A Brooch from Gibaičiai cemetery: designed on the crossroad between Eastern Baltic areas

• eLABA: straipsnio tekstas

ENThis article is devoted to one bronze brooch of unique shape found in Gibaičiai cemetery during excavations in 1932. Gibaičiai cemetery is located to the North-East of the city of Šiauliai and its administrative address today is: Meškuičiai seniūnija (former valsčius), Šiauliai rajonas. This cemetery was excavated in 1932 by the Šiauliai Local History Society (Šiaulių Kraštotyros Draugija). The team was under the guidance of Balys Tarvydas (1897–1980; see about personality and his activity: A. Tautavičius, V. Vaitekūnas 1982, p. 59–62; P. Kulikauskas, G. Zabiela 1999, p. 209–212). Soon after the excavations of 1932 were completed, a preliminary publication appeared. Linkaičiai cemetery (Joniškis rajonas) was also excavated in 1932 and therefore B. Tarvydas devoted his article to both burial sites (Gibaičiai and Linkaičiai; B. Tarvidas 1933). Reading the text, it is clear that the first aim of this publication was to propagate the idea of archaeological excavation in a professional way and to present shortly features of burial customs and most interesting grave goods. Gibaičiai cemetery is located in the area which usually associated with culture of North Lithuanian and Žemaitijan barrows. Although Gibaičiai was omitted some how from Eugenijus Jovaiša’s list, Linkaičiai cemetery was included in the area of Barrows Culture as one also excavated by B. Tarvydas (E. Jovaiša 1997, p. 60). It seems that the tradition of barrows gradually was replaced by flat individual graves from the Late Roman Period. A similar process can be noticed in Žemaitijan burial sites and as examples of perhaps later cemeteries in the Upper Jūra region (Žviliai, Šarkai and other) or cemeteries around Kelmė (such as Maudžiorai, Paprūdžiai and others; see publications of those cemeteries: B. Tautavičienė 1984; V. Valatka 1984; L. Vaitkunskienė 1999; M. Michelbertas 2017).Gibaičiai and Linkaičiai cemeteries are examples of such changes in burial traditions in the Šiauliai and Joniškis regions of Northern Lithuania. Most probably the construction of barrows began to disappear under cultural influences from West and Central Lituanian areas where burials in flat cemeteries were most typical from the Early Roman Period (R. Banytė Rowell 2007, p. 55–56). Vaitiekūnai and Upytė cemeteries in Central Northern Lithuania which contained material of the Late Roman Period also contained flat burials. Vaitiekūnai burial site (Radviliškis rajonas) presents barrows and flat burials in proximity to one another (A. Varnas 1984, p. 26–27). Upytė cemetery (Panevėžys rajonas) also provided flat burials from the Late Roman Period (see publication of material – P. Kulikauskas 1998). Burial customs in Upytė were similar to those in the cemeteries of Central Lithuania and this feature was stressed by M. Michelbertas (1986, p. 44). [Extract, p. 319-320]