Metalurginės veiklos pėdsakai Aiseto ežero saloje (Molėtų r. sav.)

LT2015 m. atlikus nedidelės apimties (10 m2) tyrimus Aiseto ežero Šnieriškių saloje buvo aptikta apie 140 kg metalurgijos atliekų (geležies šlako ir techninės keramikos) be jokių papildomų požymių, galinčių padėti paaiškinti radinius ir jų kilmę. Šiame straipsnyje pristatomi tyrimų rezultatai ir ieškoma argumentų, diskutuojant geležies lydyklos saloje galimybę. Šnieriškių metalurginė kolekcija yra unikali ne tik Lietuvos, bet ir aplinkinių kraštų kontekste tiek geografinės padėties (ežero saloje), tiek ir funkcine prasme (metalurginė veikla izoliuota, atskirta nuo kasdienės buitinės veiklos apraiškų). Dėl kolekcijos kilmės dar tebesama tam tikrų abejonių, atlikti tyrimai neleidžia vienareikšmiškai tvirtinti, jog saloje būta lydyklos. Prielaida, kad metalurgijos atliekos yra pirminėje vietoje kaip geležies gavybos saloje išraiška, labiau paremta bendru sutarimu, kad tokios atliekos dažniausiai būdavo paliekamos jų gavybos vietose in situ. Netiesiogiai lydyklos saloje versiją patvirtina molio ekstrakcijos saloje požymiai ir padėties kraštovaizdyje veiksnys. Saloje buvo saugu veiklos su ugnimi atveju, o jos padėtis kraštovaizdyje užtikrino efektyvų judėjimą, išteklių prieinamumą ir transportavimą. Upės pavidalo ežerų grandinėje sala buvo itin patogus ir lengvai pasiekiamas logistikos punktas, epizodiškai galėjęs virsti ir gavybos vieta. Reikšminiai žodžiai: Aiseto ežeras, sala, geležies gavyba, magnetinis imlumas. [Iš leidinio]

ENLithuania has around 6,000 lakes of natural origin, and more than 300 islands. So far, archaeological traces have been recorded on about 35 islands. Most sites on islands have not been extensively investigated, only prospected, but it is interesting to note that the documentation on prospecting rarely mentions iron slag finds. In this respect, a new site discovered in 2015 on the island of Šnieriškės in Lake Aisetas is a notable exception. The small-scale (ten square metres) excavation yielded about 140 kilograms of iron slag and technical pottery, but without any additional features that could help to explain the finds and their origin. This paper presents the results of the research on the island of Šnieriškės, and argues the possibility of a smelting site on the island. Archaeological features on the island were identified using a combined research strategy. Initially, surface surveys and soil coring surveys were carried out. These were followed by a small-scale survey (ten square metres), during which finds were collected in squares, with the soil unpeeled in two to five-centimetre-thick layers, and sieved with six-milimetre-mesh sieves. Soil samples were collected, and magnetic susceptibility (MS) measurements were carried out, in order to identify the area of metallurgical waste on the island. Several geochronological dating techniques (OSL, AMS 14C and 14C) were used for dating. The residues found on the island are the result of iron smelting in shafted furnaces with slag pits. Iron slag accounted for 58%, and sintered technical ceramics for 38%.A total of 90% of the fragments were very small (<3 cm in size), while larger finds (>5 cm) accounted for only 1.5%. The material can be dated to a relatively broad period around the turn of the era. Several dozen other finds (flint and pottery sherds) are chronologically earlier, and not related to metallurgy. Also unrelated to metallurgy are single pieces of charcoal which have been radiocarbon dated to the 2nd millennium AD. Artefacts and ecofacts from different periods (the Stone Age to Modern times) found in the same stratigraphic context are the result of destructive processes, probably in the third quarter of the 2nd millennium. The Šnieriškės metallurgical collection is unique not only in Lithuania but also in the surrounding region, both in terms of its geographical location (on an island in a lake), and in terms of its function (the metallurgical activity is isolated, separated from manifestations of everyday domestic activity). The origin of the collection is still unclear, and the research that has been carried out does not allow us to state unequivocally that the island was the site for iron smelting. The assumption of a smelting site on the island is indirectly supported by evidence of clay extraction on the island, and by its position in the landscape. The island was safe in the event of a fire, and its position ensured efficient movement, accessibility and the transport of resources. The chain of lakes, in the form of a river, made the island a very convenient and easily accessible transport hub, which could occasionally be transformed into an extraction site. Keywords: island in Lake Aisetas, iron smelting, magnetic susceptibility. [From the publication]