rževskoje/Linkūnai) indicate continuous usage of the cemetery from the Roman Iron Age and the Migration Period to the Viking Age (second to 11th century AD). A closer look at the fibulae from Linkuhnen offers an overview of the changing cultural relationships with the neighbouring areas during the 1,000 years of occupancy of the site. The interpretation of Linkuhnen is closely linked to its topographical position close to the River Nemunas (Neman/Memel). The hypothetical alteration of the course of the River Nemunas, suggested by V. Žulkus, has to be discussed for its potential impact on the site of Linkuhnen and its relations with neighbouring areas at the end of the first millennium.

A silver hoard found in what is currently called Skomętno, and bought by the Museum of Prehistory in Berlin, is the basis for a discussion about Medieval hoards in the Baltic region concerning typology and chronology. The hoard, which can be dated to the second half of the 11th century, also shows interesting similarities with a hoard which was found in Skomenten in 1927. It was brought to the Prussia Museum in Königsberg, and has been lost since the end of the Second World War.

In recent years, the area to the southeast of the Gulf of Finland (on the Izhora plateau and in the lower reaches of the River Luga) has opened up a number of archaeological sites dating from the first to the tenth century AD. There are stone graves from the Pre-Roman and Roman Iron Age, settlements with scratched ceramics, cremation burials from the Migration Period, hill-forts and cemeteries from the Viking Age. These sites can be built into a cultural and chronological sequence. Finds from these sites are very similar to objects from Estonia and southwest Finland. At the beginning of the second millennium, Medieval Russian culture, which levelled local cultural characteristics, spread on the Izhora plateau.

Penannular brooches with rolled terminals are known in Latgallian areas from the eighth century, and brooches with polygonal (faceted and funnel-shaped) terminals from the middle of the ninth century. At the same time, they were widespread in a large area, including Scandinavia. Penannular brooches on Gotland have been analysed, and these are very similar to those of the Latgallians. Although the origin of the polygonal terminals of brooches is unclear, the same ornamentation can be found on Gotland, and in a broader context in the Scandinavian Vendel Period patterns of ornamentation. The new ideas appeared in the form of Latgallian penannular brooches at the same time or a little later than on Gotland. The new pattern of ornamentation also influenced the ornamentation of bracelets, or vice versa. The contacts between Latgallians and gotland or scandinavia were possibly long-standing, lasting about three centuries. If Latgallian artisans were themselves producing this kind of penannular brooch, then they were not creating new forms, but imitating existing ones.

In 2014 and 2015, new underwater archaeological sites were discovered in Lake Sāviena in the east of Latvia. The first site, according to c14 dating, goes back 4510 +/-55 years. In the other site, artefacts and ceramics from the Late Iron Age were discovered. Here, on the shore of the lake, adjacent cultural occupation of the settlement was discovered. It is possible to make preliminary conclusions that the shores of Lake Sāviena had been inhabited for a long time, which was certainly associated with the lake’s waters.

A settlement was established by English merchants in Šventoji in the second half of the 17th century. The rich collection of artefacts and historic documents distinctly suggests the daily life of merchants. In this paper, the artefacts are assessed as indicators of the cultural and personal identity. Most of the finds were imported, and not locally produced. Their provenance, if possible, was identified and associated with manufacturing centres by using a comparative method. Ceramic dishes, glass vessels and cutlery represent merchants’ dining traditions and habits, while personal belongings can be associated with the presentation of social status or individual expression.

The article discusses the evolution of the earliest buildings in the urban environment of Kaunas Old Town. Archaeological research has revealed clear traces of wooden buildings in Medieval Kaunas dating from the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries and from the early 15th century. The earliest buildings of this type, with basements, were in line with the planned urban structure of the town. They were found in some blocks of the southern part of the Old Town, on the western part of Market Square, and by the main street. In all cases, the traces found are very similar. The wooden buildings and their locations in the newly planned town reveal the initial stages in the town’s growth. Masonry houses evolved in Kaunas in several stages. Churches, the first public buildings, appeared in the newly founded town. The next stage is associated with the early development of masonry public buildings from the mid-15th century to the first half of the 16th century. The earliest brick houses emerged in various locations in the urban space.

The remains of a Medieval harbour were discovered in Puck in 1977. Preliminary research was conducted the next year by Wiesław Stępień. The site consists of a set of timber construction remains, located on the ground and strengthened with fascine, between which fragments of ceramics appear, especially in the area of the base of the pier. There are also a lot of pieces of simply processed trunks and branches stripped of bark nearby. Also, some scattered pieces of oak logs with yoke openings have been found lying distributed between the piles. Some help in attempting to reconstruct their arrangement comes from the mooring piles, which have a characteristic rectangular cross-section, and are still located on the sea bed. Pieces of five wrecks (one log boat, and four made from planks) have been found between the harbour constructions. Looking at the chronological arrangement of the site, created slowly on the basis of results obtained from dendrochronological analysis, and supplemented with radiological research, we can assume that the harbour was in use between the tenth and the 14th centuries.

Ships are no Flying Dutchmen! They need a harbour. Therefore, the development of ship construction is pretty much connected with that of harbour construction, and beyond this, they influence the topography and infrastructure of a harbour. The transition between the Medieval period and the Early Modern Age is a period of great change in the development of larger ships, even in the Baltic. Furthermore, the internationalisation of Baltic trade took place. In Medieval times, ship construction followed conditions in the harbours. In the Early Modern Age, it was the other way round. Now, harbour construction, topography and infrastructure follow the development of ship construction. The paper focuses on the deep impact that larger multi-mast sailing ships had on the development of Baltic harbours.