Archaeologia Baltica

This article provides an example of how variable the uses of and practices in prehistoric burial monuments can be. The concept of ‘wealth deposits’ is introduced, which arguably helps to define the variety of intentionally concealed artefact deposits as a whole. An emphasis is put on deposits in burial areas. It is shown that the depositional practices in burial areas vary considerably in the three Baltic countries, and we can definitely talk about small-scale regional practices, not universal and unitarily interpreted cultural phenomena. Special attention is paid to Estonian Middle Iron Age material. An overview of possible interpretations based on purely archaeological reasoning, as well as parallels from written sources, is provided.