Archeologiniai tyrimai Ukmergėje, Utenos gatvėje

LTStraipsnyje aprašomi 2007-2008 m. Ukmergėje, Utenos gatvėje, vykę archeologiniai kasinėjimai. Radiniai pristatomi Ukmergės miesto socialinės-ekonominės ir politinės raidos XVIII a. kontekste. Taip pat apžvelgiama bendra miesto istorinių ir archeologinių tyrimų padėtis, supažindinama su skaitmeninės rekonstrukcijos metodu, jį taikant XVIII a. buitinės keramikos indams atkurti. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Ukmergė; Utenos gatvė; Archeologiniai tyrimai; 18 amžius; Ukmergė; Utenos Street; Archaeological excavations; 18th century.

ENThis article is devoted to acquainting readers with the results of the excavation conducted on Utenos Street in Ukmergė during 2007-2008. This is the present-day address but looking historically, the investigated site is closer to the E end of vanished Pirties Street. The most important and so far only scientific historical work devoted to the development of the city of Ukmergė is a monograph published in 1987 by A. Miškinis. Archaeologists began to excavate Ukmergė Old Town only in the late 20th century. The oldest finds, which date to the 14th-15th century, were found in Kęstučio Square and on Paupio Street, but a 19th-20thcentury cultural layer has mostly been encountered (Fig. 1). The archaeological data has so far not yielded any basis to talk about Ukmergė in the 13th century as the oldest finds within the boundaries of the old city date to only the 14th—15th centuries. The 2007-2008 excavation site was on the right bank of the Vilkmergėlė to the NW of Ukmergė hillfort (Figs. 2, 3). 64 m2 were excavated at a future construction site (Fig. 4). At a depth of 80-90 cm, under levelling layers with 19th-20th-century finds was discovered a roughly 1 m thick cultural layer formed in the 18th century, in which were distinguished three horizons of grey or blackish soil dating on the basis of coins to the first quarter, the second - third quarters, and the fourth quarter of the 18th century. Natural clay loam was reached at a depth of 140-180 cm. A i m thick cultural layer accumulated here during a single century due to rubbish being piled here. 18th-century objects were discovered in the excavated area: two postholes, the remains of two wooden posts, the corner of a masonry building, and a rubbish pit (Figs. 4-13).Small denomination coins clearly predominated among the 40 coins that were found: not only 17th-century John II Casimir copper shillings, but also 18th-century Swedish, Russian, and Polish coins being encountered (Table 1, Fig. 14). The metal artefacts were made of iron, copper, and lead alloys. This included nails, a horseshoe, thimbles, small loops, small buckles, buttons, hooks, lead seals, a musket ball, etc. (Figs. 15- 19). 1013 fragments of structural ceramics and household pottery (20.4 kg) were collected. These were mainly glazed, wheel-thrown tableware made by the town's craftsmen. The cooking pots and some jars were sometimes made by the city's inhabitants, who created only partly thrown vessels (Figs. 21-29). The stove tiles were all panels (Blattkacheln), most with coats-of-arms from the second half of the 17th and 18th centuries (Fig. 30). 15 vessels were reconstructed using AutoCAD 2007 software (Figs. 31-33). The fragments of glass artefacts, which were few in number, yielded less information. A leather shoe with a wooden heel was discovered at the bottom of the rubbish pit (Fig. 34). Until the 18th century, the area at the excavation site on the bank of the Vilkmergėlė was not suitable for inhabitation as it was low, wet, and subject to flooding. In the early 18th century, the houses of the city's inhabitants began to approach the Vilkmergėlė, and the inhabitants began to throw their rubbish here. In the middle of the century, the inhabitants built a fence and dug a rubbish pit. The stove tile fragments attest that the rubbish was accumulated not only from the nearby homes, but was also brought in from more distant ones. In the late 18th century a new plot was created here and a masonry building erected, the ruins of which are now called the 'Jewish sauna'. It was marked in the Ukmergė city plan of 1800 (Fig. 35) and is one of the oldest masonry structures in Ukmergė.On Utenos Street during 2007-2008, the first thorough archaeological excavation was conducted in Ukmergė Old Town. The coins found during the excavation helped to comparatively precisely date three 18th-century cultural layer horizons and a rubbish pit, and the excavation material became important in dating other archaeological finds in both Ukmergė and neighbouring GDL cities and towns. One can only hope that thorough archaeological excavations in large areas of Ukmergė have only begun and that questions of the city's beginnings and economic - social development will be debated on the basis of significantly more abundant data, both historical and archaeological. [From the publication]