Klaipėdos universitetas

The authors discuss archaeological data regarding cultural interactions between west Lithuanian areas and the regions of Masuria and Suwałki during the Roman and Migration Periods. Several categories of finds in west Lithuania can be seen as direct imports or the import of ideas from the West Balt area in Masuria. This communication worked in both directions. influences from coastal Lithuania may also be detected in the style of jewellery or riding gear. undoubtedly, the warrior elite played an important role in keeping these connections alive. The west Lithuanian area, like Samland, was a trading centre, working as an intermediary in the dissemination of interregional novelties.

During the Roman period the Bogaczewo Culture cemeteries in Masuria included horse graves. The features often contained bits, whereas other parts of horse tack were found rarely. The horse graves discussed in the paper cannot be unequivocally linked to human burials - possibly horsemen’s graves, as the latter had been situated shallowly under the surface, which led to their damage.