Archaeologia Baltica

The article presents the data from Kakliniškės 7 settlement site, discovered and excavated in 2020 during the construction of the gas pipeline. The rich and representative collection of pottery and archaeobotanical material gathered in the site have provided valuable data on the hitherto unknown 4th century BC in Lithuania. Pottery such as that found at Kakliniškės 7 has not previously been identified, and is therefore referred to here as Kakliniškės Ware. These are pots with slightly curved walls, rounded shoulders and vertical rims, featuring a striated surface topped with an additional coarse layer. The defined attributes of this new type of pottery have allowed the identification of the same ware in other settlement and burial sites in southeastern Lithuania and the Trans-Nemunas region. All of these settlement sites share some common features; most likely they are the sites of short-lived farmsteads belonging to highly dispersed settlements. Such data allow us to hypothesise a hitherto unidentified cultural group that briefly spread in southern Lithuania in the 4th century BC. This challenges the prevailing model of a static cultural development and a homogeneous material culture in the 1st millennium BC in all of eastern Lithuania. Our data show that the cultural situation here was much more dynamic than previously thought.

In 2018, during reconstruction works at the central square of the town of Kupiškis and the subsequent archaeological investigation, 153 coins dating to the 17th to 20th centuries were found. Usually only coins of the lowest denomination and value are found during such investigations, but most of the coins found at the central square in Kupiškis were attributable to the medium denomination coin type. It has been established that the majority of the 17th-century coins (125 pieces) belonged to a coin assemblage or hoard which was scattered before the reconstruction of the square. Based on the historical and numismatic data, it has been assumed that this set of coins was hidden around 1709 to 1710, when the country was devastated by the plague, and that it would likely have belonged to a keeper of a shop that used to stand at the market square. The composition of the said collection of coins was typical of the monetary circulation of that period, with some unique features as well. Compared to other finds, the assemblage contained a larger number of lower medium denomination coins and considerably fewer higher denomination coins. This suggests that the owner of the money was engaged in retail trade. The assemblage is also characterised by a larger number and diversity of Swedish coins. This unique feature can be explained by the fact that in the 17th and 18th centuries the region of Kupiškis was famous for flax cultivation and trade.

The study aims to define trade as one of the important components of European Union (EU) development policy. This has emerged

The article discusses the question of whether everyday life in an ordinary small Lithuanian town is indeed inactive, stagnant, empty and immobile. Mobility in everyday life is analysed through the habits of locals in the town of Josvainiai, and relations with the nearest cities and relatives living abroad. In analysing mobility, the main focus is on areas of everyday life such as work, consumption, communication and leisure. The article analyses data from a field study carried out in Josvainiai from July 2019 to January 2020.

The political and economic situation in the southeast Baltic region changed dramatically when two main powers, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Order, emerged in the 13th century. These political structures tried to involve local communities in the social organisation of their newly established states. Archaeological material (pottery) is analysed in this article. It could help us understand the processes happening in what is now western Lithuania during the Medieval period. Local and Western pottery is assessed as evidence of contacts between the Crusaders and the local people. These contacts are interpreted as part of the cultural interaction process between the two different communities