Archaeology of East Prussia

The paper provides an overview of the items identified as East European
enamels from the collection of the Prussia Museum. The material is used as a basis for studying finds of different categories from the Baltic region. The data from the museum collections and archives are provided. Items previously known from illustrations made at the end of XIX century – early XX century are published for the first time. The author suggests typological and chronological characteristics of the items and analyzes their distribution across the region.

Over the years 1945-1965, the Masurian Museum (today: Museum of Warmia and Masuria in Olsztyn) received transfers from assorted sources, comprising multiple artefacts from past Malbork collections. The researched suite of archaeological artefacts was found to include items from the. High Castle (part of Theodor Joseph Blell’s collection) as well as from the Municipal Museum. The purpose of this paper involved an attempt at determining the provenance, chronology, and cultural affiliation of individual artefacts. They have been arranged chronologically, in the text and catalogue alike. While the researched compilation introduces no major change to our knowledge of the past, its presentation and description seems significant, if only l hrough connecting Blell’s famous collection to artefacts previously unknown yet preserved. Furthermore, it affirms that hopes for the location and identification of remaining Malbork collection elements are not necessarily futile.

The unpublished Master thesis of the year 2003 focusses on the cemetery of Groß Ottenhagen/Berezovka in former East Prussia (today Kaliningrad, Russia). This graveyard of the Roman Iron Age (Phase B2 and B2/C1-C1a) and the Migration Period (Phase E) was first investigated in the 1920s. Although, with few exceptions, the finds are thought to have disappeared with the rest of the Königsberg Prussia-Collection, the excavation documents were preserved in the estate of excavator Herbert Jankuhn and could be analysed, taking into account the modern state of research (up to the year 2003). The thesis presents all available materials (fotos, drawings of finds and features, descriptions of graves and finds, etc.) from the archives in a catalogue. Especially noteworthy is the successful, complete reconstruction of a general plan in very exact detail. On this basis, the finds and features are anaylsed. In 2003 and 2004 the cemetery was newly excavated by K. Skvorzov and T. Ibsen. But these results are not included into the master thesis, which was the basis for the modern investigations.

The article introduces a bimetallic spur found at the Central Gnezdovo settlement in 2012. The spur consists of a bronze cast bow-shaped heel band with а steel prick riveted through a bronze biconical socket. Spurs have been previously found in burials of the Smolensk long barrow culture and in the hillforts and settlements of Bantserovschina and Tushemlya, sites of the Uzmen’-Zaozerye type in Belarus, Pskov and Smolensk regions. Most of these spurs belong to more primitive forms with terminals in the form of buttons or hooks. The analogies to the studied item are mainly localized on the territory Western Baltic cultures on the Sam- bian peninsula (Kaliningad region), in the Masuri- an Lakeland and in the South-West of Lithuania. A total of 22 spots with finds of such spurs has been recorded. In the work of U. Gisler (1978) this se- ries is attributed to the group E (west Baltic group). Their origin relates to the Roman provincial types
of cavalry equipment which became widespread in the 3rd–4th centuries throughout the Roman Empire and the Barbaricum. Two separate groups among the “west Baltic group” of finds have been identified. The first one is dated to the second half of the 4th – early 5th century and is localized mainly on the Sambian Peninsula, while the second group belongs to the second or third quarter of the 5th
– early 6th century and predominantly originates from Lithuania’s South-West.
Based on several features the spur from Gnezdo- vo is similar to the second group and therefore can be attributed to the Migration period. Its ap- pearance in the Smolensk region may be associat- ed with the war of the 5th century, evidenced by a trail of burned hillforts and numerous finds of the three-lobed rhombic arrowheads of the “Hun” type found from Western Lithuania to the Upper Oka and the Volga region.

The article presents a research of the most significant find in the field of Prussian (Baltic) studies that has been made in the last 40 years. Reading of the Trace of Crete (or Colophon of Crete) is particularly difficult due to unavailability of the original from 1422. Researchers can work only with a copy from 1440, which contains substantial graphic mistakes made by a German-speaking writer. The Old Prussian colophon can be interpreted as an incantation, a magic formula, which is a form of calendar ceremonial folklore. The study at hand discusses the specifics of the text from 1440 and formulates a methodological approach for a possible reconstruction of the original, with regard to several conjectures, motivated by a paleographic analysis of the copy. Furthermore, syntactic structure and semantics of problematic passages are made more precise and accurate. The person that employed the Old Prussian colophon in 1422 in Crete has been identified as Petrus Turnau, a Hussite from Prague.

The grave goods from Linkuhnen (Rževskoje/Linkūnai) indicate continuous usage of the cemetery from the Roman Iron Age and the Migration Period to the Viking Age (second to 11th century AD). A closer look at the fibulae from Linkuhnen offers an overview of the changing cultural relationships with the neighbouring areas during the 1,000 years of occupancy of the site. The interpretation of Linkuhnen is closely linked to its topographical position close to the River Nemunas (Neman/Memel). The hypothetical alteration of the course of the River Nemunas, suggested by V. Žulkus, has to be discussed for its potential impact on the site of Linkuhnen and its relations with neighbouring areas at the end of the first millennium.

Das Gebiet des ehemaligen Ostpreußens ist eine der fundreichsten archäologischen Landschaften Mitteleuropas. Das Prussia-Museum in Königsberg beherbergte seit dem 19. Jahrhundert eine archäologische Sammlung von europäischem Rang. Seine historisch einzigartigen Bestände mit Zeugnissen aus allen Epochen der ostpreußischen Geschichte aus dem Gebiet zwischen der Weichsel im Westen und der Memel im Nordosten wurden am Ende des Zweiten Welt-kriegs auseinandergerissen und gingen teilweise verloren. Erst seit wenigen Jahren ist die Archäologie Ostpreußens wieder verstärkt zum Gegenstand der internationalen Forschung geworden. Das Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte Berlin beherbergt einen großen Teil der erhaltenen archäologischen Bestände des ehem. Prussia-Museums. Mit Unterstützung der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) wurden 2011 bis 2014 die mittelalterlichen Kulturverhältnisse in Ostpreußen im Spannungsfeld zwischen Skandinaviern, Slawen und den baltischen Nachbarn beleuchtet. Anhand der erhaltenen archäologischen Objekte und Archivalien lässt sich die Entwicklung der Sachkultur der einheimischen Prussen von der Zeit der Wikinger bis in die Ordenszeit nachzeichnen.

ul.Wóycickiego1/3,bud.23,01-938Warszawa SPIS TREŚCI ArchAeologIcA hereditas 19 5 Wstęp 9 rozdział1.ZaryshistoriiosadnictwanatereniePomezanii/górnychPrus wpóźnymśredniowieczuiokresiewczesnonowożytnym 23 rozdział2.BadaniaarcheologicznewBorecznie,stanowiskonr4. (gm.Zalewo,pow.iławski,woj.warmińsko-mazurskie) 23 2.1. Daneidentyfikacyjne 24 2.2. Współrzędnegeograficzne 24 2.3. Funkcjaidziejestanowiska 33 2.4. Środowiskofizycznogeograficzne 34 2.5. opisobiektu 34 2.6. Przebiegbadańterenowych 42 2.7. Stratygrafiastanowiska 52 2.8. Znaleziska 88 2.9. chronologiastanowiska 88 2.10. Miejsceprzechowywaniazbiorówidokumentacji 89 rozdział3.BadaniaarcheologicznewBałoszycach (gm.Susz,pow.iławski,woj.warmińsko-mazurskie) 89 3.

The grave goods from Linkuhnen (Rževskoje/Linkūnai) indicate continuous usage of the cemetery from the Roman Iron Age and the Migration Period to the Viking Age (second to 11th century AD). A closer look at the fibulae from Linkuhnen offers an overview of the changing cultural relationships with the neighbouring areas during the 1,000 years of occupancy of the site. The interpretation of Linkuhnen is closely linked to its topographical position close to the River Nemunas (Neman/Memel). The hypothetical alteration of the course of the River Nemunas, suggested by V. Žulkus, has to be discussed for its potential impact on the site of Linkuhnen and its relations with neighbouring areas at the end of the first millennium.

Sì, come si deve mai cominciare! Lo storico-e tanto più lo storico occasionale-è sempre esposto alla tentazione alla quale soggiacque Wagner in maniera assolutamente eccezionale quando, teso in verità soltanto a descrivere il declino del suo eroe Sigfrido, si lasciò attirare da una pedanteria entusiasta sempre più indietro nel passato, nel mito, finché si trovò costretto ad accettare una parte sempre più grande di "preistoria", finché, alla fine, si fermò necessariamente all'inizio e all'origine di tutte le cose, alla più profonda essenza dell'antefatto dell'antefatto; da qui poi cominciò a narrare in maniera solenne e graduale. Poiché però tempo e spazio protestano a gran voce che noi, in questo saggio sulla genesi di una lotta, di una «guerra» europea di cui oggi viviamo la ripetizione e la continuazione, vogliamo incominciare dalle più profonde origini, diamoci una scrollatina e iniziamo dalla «grande diffidenza», la profondamente radicata e, se vogliamo esser giusti, abbastanza fondata diffidenza del mondo nei confronti di Federico II di Prussia. Si ricordi soltanto: il giovane uomo, quasi un ragazzo per i lineamenti, un po' grassoccio e delicato di struttura, «la più incantevole creatura del regno», come lo definiva uno straniero, dal colorito vivo e le gote infantili, dai grandi, lucenti e miopi occhi azzurri, con il naso che continua dritto la linea della fronte e presenta in punta un naturale arrossamento, secondo i ritratti dell'epoca-questo grazioso giovane uomo, di cui è conosciuto il passato in parte dissoluto, in parte terribile e talvolta tremendo di principe ereditario, libero pensatore, ostentatamente filosofo, letterato, autore dell'umanissimo Antimachiavelli, assolutamente privo di doti militari, almeno per l'impressione che aveva suscitato fino ad allora, gentile, indolente (so gentle and so sweet), femmineo, facile a commuoversi e a contrarre debiti, dedito anima e corpo ai divertimenti, al lusso e alla musica-«diventa re». Infatti il padre preoccupato non è riuscito a suo tempo, né con percosse umilianti né con qualche tentativo di strozzarlo, ad indurlo a spararsi un colpo alla testa o perlomeno a rinunciare al trono in favore del fratello; come re, invece, si comporta in modo tale che non si sa più cosa pensare. Da allora il giorno dell'incoronazione viene chiamato la journée des dupes: quasi tutto si svolse diversamente da come si era pensato. Coloro che avevano tremato al pensiero della vendetta del nuovo signore, non furono puniti; ma quelli che pensavano fosse giunta per loro l'occasione propizia, si videro delusi. Gli avventurieri ed i poeti che si accalcavano attorno al trono e non si accontentavano di evviva ebbri di speranza, ammutolirono ben presto. Un allegro compagnone di Rheinsberg, che ebbe l'ingenuità di intonare confidenzialmente la solita vecchia musica, ottenne uno scintillante sguardo azzurro e la tagliente frase: «Monsieur, à present je suis Roi!». Claris, apertis verbis: «Gli scherzi sono finiti». Di tutta l'opera di Shakespeare, il punto più bello è forse quello in cui uno, sotto un simile sguardo, dice ad un altro: «Non ti conosco, amico!».

SITE TOPOGRAPHY - SUMMARY
Dariusz Wyczółkowski (Chapter 3, Some comments on the location and topography of the settlement in Tumiany) has discussed the issue of the geographic environment in which the group of people who had founded the settlement and the cemetery at Tumiany existed. He employed for this purpose the available historical cartography, as well as the results of research on the changes of the natural environment. The first cartographic document depicting this area is the map of Kaspar Henneberger from the 1570s on which is shown the Pisz Lake with the influx of a river of the same name, and the Tumiany Lake (Daumer See).
The settlement complex in Tumiany lies on the slopes of the rolling glacial uplands on the southern edge of Lake Pisz. The settlement (site 2) covered the land ridge falling to the south and east. It is divided from the cemetery (site 1) by a small valley of two watercourses  flowing into the lake. On the basis of geological boreholes, E. Stupnicka could show that the original bank of this lake was covered by a layer of slope wash. The water level of the lake reached its maximum at the time when the settlement complex functioned and was then one meter above the present level. The modern lowering of the level of the lake and its consequent reduction in size and the deposition of material brought by the river flowing out of the Dadaj Lake resulted in the division into Pisz and Tumiany Lakes.
In the site reconstruction considering the extent of the lake (E. Stupnicka) the cemetery is located south of the settlement, on a sandy prominence, on the edges of shallow bays (to the east, west and north). In the south, it is restricted by the low terrace of the Dadaj river that flows into the lake at this place. Possibly a river bed or a bay of the Pisz Lake existed between the settlement and the cemeteries. The functioning and the development of the settlement depended on the access to the lake. Slope wash observed in the vicinity of the settlement may be related to the thinning of the forests and agriculture starting from 6th-7th centuries AD. For the Early Medieval population of Tumiany, the territories around the mouth of the Dadaj river and on its banks were of no interest as a settlement area – possibly in connection with the economic role of the lake or the route along the Pisa River.
The topography of Tumiany indicates that the settlement was separated from the cemetery by natural terrain barriers. The inhabitants lived both on the hill slopes and on the land by the shore of the lake, as well as on the adjoining hills that bordered on the upland. The settlement on the sandy hills around the lakes benefited from the favourable conditions – dry ground suitable for building houses, with easy access to the lake. During the Migration period and in the Middle Ages the natural defensive capability of the hills was also important (together with a water level in the lakes which was higher than today). This area, so favourable for settlement, had earlier been occupied by the population of late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic cultures (chapter 4: Z. Sulgostowska: Flint material discovered in Tumiany: site 1. Most and 2. Rybaczówka) and later on by the people of the Lausatian, Trzciniec and Wielbark cultures.

The article is dedicated to the application of AMS 14 C dating method of cremated bones and samples of related charcoal, which is rather new for the East Baltic region. The data of 3 Western Balts cemeteries from Lithuania are analysed. Results of radiocarbon dating are compared to the estimated typological chronology of the artefacts. The OxCal simulation is applied in order to obtain the most probable dates. The study lays the foundation for further spatial and static analysis of selected data.
Vakarų baltų degintinių kapų kaulų ir anglies AMS 14 C datavimas: teorija ir praktika Anotacija. Straipsnis skirtas degintinių (kremuotų) kaulų ir su jais susijusių anglių mėginių AMS 14 C datavimo metodo pritaikymui Rytų Baltijos regiono archeologinėje medžiagoje. Analizuojami trijų Lietuvos teritorijoje esančių skalvių ir kuršių kapinynų AMS 14 C datavimo rezultatai, kurie lyginami su radinių tipologine chronologija. Modeliuojant tikėtiniausias datas naudojamas OxCal simuliavimas (fazių funkcijos). Tyrimas sudaro pagrindą tolesnei pasirinktų duomenų erdvinei ir statistinei analizei.

Jahresbericht des Zentrums für Baltische und Skandinavische Archäologie - Bericht zum Dissertationsprojekt "Studien zur frühmittelalterlichen Siedlungslandschaft im Samland/ehemaligen Ostpreußen am Beispiel des Fundplatzes Wiskiauten (Mochovoe)" Stand 2017

Роман Широухов в городе раньше был известен как археолог и один из самых молодых сотрудников историко-художественного музея. С 2014 года он, правда, свою музейную деятельность оставил и теперь по большей части занимается международными научными проектами. В рамках проекта «Город и его люди» Роман Широухов рассказал Афише RUGRAD.EU о влиянии «прусского бессознательного» на региональную идентичность, о том, как Калининград застрял в 2005 году и чего не хватает местным музеям, чтобы стать современными учреждениями культуры.

«Пруссия» в Калининграде. Когда лопочут пушки и опускается железный занавес - музы замолкают. И в этом смысле, история музея «Пруссия» может быть для нас поучительна.
"Prussia" in Kaliningrad. While the cannons roar, the Muses stay silent. In terms of this "proverb" the history of the museum "Prussia" can be somewhat  enlightening for us.

Archaeological Archives and Collections of „Prussia” Museum.
Key words: “Prussia” museum, archaeological collections, archival data, artefacts identification
Former “Prussia” museum of Königsberg (Kaliningrad) archaeological collections, their past, different kinds of archival data, their present locations both with a problem of identification for newly discovered artefacts are the main subjects of this investigation. The history of ‘Prussia” museum collections and their destiny are also briefly investigated in this article. Main attention is paid for former archaeological collections of “Prussia” museum, located now in Kaliningrad, Berlin and Olsztyn museums, so far as for vast archival sources accumulated in Berlin, Schleswig, Olsztyn and Kaliningrad museums. Different archival data gathered before 1945 and later on basis of “Prussia” museum collections by European archaeologists is described in a context of a problem of lost and newly found “Prussia” museum artefacts identification and correlation with other sources. Both preferences and lacks of these methods are represented on a basis of analyse of several former “Prussia” museums finds stored today in Kaliningrad museum of history and art.  For appendix several Kaliningrad-“Prussia” museum artefacts, expectedly found by A. Bezzenberger, are analysed in a frames of archival and published data.