Hillforts represent an important part of archaeological legacy in the present and former Baltic lands covering not only Lithuania and Latvia, but also Belarus and parts of Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. Several thousand hillforts witnessing different prehistoric and historic periods were once built in the broad Baltic habitat. They make important elements of the cultural landscape and venues of historic memory. Scientific research of the hillforts allows us broadening our knowledge about the daily life of and wars of our ancestors and opening up both peaceful and bloody pages of the past.
This study seeks to reveal the development and role of hillforts in the Baltic lands from their appearance till nowadays and to highlight the Baltic hillforts in the general context of European hillforts of prehistoric and historic times using abundant archaeological and historical research data.
Author(s): Manvydas Vitkūnas, Gintautas Zabiela
Publisher: Society of the Lithuanian Archaeology
Year: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 88
City: Vilnius
Introduction 2
The Balts, Archaeological Cultures, and Hillforts. What is that? 5
The Beginning of the Baltic Fortification History: the Most Ancient Hillforts 13
The Most Eastern Bulwarks: the Hillforts of the Dnieper Balts 25
Hillforts of the Baltic Tribes: Different Histories 38
Hillforts in the Middle Ages: Castles in the Defence of the Lithuanian State 59
The Fate of Hillforts: from Manors to Festival Sites 77
Conclusion 84
List of Literature 85
