Lower Castle Research Articles

13th century leather footwear from Vilnius Lower Castle

During the archaeological excavations in the territory of the Palace of the Grand Dukes in Vilnius, the remains of leather footwear dating back to the late 13th century was discovered. These were only the cut-off lower parts of the footwear, a pair inserted one into the other and stored in a box together with other exceptional artefacts of that time. The footwear was made of expensive dyed goat leather. The luxurious leather items of footwear were reconstructed on the basis of various conducted artefact tests and studies. Based on the construction properties, it can be assumed that they were intended for indoor wear. Artefacts of analogous construction are only rarely discovered. Known examples were discovered during the excavations in Velikii Novgorod, Tver, Hrodna and several other locations to the east of the Baltic Sea. The artefacts from these territories date back to the late 11th to early 14th centuries.

Vilniaus žemutinės pilies iždo archyvas ir Vilniaus sociotopografija 1566 m.

The paper focuses on an extract from the treasury archive of Vilnius Lower Castle from the 1640s. The research provides new data on the sociotopography of a part of the city of Vilnius and the suburb of Antakalnis (Antokol) in 1566 and reveals the fate of some documents kept in the treasury archive after 1655, when the Russian army occupied Vilnius and a fire ravaged the archive. The extract, which is published for the first time in this article, is included in the appendix.

Sigismund Augustus’ Tapestries at the Residence of the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland in the Lower Castle Palace in Vilnius


 
 
 This article presents an analysis of the stages and specifics encountered during scholarly research on the chosen theme, stating that separate stages in the research were determined according to different aims, research methods, and approaches. The research was conducted under circumstances characterised by a lack of sources and the fragmented nature of the information, which meant that as the research went on for 150 years, scholars generally relied on a solitary known source: the panegyric by Stanisław Orzechowski written on the occasion of the wedding of Sigismund Augustus, Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland, and Catherine Habsburg at Wawel Royal Castle in 1553, in which he described the tapestries used to decorate the palace for the event. As a subsequence of this, for the rest of the mentioned period, no reference was made in scientific publications to the connection between Sigismund Augustus’ tapestries and Vilnius or to the Vilnius Lower Castle, which had been the ruler’s most important residence for a long time. In this article, based on sources and the most recently discovered artefacts, evidence is provided that Sigismund Augustus began collecting tapestries whilst he was still only the grand duke of Lithuania and that his earliest commissions were made in Vilnius. This is irrefutably evident from a document dated 14 January 1547 in Sigismund Augustus’ accounts for the period of 1546–1548, recorded by the young ruler’s treasurer Jan Lutomirski at the Vilnius palace. There is no doubt that the ‘pictures’ – Creation of the World and The Story of Noah – mentioned among the expenses were the first sketches for the upcoming series of biblical textiles created by Michiel Coxcie. Nonetheless, the most important evidence is the heraldic tapestry acquired by the National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in 2009. Woven before 1548, it features the combined coat of arms of Sigismund Augustus, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, with the great crown of the Lithuanian grand duke above it. The same combined coat of arms of Sigismund Augustus was minted on Lithuanian coins during his reign and was also used on the great seal of the state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
 In summary, it can be stated that Sigismund Augustus owned tapestry series in Vilnius from as early as 1543. This was where the famous series The Story of the First Fathers and The Story of Noah were commissioned. The Lithuanian court treasury accounts attest that between 1545 and 1561, tapestries were often displayed at the Vilnius palace, the main residence in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and were taken with the ruler when he travelled to his other residences in Trakai, Rūdninkai, Skierniewice, or Rawa.
 
 

The kitchen of the noble Rozgonyi family : The kitchen in the Castle of Csókakő in the 15th century, as reflected by pottery finds

The Castle of Csókakő is one of the Hungarian forts with Árpádian Age roots. It was owned by several prominent noble families and even the king himself for a pretty long period. In the course of the two decades of field research, the relics of the building complex have been almost entirely excavated. In 2022, a new project created an opportunity to start processing the recovered vast find material. This paper presents a minor part of the pottery found in the one-time inner courtyard of the lower castle, dating to the 15th century when the building complex was the property of the Rozgonyi family.

Bird remains from Vilnius Lower Castle, Lithuania (13th–19th centuries) reveal changes in social status and unusual bird pathologies

AbstractThis paper focuses on the 1,224 bird remains found during the excavations of 1990–2015 in the Vilnius Lower Castle, Lithuania. The faunal material originates from a wide time span of the 13th to the 19th centuries. To explore the bird consumption in different periods of occupation of the castle and between different social strata, we analyzed the bird specimens by morphological characteristics. The study included taxonomical identification, recording the taphonomic features and pathologies, and assessing age and sex. As expected, the majority of the bones belong to the domestic chicken, but it is mostly the presence of wild taxa such as hawk, swan, and wild galliforms that demonstrates the various roles the birds played in peoples' everyday lives. Additionally, a few pathologies like avian osteopetrosis were identified that are unique to the eastern Baltic region.

(Upper) Ljutomer Castle

The contribution discusses the architectural development of the former (Upper) Ljutomer (Ober Luttenberg) Castle or Lower Castle, which, having disappeared in the nineteenth century, has so far not even been subject to a basic analysis of its architectural history. Although the castle has been long gone and its location, a hill above the village of Podgradje southeast of Ljutomer, is now occupied by a more recent residential building from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it still bears great significance for understanding the history of construction in the wider Ljutomer area between the thirteenth and nineteenth centuries. Based on the analyses of preserved old depictions, terrain configuration, and data about the history of the estate as well as by taking into consideration appropriate analogies, it is possible to determine the main development phases of the former castle building with sufficient reliability. Everything suggests that the castle was built in the first half of the thirteenth century as one of many border castles erected by the Archdiocese of Salzburg and that it underwent a dynamic and characteristic architectural development until the eighteenth century.

(Upper) Ljutomer Castle

The contribution discusses the architectural development of the former (Upper) Ljutomer (Ober Luttenberg) Castle or Lower Castle, which, having disappeared in the nineteenth century, has so far not even been subject to a basic analysis of its architectural history. Although the castle has been long gone and its location, a hill above the village of Podgradje southeast of Ljutomer, is now occupied by a more recent residential building from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it still bears great significance for understanding the history of construction in the wider Ljutomer area between the thirteenth and nineteenth centuries. Based on the analyses of preserved old depictions, terrain configuration, and data about the history of the estate as well as by taking into consideration appropriate analogies, it is possible to determine the main development phases of the former castle building with sufficient reliability. Everything suggests that the castle was built in the first half of the thirteenth century as one of many border castles erected by the Archdiocese of Salzburg and that it underwent a dynamic and characteristic architectural development until the eighteenth century.

(Upper) Ljutomer Castle

The contribution discusses the architectural development of the former (Upper) Ljutomer (Ober Luttenberg) Castle or Lower Castle, which, having disappeared in the nineteenth century, has so far not even been subject to a basic analysis of its architectural history. Although the castle has been long gone and its location, a hill above the village of Podgradje southeast of Ljutomer, is now occupied by a more recent residential building from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it still bears great significance for understanding the history of construction in the wider Ljutomer area between the thirteenth and nineteenth centuries. Based on the analyses of preserved old depictions, terrain configuration, and data about the history of the estate as well as by taking into consideration appropriate analogies, it is possible to determine the main development phases of the former castle building with sufficient reliability. Everything suggests that the castle was built in the first half of the thirteenth century as one of many border castles erected by the Archdiocese of Salzburg and that it underwent a dynamic and characteristic architectural development until the eighteenth century.

Riding Gear Items from the Jurgionys Cemetery of the Late Fourteenth–Early Sixteenth Centuries

The paper publishes information on the riding gear items (namely, spurs and their fragments, a miniature stirrup, as well as horse teeth) discovered during the archaeological excavations of 2010–2011 and 2013–2014 at the Jurgionys cemetery located in the Aukštadvaris eldership of the Trakai district and dating to the late fourteenth– early fifteenth centuries. The paper aims to introduce the artefacts to the scientific archaeological array establishing their typology and chronology and their place in the context of other finds discovered at Lithuanian medieval inhumation burials. The Jurgionys cemetery of the late fourteenth–early fifteenth century (Aukštadvaris eldership, Trakai district) contained numerous items of riding gear. Burials 2 (Fig. 1) and 16 had one spur in each, whereas burial 11 (Fig. 2) had two spurs. Random finds from disturbed burials picked from the ploughed layer added two more fragments of spurs and a piece of a miniature stirrup. The level of preservation of the spurs varied, some of the finds were highly corroded and surviving only partially. Yet the spurs were typical of Western and Central Europe (although spurs with star-shaped spikes are also found in the lands of the former Grand Duchy of Moscow, there are no close analogues to the ones discovered at the Jurgionys cemetery). Two of the three spur finds came from the burials containing weapons (burial 11 contained an axe and a spearhead and burial 16 contained a sword). The rich array of burial goods found in burial 16 (Fig. 3) implies that the person buried therein enjoyed a high social status. The spur found in burial 16 (Fig. 4) is typologically very similar to the ones discovered at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of the Lower Castle of Vilnius and in London. It goes without saying that typologically similar spurs can also be found elsewhere. One of the randomly found spurs has survived only partially (Fig. 5). The other randomly found spur bears strap holders decorated with a scallop shell ornament (Fig. 6). Such an ornament could be related to the cult of St James the Great which used to be rather widespread in medieval Europe. A miniature stirrup (Fig. 7) is similar to the stirrups of the eastern type found in the territory of modern Ukraine and southern Russia; they are related to the nomadic peoples of the steppe. Materials of the Jurgionys cemetery considerably broaden our knowledge about the riding gear used by medieval Lithuanian horsemen, and horse teeth found in burials 35 and 37 should be perceived as horsemen’s symbols. They are unique finds for the cemetery of the Jurgionys community, which was only barely influenced by Christianity at the time.

MEDIEVAL POPULATION OF POLOTSK ACCORDING TO ANTHROPOLOGICAL DATA

The aim of this study was to analyze human skeletal remains from 13th—14th centuries burials discovered on the territory of the Lower Castle in Polotsk, Belarus. The article deals with the morphological characteristics of medieval urban population and skeletal stress indicators such as mortality and cribra orbitalia.
 According to most craniological characteristics, a series of male skulls from Polotsk of the 13th—14th centuries is similar to a sample of the medieval rural population of Polotsk land from burial mounds of the 11th—13th centuries. The differences relate to an increase in the cranial index in the later Polotsk series, which reflects the onset of epoch-making brachycephalization. In addition, Polotsk urban population differs from the rural population in a number of features characterizing the structural features of the facial skeleton (a higher face, a larger index of facial protrusion, a smaller protrusion of the nose). These differences can be genetically determined and indicate the participation of the alien component in the formation of Polotsk medieval population.
 The body length of adult men from Polotsk varies within 162—175 cm and averages 169.5 cm. The body length of adult women varies within 147—159 cm and averages 156 cm. Compared to the later Polotsk population of 17th—18th centuries, the medieval urban population was taller (2.5 cm in men and 2 cm in women).
 The average age of adult death in the studied group was 35.1 years. The average age of death for Polotsk women was 3 years less than for men.
 The group of Polotsk medieval population is characterized by relatively high frequencies of cribra orbitalia. Among adults, the indicator is present in 32.2 % of cases, among children — in 55.5 % of cases.
 Compared with the rural population of the 11th—13th centuries urban population of Polotsk of the 13th—14th centuries had higher mortality rates and increased incidence of cribra orbitalia, which indicates deterioration in general health in Polotsk urban population. The most probable causes of this phenomenon were, on the one hand, negative factors of urbanization, and on the other hand, the cooling of the climate, which began in Europe in the 14th century and led to deterioration in the living conditions of a significant part of the region’s population.

Isotopic dietary patterns of monks: results from stable isotope analyses of a seventeenth–eighteenth century Basilian monastic community in Vilnius, Lithuania

The aim of the research focuses on reconstructing diet of the seventeenth–eighteenth century Basilian monks who were buried in the crypt beneath the Holy Trinity Uniate Church in Vilnius, Lithuania. For this aim, stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope analyses of human bone collagen samples (n = 74, of which 39 yielded reliable isotopic data) were performed. In order to establish the isotopic dietary baseline for the Basilian monks, we sampled faunal bones (n = 47, of which 34 yielded reliable isotopic data) recovered during archaeological investigations in the area around the Vilnius Lower Castle and the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. Faunal samples were comprised of various domestic and wild terrestrial animals, freshwater and anadromous fish, and migratory and non-migratory birds. In total, 121 human and faunal samples were analysed. The isotopic data collected in our study suggest that C3 plant and domestic animal products were the main components in the diets of the Basilian monks, while freshwater fish played a noticeable, yet a much smaller dietary role. However, historical sources describe a reverse dietary picture, i.e. a higher dietary contribution from fish and a lower from animal products. The potential reasons for this incongruity between isotopic and historical dietary evidence were also explored. Finally, the isotopic data of the Basilian monks were compared with that of contemporary Lithuanian nobles and commoners. The comparisons indicate that monastic dietary patterns were more similar to those of the nobility than those of the commoners.

Investigating the Function of a Wooden Building in the Territory of the Vilnius Lower Castle: Findings Based on an Ecofactual Analysis

[full article and abstract in Lithuanian; abstract in English]
 This article presents the research results from a two-compartment building of an unknown function that was discovered during the detailed archaeological investigation of the Royal Palace in the Lower Castle in Vilnius between November 2014 and January 2015. By applying a variety of research methodologies, which include archaeological, archaeobotanical, archaeoparasitological micromorphological (spherulites) and entomological studies, here we propose a possible function of the house.

Hillforts. From Emergence to Present Day

Hillforts. From Emergence to Present Day

Grodzisko w Porębku, pow. Kętrzyn, stan. 3. Wstępne wyniki badań wykopaliskowy

In 2017 excavations were started on the fortification in Porębek, Kętrzyn district, site 3. Two excavations were performed during the work along the NE-SW axis (Figure 3). Trench 1/2017 (measuring 10 x 5 m) was opened within the “upper castle” – it included the area from the top of the rampart located on the NW side of this area and part of the courtyard. Trench 2/2017 (measuring 10 x 3 m) was delineated within the “lower castle” – it encompassed the courtyard from its SE edge and was perpendicular to the ditch. A total area of 80 square meters was uncovered. The interesting remains of a 13th-century building of the two-part stronghold were discovered. The source materials suggest that this place was inhabited earlier – in the Early Iron Age and in the Early Middle Ages. The stratigraphy seems to indicate large scale construction work, during which time the terrain was com�pletely transformed. The discovery at the foot of the upper castle, in the Guber river valley, was extremely valuable.

Between Medieval Archaeology, Heritage Protection and Archaeological Management: A Conversation with the Prof. PhD Albinas Kuncevičius

With this conversation we aim to introduce to our readers one of the most well-known present-day Lithuanian archaeologists – Prof. PhD Albinas Kuncevičius, who heads the Archaeological Department at Vilnius University and whose 60th anniversary was commemorated at the end of this year. This conversation also discusses some issues important to the entire archaeological field of Lithuania.
 Keywords: Medieval Archaeology, heritage protection, Vilnius University, Dubingiai Castle, Vilnius Lower Castle, archaeological management

Vilniaus Šv. Mikalojaus bažnyčios plytos – nuo jų ženklinimų iki geocheminių sąsajų

Straipsnio autoriai pristato vizualųjį plytų ženklinimo, plytų dydžių analizės ir geocheminių tyrimų metodus, kurie buvo kompleksiškai pritaikyti tiriant Vilniaus Šv. Mikalojaus bažnyčios mūrus (plytas). Šių metodų pritaikymo tikslas – pateikti naujas galimybes spręsti senųjų mūrų chronologinius bei plytų gamybos technologinius klausimus.

Akvamanilės Lietuvoje ir Europoje

Šis straipsnis nagrinėja iki šiol Lietuvos mokslininkų dėmesio nesulaukusius akvamanilių, rastų Lietuvoje, datavimo, formos, radavietės ir patekimo į Lietuvą klausimus. Taikant meninį stilistinį, komparatyvinį ir analitinį metodus, analizuojama akvamanilių funkcija ir jų reikšmė vėlyvųjų viduramžių krikščioniškajai visuomenei, akvamanilių atsiradimas Europoje, jų raida, tipologija ir pagrindiniai akvamanilių gamybos centrai, aprašomas naudotas gamybos būdas. Remiantis užsienio medžiaga ir atlikto tyrimo duomenimis buvo nustatyta, kad Vilniaus Žemutinės pilies akvamanilės fragmentai priklausė tai pačiai liūto formos akvamanilei, kuri buvo pagaminta XIII a. pabaigoje–XIV a. pirmoje pusėje Žemutinėje Saksonijoje, o Bartkuškyje rasta akvamanilė galėjo būti rasta visai ne Lietuvoje, o Taline.

The nature and polygenetic origin of orbicular granodiorite in the Lower Castle Creek pluton, northern Sierra Nevada batholith, California

Mafic and granodioritic magmas mingled to produce a swarm of microdiorite enclaves in the granodiorite. The enclaves and rare hornfels inclusions were carried upward in an oval-shaped pipe, 30 m long and 15 m wide, probably as a gas-driven mass to a point where an H 2 O-rich, superheated felsic melt intruded the pipe and the enclave mass, and upon abrupt undercooling, deposited orbicular shells of tangentially oriented microcrystals of sodic plagioclase, quartz, K-feldspar, and biotite on 20% of the enclaves and inclusions now located only against the north margin of the pipe. The mass of orbicular and nonorbicular enclaves was then injected by a quartz monzodiorite magma that now comprises the matrix among the enclaves.

Lithuanian monetary silver ingots in Kernavė

Piniginiai lydiniai – tai vienas svarbiausių šaltinių, iliustruojančių prekybos pobūdį Lietuvos valstybėje iki pradedant kaldinti monetas. Tačiau tiek pusapvalės lazdelės formos lietuviškų ilgųjų (literatūroje vadinamų, kapomis, monetiniais lydiniais, grivinomis, rubliais), tiek kiek vėlyvesnių trikampio pjūvio lydinių dažniausiai būdavo aptinkama atsitiktinai, ne archeologinių tyrinėjimų metu. Lietuvos teritorijoje devintajame dešimtmetyje buvo žinomos dvidešimt keturios lietuviškų ilgųjų (Michelbertas, 1989, p. 31) ir aštuonios (viena abejotina) trikampio pjūvio lydinių radavietės (Duksa, 1981, p. 121–122). Pastarąjį dešimtmetį, ypač suaktyvėjus dažniausiai nelegalioms paieškoms naudojant metalo ieškiklius, piniginių lydinių ar jų fragmentų aptinkama kone kasmet. Informacijos apie šiuos radinius galima rasti interneto svetainėse, tačiau į mokslinę apyvartą ji įtraukiama labai retai. Kai kurie aptikti lydiniai pateko į muziejus. 2004–2005 m. Lietuvos banko muziejus nusipirko du pusapvalės lazdelės formos lydinius iš Kulautuvos (Kauno r.) lobio, du iš Kauno r. ? lobio ir devynis pusapvalės lazdelės formos lydinių fragmentus, rastus Kauno, Jonavos, Šakių rajonuose (Numizmatika, Nr. 6, p. 180, 182, 183, 1–2, 4–5 pav.). Tačiau paprastai tikslesnė šių radinių radavietė ir suradimo aplinkybės lieka neaiškios. Vieną pusapvalės formos lydinio fragmentą 2005 m. yra įsigijęs Lietuvos nacionalinis muziejus. Šis fragmentas buvo atsitiktinai surastas Jakštaičių kaime (Kaišiadorių r.) (Numizmatika, Nr. 6, p. 200, 16 pav.). Dvylika pusapvalės lazdelės formos lydinių iš Upytės (Panevėžio r.) lobio 2005 m. įsigijo Trakų istorijos muziejus (Numizmatika, Nr. 6, p. 244, 2 pav.). 2002 m. Kalnelio k. (Joniškio r.) gyventojo sklype aptiktas pusapvalės lazdelės formos sidabro lydinys pateko į Joniškio istorijos ir kultūros muziejų (Vasiliauskas, 2005, p. 319). [...]

Dating of the Cultural Layers from Vilnius Lower Castle, East Lithuania: Implications for Chronological Attribution and Environmental History

Complex interdisciplinary studies carried out in the territory of the Vilnius Lower Castle, E Lithuania, were used to construct a chronological framework based on radiocarbon data and archaeological information. Bulk samples (wood and sediment) were collected from an approximately 3-m core that crossed cultural layers and underlying strata. 14C dates indicate that the underlying bed possibly formed during the 6th century AD, although no archaeological finds were discovered there. Paleobotanical (pollen and plant macrofossil) investigations reveal evidence of agriculture that points to the existence of a permanent settlement in the area at that time. The chronological data indicates a sedimentation hiatus before the onset of the deposition of the cultural layer in the studied area. The 14C dates showed that the formation of the cultural bed began during the late 13th–early 14th centuries AD, that is, earlier than expected according to the archaeological record. The ongoing deposition of the cultural beds continued throughout the middle to latter half of the 14th century AD as revealed by the archaeological records and confirmed by well-correlated 14C results. After some decline in human activity in the middle of the 14th century AD, a subsequent ongoing development of the open landscape, along with intensive agriculture, points to an increase in human activity during the second half of the 14th century AD. The first half of the 15th century AD was marked by intensive exploitation of the territory, indicating a period of economic and cultural prosperity. The chronological framework indicates that the investigated cultural beds continued forming until the first half of the 16th century AD.