Bilionių piliakalnis - nauji Žemaitijos istorijos faktai

LTLietuvos piliakalniai, kurių skaičiuojama jau beveik tūkstantis, yra vieni pagrindinių archeologinių objektų, suteikiančių svarbių duomenų apie krašto raidą priešistoriniais laikais. 2017 m. spalio 12 d. Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas paskelbė 2019-uosius Žemaitijos metais - mat prieš 800 metų žemaičiai pirmą kartą paminėti istoriniuose šaltiniuose. Itin svarbūs tapo Žemaitijos seniausios praeities tyrimai. Iš jų išskirtini 2017-2019 m. Šilalės rajono savivaldybės ir Bilionių seniūnijos pastangomis vykdyti Bilionių piliakalnio (Vakarų Lietuva, Šilalės r.) kasinėjimai, suteikę daug naujos medžiagos Žemaitijos istorijai geležies amžiuje (II-XII a.) ir net viduramžiams (XIV a.) pažinti. Šioje knygoje pirmą kartą Lietuvos archeologijos istorijoje labai operatyviai (praėjus vos pusei metų po kasinėjimų pabaigos) skelbiami septyni mokslininkų darbai, parašyti apibendrinus šių tyrimų medžiagą. Leidinyje stengtasi kuo išsamiau, daug kur naujoviškai pateikti tyrimų išvadas, kad su jomis galėtų susipažinti kiti mokslininkai ir visuomenė. [Iš Pratarmės]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuvos istorija; Žemaitija (Samogitia); Piliakalniai; Archeologija; Archeologiniai radiniai; Numizmatika; The Lithuanian history; Samogitia; Mounds; Archaeology; Archaeological finds; Numismatics.

ENLithuanian hillforts, whose number in Lithuania is approaching one thousand, represent one of the main archaeological objects providing important data on the prehistoric development of the country. In 2019, when commemorating the 800th anniversary of the first mention ofŽemaiti- jans in historical sources, the year was declared by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania as the Year of Žemaitija, and the explorations of its oldest past became especially relevant. Among the exclusive ones were the excavations of Bilioniai Hillfort (Šilalė district, Western Lithuania), carried out through a combined initiative of the Šilalė District Municipality and Bilioniai Eldership in the period of 2017 to 2019; they resulted in a large amount of new material witnessing the history of Žemaitija during the Iron Age (the 2nd to the 12th century) and even the Middle Ages (the 14th century). The present book, for the first time in the history of Lithuanian archeology, presents the material of those excavations promptly, merely half a year after the end of the works, together with the first summarizing studies written by seven scholars on the basis of that material. The main focus of the book is to provide a potentially complete, innovative presentation of the data to make it accessible both to the community of scholars and the general public. Bilioniai Hillfort is one of the most impressive objects of its kind in Lithuania. It is set on an uneven top of a hill with 17 to 38-m high steep slopes, on its highest eastern side. The 51x40 m site is oval, elongated from northwest to southeast, formerly fortified at the edges and on the slopes with four bank-ditch lines, with terraces or hardly noticeable terrain stairs presently remaining in their place. The former fortifications are best seen today on the northwestern slope of the hillfort. Until now, the hillfort has been unexplored.The book opens with Jurgita Viršilienė's study on the knowledge about the hillfort possessed in the 19th to the early 21st century. The development of hillforts as archaeological objects after their abandonment has not been studied for a long time, although it is only the knowledge about them that often explains the development of the hillfort itself and the finds there. Bilioniai Hillfort was called Šventkalnis 'Holy Hill' before the 20th century, which is particularly rare in the oral tradition related to Balt hillforts. The hillfort itself was ploughed until the mid-20th century (and the site until 1936), thus completely destroying its upper latest cultural layers. It has been seriously protected only since 1960, when Bilioniai Hillfort was declared one of 25 landscape-historical reserves in Lithuania. The major part of the book is devoted to the material of the archaeological excavations prepared by the explorer of the hillfort Gintautas Zabiela. Over the period of 2017 to 2019, the total area of 69 m2 in four different places on the hillfort and northwest of it, the slopes of the hillfort, and the nearest 6 ha area were explored with metal detectors. Most of the data on the development of the hillfort were obtained by examining Trenches 2 and 3 (altogether 50 m2, total thickness of the man-made layer 0.95-1.9 m) and by surveying the slopes with metal detectors (resulting in 99 recorded finds, including 58 archeological ones). A further 81 special finds and 996 moulded potsherds with smooth and rough surfaces were collected during excavations. Based on the excavation data, five stages of the hillfort use were established. Stage 1 (the second half of the 2nd to the mid-3rd century) was also the period of its building.The fortifications consisted of a bank up to 1-m high, piled of clayey earth at the edge of the site, with wooden fortifications at the top and at least one ring of such fortifications in the upper part of the slopes. It was dated through Roman coins, pendants, a temple ornament, and a brooch, and the results were confirmed by radiocarbon dates. Apparently in the 2nd century Bilioniai Hillfort was built and used as a place for inter-community exchanges. Those fortifications were burnt down. In Stage 2 (the late 3rd to the 4th century), a cremation cemetery was built in the southern part of the hillfort site, in the premises adjoining the fortifications. The graves were best dated through a spearhead, a neck ring, and a bracelet. The fortifications were only slightly raised and then burnt down again. In Stage 3 (the middle of the 1st millennium), the rebuilt and somewhat more secured fortifications were attacked and burnt down, while the people defending them were killed. The stage was dated through a combat knife and a pin. After that, the hillfort was probably abandoned, since no finds coming from the 6th to the 7th century were discovered. In Stage 4 (the 9th to the 12th century), the fortifications on the hillfort were restored and secured. The stage was dated through two pins, a buckle, a spearhead, silver alloys, and a glass bead; the dating was confirmed by radiocarbon dates. The bank was reinforced by tamping down a clay layer. In Stage 5 (the 14th century), a wooden castle, not named in written sources, was built on Bilioniai Hillfort. Only the lower parts of the postholes beyond the ground level were left of the wooden wall on the bank. That stage was dated through four pins, three bells, two rings, and an awl. [From the publication]

• Archeologija / Archaeology
• Istorija / History