Lääne County archaeological dig sheds new light on Estonian hill forts
Archaeological excavations in western Estonia have yielded artifacts and better understanding information of the changes that took place in Estonia with the Baltic crusaders' invasions in the 13th century, "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported.
Professor of archaeology Heiki Valk said the University of Tartu is conducting archaeological excavations at three sites – Hallimägi in Leediküla, Pikajalamägi in Palivere, and Rohumägi in Kullamaa, all of them in Lääne County.
The aim is to study "How the local society, traditions and culture changed, and how and to what extent the ancient hillforts were still in use after the conquest. Very little was known about the ancient hillforts of Lääne County, but now three forts are being excavated in a single year," Valk said.
Valk said something new has come to light about each of the forts. "At Hallimägi in Leediküla, we've uncovered pits dug into the ground, likely used as cellars in the past. There are postholes and also some interesting finds: one silver coin from the early 11th century, bronze spiral tubes used to decorate clothing, a small silver brooch, and perhaps the most exciting find is a piece of a silver ingot. Silver was cast and silver jewelry made right here on site," the archaeologist noted.
Relatively little has been found at Pikajalamägi, he went on, but what has been found has been quite telling. "From the rampart, we got pieces that came from the posts that supported it. One of them is over 30 centimeters thick. The rampart is made of sand, and it seems that the construction of the fort was left unfinished. Part of the rampart was built, some sections — likely certain communities or village groups — completed their assigned portions, while others delayed. Then came a change in times, and the fort was either abandoned or burned down before it was ever fully completed," Valk continued.
The least is known about Rohumägi, though that may change: Excavation work is still continuing on both Wednesday and Thursday.
"There are finds from the Viking Age as well as from the end of the prehistoric period, and possibly also from the post-conquest period—something we haven't seen in Palivere or Hallimägi. From Rohumägi, we found a very beautiful cross pendant that could date to the post-conquest era," Valk noted, of the finds at the third site so far.
The digs are being funded by the Estonian Research Council (Eesti teadusagentuur).
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Editor: Johanna Alvin, Andrew Whyte
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera'
