Archaeologia Baltica

Ostrow Lednicki, an island situated in Lake Lednica between Gniezno and Poznań, is an important archaeological site from the period of the beginnings of the Polish state. In the tenth and 11th centuries, apart from Gniezno, Poznań and Giecz, the town, which has been preserved together with the remains of a stone palace, was one of the main towns of the state of Mieszko I and Bolesław I the Brave. The significance of Ostrow Lednicki in the Early Middle Ages is also emphasised by two bridges leading to the island, the Gniezno bridge from the east, and, the Poznań bridge from the west, which mark an important communication route in that period between Poznań and Gniezno. With the exception of towns, bridges like this were the largest engineering constructions of the epoch in the Slavic world. Systematic underwater studies of the remains of the bridges were undertaken in 1982, and have been carried out with intervals until today. In 2000 and 2001, the exploration of the west bridge was supported financially by the Foundation for Polish Science. It was concerned in particular with building a special apparatus for the conservation of movable monuments after excavating them during underwater studies in the area of the bridge’s location and found by means of metal detectors used in the close vicinity of the west bridge. These studies yielded a large number of artefacts, enriching our knowledge of the material culture of the Early Middle Ages. The military finds, consisting, so far, of over 150 axes and several dozen spearheads and javelins, are exceptionally important. This unique collection of military objects has no counterpart in European archaeology.

Half-carvels are vessels on which the lowest part of the hull is built with overlapping strakes of planking, referred to as clinker construction, and the uppermost parts of the hull are constructed with the planks laid side by side, in the carvel fashion. These mixed planking constructions first occurred in the 16th century (as far as we know), but became very common in later centuries. The aim of this article is to highlight the existence of different versions of clinker construction, and to discuss some reasons behind the selection of the technique.

The survey and research of underwater archaeological objects in Lithuania is already in its third decade; therefore, it would be inaccurate to say that the field is new. This article discusses objects that have been found and investigated in inland waters in Lithuania. It is devoted to a discussion of the beginnings of this branch of science, and the stages in its development; and also to a presentation of the main tendencies in underwater research and the results of completed surveys.

In the Middle to Late Neolithic, pile-dwellings existed in Russia only in the Dnepr-Dvina basin and in the European region, in the Alpine zone, and probably in the western Baltic region. Investigations of sites in the Dnepr-Dvina region with underwater excavation methods have been conducted since the 1970s. The history of the development of these methods is presented here. The preliminary results of complex investigations of the Serteya II site are also covered in this article. An analysis of the remains of fauna, palynological analysis, and traceological analysis of bone tools, and modelling with GIS-technologies, allowed us to recreate the economic activities of the inhabitants of the Serteya II settlement. It had a complex character: it was a hunter-gatherer economy that existed alongside a small productive economy. The latter probably had a prestigious character, and did not play a significant role in the economy of ancient people. A comparison of data from typo-technological pottery inquiries with dendrochronological and radiocarbon dates allowed the determination of peculiarities of the material culture of every construction, and the distinguishing elements of local and newly arrived cultures. An analysis of types of wood allowed us to determine the areas of their origin, and to understand when and from what kind of forest repairs were made. Research shows that further investigation in this region will lead to uncovering other pile-dwellings.

The article presents the latest data on ships sunk in Lithuanian territorial waters of the Baltic Sea obtained during archaeological research conducted by the Underwater Archaeology Group of Klaipėda University. The article contains detailed descriptions of the ways these ships were wrecked as found in historical sources from the 14th to the early 20th century, the localisation of newly found remains of wooden ships, data of their study and possibilities for dating them.

This article draws a comparison between the Stone Age zoomorphic and anthropomorphic images that have been found in present-day Lithuania and similar finds from across the Baltic region. Both the attribution of these artefacts to archaeological cultures and their dating are discussed. The article raises the question whether the different archaeological culture that each article belongs to is reflected in its form and style. The article also questions if the concept of archaeological culture is necessary when writing about Stone Age art.

This study focuses on artefacts with serrated edges made of scapulae occurring in assemblages from Late Bronze Age fortified settlements in Estonia. They have usually been interpreted in Estonia as flax-working tools; but recently some doubts have been raised about this use. The article gives an overview of these finds both in Estonia and elsewhere, and discusses possible areas of their use.