Archaeologia Baltica

This article presents burial rites of State of Lithuania in the 13th and 14th centuries, reveals its features and searches for the interaction between the burial rites and the development of the society. Burial rites are analyzed in a broad context of processes: the spreading of the cremation, the reformation of the religion, the unification of the material culture, the disappearance of regional differences and the establishment of the Lithuanian nation. Furthermore, the data of anthropology and genetics is examined. In the article, the burial rites of the 13th and 14th centuries are seen as an integral part of the evolution of State of Lithuania.

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.

Weapons and warfare played an important role in Baltic society. The aim of this article is to examine the weapons and weaponry of the Semigallians, to look at what weapons-related burial customs existed in Semigallia, and to compare them with those of the other Baltic tribes. The geopolitical situation of the Semigallians determined that weapons had a special importance. Certainly not all weapons were placed in graves. We do not find any arrowheads. Although we have found many weapons, nevertheless the weaponry itself was not very diverse. Only spears and close combat weapons, battle-knives, were placed in graves. Spearheads of several types were used. The battle-knives used in Semigallia had a very unique form, and, most importantly, they were placed in a grave in an order characteristic only of Semigallians.