Mūšių vietų archeologija

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Archeologija; Artefaktai; Ginkluotės liekanos; Karo istorija; Kartografavimas; Laidojimo vietos; Masinės kapavietė; Metalo detektorius; Mūšio vietų archeologija; Mūšių vietos; Struktūros; Archaeology; Artefacts; Battlefield; Battlefield archaeology; Burial places; Lithuania; Mapping; Mass graves; Metal detector; Military remnants; Structures; War history.

ENOne of the rapidly developing spheres of conflict or war archaeology of the 21st century is battlefield archaeology. Its specifics and development abroad as well as achievements in Lithuania are discussed in the article. Understanding of battlefield archaeology and its achievements in Lithuania are closely related to war history that has not been crystallised into an individual discipline of history so far. The most apparent affirmation of this fact is vagueness of the concept 'battle', which has been used to refer to any armed encounters till now. According to battlefield archaeology, the concept 'battle' should be used to refer to active actions of any fighting sideemploying armament, when even the smallest military unit of at least one of the fighting sides participates in it. The specifics of battlefield archaeology are determined by the very specifics of a battle that is characterised by high speed, absence of objective data and frequently by a random location. Despite these drawbacks, historical and iconographic sources are considered as the main data depicting a battle. Battlefield archaeology can provide more objective data of a battle, which manages tangible battle evidence, namely artefacts and structures related to the battle. Due to the specifics of battles, they tend to be not numerous with the exception of the battles of New Ages that has not become a full-fledged objects of battlefield archaeology. The tangible battle evidence can be split into three groups: artefacts and structures remaining on the battlefield (Pict. 1), trophies and burial places of the killed (Pict. 2). Battlefield archaeology mostly investigates objects of the first and third groups.The artefacts that undoubtedly give evidence of a battle are two or more military products or their identifying fragments (not fewer than 5 bullets or splinters since the 16th century), provided the general context of findings does not contradict overall data of the battle. An individual sphere of battle archaeology that is not directly related to the battles themselves is the reconstruction of the battlefield in the period of the battle. Despite the fact that the rudiments of battlefield archaeology in Europe dates back to the end of the 6th of the 20th century, its beginning is usually associated with the research of Little Bighorn (1867; Montana, the USA) battle that was initiated in 1984. Since then, several dozens of battlefields have undergone more or less exhaustive archaeological exploration in the world, though the data are not widely spread. Currently, two leaders in battlefield archaeology are distinguished in Europe: England and Germany that are lead by G/enn Foard (Pict. 3), the most famous contemporary specialist of battlefield archaeology. A number of conferences related to battlefield archaeology are organised and books published (Pict. 4). Lithuania's achievements in battlefield archaeology are rather humble. A more considerable work started only in 2015 on the supposed site of the Battle of Saulė (1236) in northern Lithuania (Piet. 5). Briefly summarizing the experience of archaeological research of these battlefields, it is possible to state that a long-lasting systematic work using metal detectors and careful collection of various data have positive results. Another possible variant is the accidental detection of the remains of battlefields (especially mass burial-grounds), which become an object of traditional archaeological research.The primary and most important aim of present-day battlefield archaeology is the identification of a battlefield, which is primarily essential to ensure the protection of the site leaving more detailed archaeological research for the future. [From the publication]

• Archeologija / Archaeology
• Istorija / History