Klaipėdos universitetas

The Grebieten burial ground, situated in the former Kreis Fischhausen of the German Empire’s province of East Prussia, (currently in the Zelenogradskii district of the Kaliningrad oblast’, Russian Federation), represents a reference monument of Sambian-Natangian culture, and at the same time is one of its best investigated archaeological sites. However, a recent comparative analysis of the available sources of information showed that the modern state of knowledge is incomplete, while the research potential of the monument is far from being exhausted. This article gives an overview of the state of research, as well as of the open questions and gaps in our knowledge. Along with a description of the currently available sources of information and their limitations, the publication informs readers about recently conducted archaeological studies, performed both on the partially preserved prewar archaeological material and on the monument. Besides the actual reintroduction of Grebieten into scientific research, the authors point out its role and its significance in the much more complex archaeological context. The results of recent research suggest strongly that the Grebieten burial ground is part of a much larger complex of archaeological monuments situated along the western coast of the Sambian Peninsula, in the close vicinity of amber collecting areas. This settlement complex played an important role in the collection and trade in amber, which defined the nature of Sambian-Natangian culture in the Roman Iron Age and Migration Period. Further multilateral investigations of the Grebieten burial ground should lead to a clearer view of the settlement system, the social structure, everyday life and contacts of the population of Sambia in the Roman Iron Age.

The article presents certain features of Sambian-Natangian culture in the Roman Period. The author directly links characteristics of the social structure of Aestian society, which formed at the turn of the B2/C1–C2 periods, to the nature of the amber trade, in which members of Sambian-Natangian culture participated widely. It is possible to draw some conclusions on the basis of the interrelations revealed, and to attempt to give a very general and subjective reconstruction of the Aestian social structure which had developed by the end of the Roman Period.

Burials of riders accompanied by horses are of special significance for the Prussian antiquities. This mass tradition roots back to the early Roman time and existed, slightly modified, in this area till Prussia was conquered by the Teutonic Order in the 13th century. In other words, this tradition existed in the Baltic region for over 1000 years. A horse takes an outstanding position in the Baltic mythology similarly to that of other Indo-European peoples. Numerous documents prove the important role that a horse played in Ancient Prussians’ life. Wooden saddles were found in three horse graves in Aleika-3 cemetery. Two saddles were preserved in the form of wooden fragments with carved images, which were covered with polychromatic pictures (yellow, red, brown, and black colours were used in the painting). Rear saddle arch found in the grave 521 is painted with solar rosettes, but the main accent of the saddle arch is two horses galloping to symbol of the World Tree or anthropomorphic figure in the centre of the composition. The unique artefacts found in Aleika-3 burial ground provide principally new information for understanding the details of burial ceremony and daily life of the medieval Prussians.

Presently the greatest number of riders with horse burials on the territory of Sambian-Natangian Culture was discovered in the Aleika-3 cemetery. The appearance of this burial custom falls on the beginning – the middle of the second century. The rite appears in Sambia in the completed manner. Horse equipment of Aleika-3 cemetery has numerous analogies in the Danube region, this fact enables to suggest that its appearance in the region follows German-Sarmatian contacts during the Marcomannic Wars. The custom to bury horse to a rider reaches Western Balts with the Germans who took part in these wars. The grave furnishings of Aleika-3 riders in practice do not differ in contents from the tackle of Germania Liberia riders. The abundance of the Roman imports found in Aleika-3 cemetery including the luxury items and clearly expressed relationship with Welbark Culture are the result of the fact that the multiethnic society oversaw the beginning of the amber trade in this region and probably controlled it. Archaeological evidence of Aleika-3 cemetery enables to conclude that the beginning of the process of clan system degrading is fixed in the second century. This process was conditioned by penetrating of the German ethnic component involved into amber trade.