Klaipėdos universitetas

The creative heritage of Kristijonas Donelaitis makes us focus our attention on Prussian Lithuania as an ethnocultural region that provided the poet with significant creative impetuses; simultaneously, Donelaitis is associated with the Kingdom of Prussia as the space that formed his personality, the contours of his worldview, and his national self-awareness. To deeper understand the works of Kristijonas Donelaitis as a significant layer of Lithuanian cultural heritage, it is important to study in-depth the modern approaches to Prussian history and, in that context, the stereotypical interpretation of some aspects of the history of Prussian Lithuania in Lithuanian historiography of the 20th c., relevant to the present. The article analyzes the essential characteristic of Prussian history emphasized by its contemporary researchers, i.e. the spirit of contrast: the interchanging periods of modernity and regress have allegedly predetermined “the special way” of German history, Sonderweg, which preconditioned the dominance of nationalsocialism in 1933. Moreover, the issue of the contrast as the predominating motiff in the master narrative (Meistererzählung) which makes a strong impact on the collective memory is highlighted, as well as the reflection on the issue in the field of the studies of the history of Prussian Lithuania.

The article deals with burial customs in culturally varied regions in the eastern Baltic, comparing them with an interpretation of Late Prehistoric society. Social analyses, which up to recent times were predominantly based on written sources and evolutionary ways of thinking, suggest somewhat different social systems for the culturally diverse regions of the eastern Baltic. However, at first glance, this cannot be seen in the archaeological evidence, including burials. The discussion in this article subjects some particular features of burial customs to closer consideration: representativeness, collective versus individual attitudes, and gender aspects. The results suggest that societies were hierarchical both in the southern and northern parts of the eastern Baltic, but power was arranged in different ways.

Four rare brooches were found during archaeological investigations in Viešvilė cemetery III (in the Jurbarkas district). Three of them are close to the ‘equal-armed’ brooches, of which the shape recalls a ribbon. The fourth brooch was found in child’s grave 35. It belongs to the group of flat openwork brooches. The brooch was decorated with two stylised animal heads and a weaving pattern. Analogies were not found in Lithuanian archaeological material. In this article, the author discusses the possible origin and chronology of the brooches found in Viešvilė cemetery III.

The article discusses the rapidly changing geocultural situation from the fifth to the seventh century in east and southeast Lithuania. As chiefdoms with strong leaders were taking shape from the fifth to the seventh centuries, the demonstration of power by means of exceptional weapons and other cultural elements became a highly important factor.

The author recalls the famous princely Sudovian culture grave at Szwajcaria (today within the administrative limits of Suwałki). Apart from presenting the grave furnishings according to up-to-date typological standards, he tries to reinterpret particular finds, identifying the metal fittings of a saddle and the metal mountings of a possible leather bucket aimed at hiding a horse harness. Additionally, an engraved ornament spotted on the head of a shafted weapon Type Vennolum/Ilkjær 15 is presented.

The author presents some of his recent results and observations made within the framework of a research project devoted to a comparative typo-chronological analysis of Migration Period knives-daggers in the basin of the Baltic Sea, and to the study of socio-historical tendencies and events marked by the appearance of these artefacts. The intensification of field research in the region in recent years, as well as the rediscovery of parts of the former Prussia-Museum’s collection and regained access to the archives of prewar researchers, has allowed the author to back up the study with an unprecedentedly high number of knife-dagger finds and relevant burial complexes.

This article is dedicated to a chronology of typical stone graves. An attempt is made to date the beginning of these stone graves to a slightly earlier period than was done until now, namely up to the middle of the first century. This date is based on the dating of a few forms of artefacts.

The article discusses questions pertaining to the development of the socio-political structures of the West Balts. On the basis of archaeological studies and scarce historical sources, the conclusion is drawn that the first shoots of statehood might have emerged during the Viking era. It seems that the fortification of hill-forts, the emergence of castles, the increasing differentiation of material wealth, the emergence of proto-towns, and the formation of the stratum of warriors should allow us to talk of the emergence of chiefdoms in the land of the West Balts. However, all these attributes rather demonstrate the development of social structures. The question is put whether the social elite that stood out during the Viking era was at the same time the political elite. Thus, the main question is, what kind of chiefdoms can we talk about, and from when and how did the political elite emerge, which predetermined the emergence of a state in the lands of the East Balts, but which nevertheless did not lead the society of the West Balts to statehood?