Archaeologia Baltica

This article discusses the development of the Gołdap Group, which is part of Sudovian culture, during the Migration Period. The graves from necropolises of that region (especially from the cemetery at Czerwony Dwór) have quite rich grave goods, which allows for a detailed chronological analysis. It is complemented by an analysis of the stratigraphy of features dug into the barrows. On this basis, five chronological phases in the development of the Gołdap Group, which existed from the early Phase D of the Early Migration Period until Phase E2 of the Late Migration Period, can be distinguished.

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.

The article summarises new investigations at the famous site of Linkuhnen and its material culture, which was excavated between 1928 and 1939, but never really published. The surviving finds from the cemetery, together with information collected from diverse archival sources, show a picture of a burial ground which was probably used from the second to the 11th century. The richness and the international references of the local material culture during the Viking Age point to an important role of the site in the network of trade and communication between the Baltic Sea, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.

In this article, we discuss the phenomenon of crescent-shaped pendants dating back to the Late Roman Iron Age and Early Migration Period (3rd – 6th centuries AD). Placed on horse’s foreheads, these crescent-shaped pendants evidently embodied a mythological link between the moon and the horse. The same link is clearly reflected in linguistic data and folklore right up until the 20th century. We draw special attention to a horse with a white mark on its forehead called laukas (adj.), laukis (noun) in Lithuanian, which derives from the I-E root *louk- ‘shining, bright’, as also does the Latin luna (< *louksnā). Considering the data as a whole, we propose an unexpected link between the Baltic and Roman traditions.

Neither the sword burials of the Late Roman Iron Age, nor the combination of an axe and arrows in graves indicate the presence of in any particular region. A comparison of weapon burial practice associated with inhumation and cremation burial practice demonstrates beyond doubt that those differences which were identified in older publications reflect only overall changes in weapon burial practice over time. Some lance-heads and in particular the few spear-heads known show a close similarity to Scandinavian weapon types and indicate that weapon types became less specific for regions.