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.
Journal:Archaeologia Baltica
Volume 16 (2011): Settlements and Towns, pp. 72–100
Abstract
Favourable conditions for the development of towns in northern central Lithuania occurred only as late as the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, some settlements developed into small towns of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was at this time that a mixed urbanistic system with a radial street network and a rectangular market square formed. The absolute majority of 16th to 18th-century buildings in the towns of the Šiauliai Crown Estate, just as in most of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, were built of timber. Only from the early 17th century did the construction begin of brick buildings intended for religious or public purposes (such as the town hall in Joniškis). A more distinct separation between the development of towns can be made on the basis of the specific features of finds. These are finds related to trade, handicrafts and business: coins and hoards of coins, certain types of pottery, tiles, and work tools related to specific handicrafts, products and materials.
Journal:Archaeologia Baltica
Volume 8 (2007): Weapons, Weaponry and Man (In memoriam Vytautas Kazakevičius), pp. 328–333
Abstract
Three of the most remarkable Viking Period silver hoards found on Gotland form the topic of this paper. They all offer viewpoints upon trade, tribute and warfare in Gotland and the East Baltic area. The oldest of them (t.p.q. 870/1) was found in 1999 at Spillings in Othem parish. It illustrates the enormous influx of Arabic silver in its epoch, weighing more than 66kg, of which 17.5kg are made up of about 14,000 coins. Both of the other hoards were found at Ocksarve in Hemse parish, the first in 1920, the second in 1997. The hoard of 1920 i.a contains 112 Byzantine millaresia struck for Constantine IX Monomachos (1042–1055), probably part of the salary of a Gotlandic mercenary and ex-member of the Varangian guard. The second hoard (t.p.q. 999) is interesting from a metrological point of view, as it contains several interlinked payment spirals and bundles containing hack-silver. There is also a magnificent silver sword chape, probably a masterpiece from a Kievan workshop, with a graffito showing two crossed single-edged swords of J. Petersen’s type T, V or W.