Rokiškio bažnyčios šventoriaus tyrimai

LT2020 m. liepą KU BRIAI vykdė detaliuosius tyrimus Rokiškio šv. apaštalo evangelisto Mato bažnyčios šventoriaus aplinkoje. Norėta suprojektuotų vandens nuotekų vietose nustatyti šventoriaus kapų lygį (jų neiškeliant, antropologiją atliekant in situ), ištirti virš jų kultūrinį sluoksnį ir pateikti rekomendacijas dėl archeologijos strategijos tiesiant visą nuotekų vamzdyną ir jų vietų ištyrimo. Iš viso ištirtos 6 perkasos (3 – 18 m2 (9x2); 4 – 12 m2 (6x2 m); 5 – 10 m2 (5x2 m); 6 – 10 m2 (5x2 m); 7 – 10 m2 (5x2 m); 8 – 10 m2 (5x2 m)) ir 2 šurfai po 2x2 m už bažnyčios tvoros, kurie sudarė 78 m2 dydžio teritoriją. Po tyrimų nusprendus atsisakyti įgyvendinti nuotekų vamzdyno projektą, toliau žvalgyta suprojektuotos nuogrindos vietoje palei išorinius bažnyčios pamatus 1 m pločio, 70 cm gylio, 161 m ilgio trasa. [...] [p. 317].

ENIn 2020, KU BRIAI conducted an excavation (6 trenches and 2 test pits totalling 78 m2) in the vicinity of the churchyard of the Church of the St Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in Rokiškis. The digging of a 1 m wide, 1 m deep, 159 m long utility trench around the church’s foundation was monitored. The archaeological investigation recorded 28 burials, which allows one to confirm the fact of the existence of the old churchyard (based on finds dating to the 16th–17th centuries, some to the 18th century). The burials, in wooden coffins (only splintered remains surviving), were unearthed in 1–3 horizons at a depth of 0.7–2.6 m from the present surface, both inside the current churchyard and beyond its fence. The individuals had been interred supine with their heads to the W and their arms bent to lie in the abdomen area or straight at the sides. After performing an anthropological examination on the human bones in situ from the 28 burials, 17 adults (both female and male) and 11 subadults were identified. Another 56 possible individuals were identified from the bones from disturbed burials. The individuals had been interred with and without grave goods, of which the 16th-century coin (an Alexander denar, child burial 27), metal rings, a small knife, necklace beads, a brooch, and 2 early 16th-century leather belt pouches (burials 13, 14, removed for restoration) should be mentioned. Those finds discovered in the fill layers in the pits and above the old churchyard should also be ascribed to the grave goods. The investigation unearthed the layer from the second wooden church (1708–1713) and the church that burnt down in 1864 as well as a stone foundation from this second period. The 0.2–1.5 m thick fill soil, recorded in all of the trenches and formed from the pits dug for the foundation and crypts, attests to the construction stage (1866–1877) of the present church.This fill soil, which contained contemporaneous construction material, was used to level the old hill relief. An underground masonry drainage system with 7 channels was also discovered and the church’s foundation was partially exposed. A total of 439 finds were collected.