Antrojo pasaulinio karo aukų masinė kapavietė Armalėnuose

LT2020 m. Armalėnų kaime (Šilutės r. , Šilutės sen.), Žaliojoje gatvėje, saugomoje nacistinės Vokietijos stovyklos karo belaisvių užkasimo vietos ir kapų (UK 39462) teritorijoje vykdyti detalieji tyrimai – palaikų ekshumavimo darbai. Juos užsakė Šilutės rajono savivaldybės administracija, nes esama kapavietė yra dabartinės gatvės (kelio) važiuojamojoje dalyje, kuria naudojasi gyventojai, ir dėl esamų palaidojimų negalima tiesti jokių požeminių inžinerinių tinklų. Gatvė buvo uždaryta, siekiant sumažinti automobilių srautą, ja leista naudotis tik gyventojams, kurie kitu keliu negali pasiekti namų. Darbus atliko KVGT, MB „Arksaika“ ir KVP. Antropologinius tyrimus atliko VU MF (R. Jankauskas) ir I. Čičiurkaitė. Karo belaisvių palaikų užkasimo vieta aptikta 2011 m. lapkričio mėnesį ties naujai statomu gyvenamuoju namu. [...]. [Iš teksto, p. 617]

ENIn 2020, an area measuring 808.65 m2 was excavated, revealing 66 graves, of which two (11 and 18) were empty. A total of 1199 prisoners of war from the Second World War were exhumed. The mass graves measured 2.4–3.7 m in length and 1.55–2.2 m in width, whilst individual graves measured approximately 2.15 x 0.57 m. Gaps between grave pits in each row varied from 0.7 to 1.4 m, with rows 0.9–1.6 m apart. The deceased were buried at a depth of 0.9–2.05 m. The mass graves contained between 8 and 26 inhumations, but the predominant system appears to have been to bury 20 individuals per grave. The graves in the first row contained inhumations with properly arranged limbs, but the head positions were inconsistent, with most facing E. The second row of graves (including some at the end of the first row) contained haphazardly arranged bodies with entangled limbs, and it is likely that the bodies were thrown in the pit several at a time. In summary of the anthropological data, the remains belonged to males aged 15–50, but most were aged 20–30. The skeletal remains displayed multiple pathologies associated with physical labour and inflammation, along with a few cases of anaemia (cribra orbitalia). The most frequently encountered traumas were long bone fractures and scapular fractures – with the latter exhibiting signs of healing – along with treated and untreated dental disease. No violence-related causes of death were identified in the course of the anthropological examination. Together with the 1199 remains, archaeologists found 836 prisoner of war identification tags issued by Nazi Germany to enemy soldiers held in detention camps during the Second World War. Additionally, 4 Red Army identification capsules were recovered.Other finds included fragments, buttons, buckles, hooks, and straps from Lithuania, Belgian, Polish and Soviet Union army uniforms, along with several brass crosses and rings, a cigarette holder, a trumpet mouthpiece, several spoons, pencils, and low-denomination coins. Personal hygiene items were quite rare, consisting only of a few pieces of soap, hair combs snapped in half, and mirrors. Only a single deceased was buried with their shoes. Among the items transferred to the Šiauliai Musuem were 824 prisoner of war identification tags, 4 Red Army identification capsules, and 482 other finds. Unrecorded, poorly preserved items with no intrinsic historical value were re-buried alongside the remains. After examination, the skeletal remains were re-buried in a fresh plot, next to the cemetery of the former Macikai prison camp. [From the publication]