Klaipėdos universitetas

The fortification character of the double-ring palisade-structure of Ridala is discussed here. A crucial factor is the legend of the decline and desertion of the site, due to an outside attack. Bone arrowheads as possible explanations for this attack theory are examined, and the events behind the palisade-structure and inhabitation (formation, duration and break-up) are reconsidered. In the end, the function and purpose of the palisades are regarded as being of a symbolic character (religious and political) rather than sanctioned by military threats.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the incidence of traumatic bone lesions among the population of the River Daugava area in Latvia. A total of 804 skeletons from four cemeteries were analysed. The data obtained indicates that the frequencies of cranial trauma in all the series are similar. Within each population there was a significant difference between males and females with regard to the frequency of traumas. Skeletal traumas of the inhabitants of the Daugava area are not connected exclusively with military conflict.

The article is devoted to the role of military activities in socio-political developments in Latvia during the Late Iron Age (tenth to 12th centuries). The topics of weapons as prestige items, warrior burials and their relation to the retinue, as well as military symbolism and warfare as the source of power, are discussed on the basis of archaeological material of the Livs, Curonians*, Semigallians and Latgallians.

Bronze weapons hint not only at the intensity and effectiveness of warfare in particular societies, but, even more, they may reveal the identity of warriors as a separate group within society. Over most of Europe weaponry is one of the important categories of material culture, although in some regions, like the Eastern Baltic, bronze weapons are a real rarity. There is no doubt that people fought wars here, but instead of bronze weapons they effectively used stone, bone or wooden weapons. Because of the scarcity of bronze weapons, defensive settlements, such as those known from Central and Southeast Europe, and warrior graves, warfare cannot be seen as an organizational principle of social ties per se. There is no reason to assume the existence of retinues or warrior aristocracies as fundamental social units in the Eastern Baltic. However, warfare or war ideology without the existence of the warrior as a social layer is simply inconceivable.