Skarulių pilkapių vietos tyrimai

LT2014 m. archeologinių tyrimų metu Skarulių pilkapių teritorijos PR dalyje buvo ištirtas 82 m2 dydžio plotas (4 perkasos), patenkantis į būsimo Jonavos PR aplinkkelio trasą. Taigi, 2009-2014 m. archeologinių tyrimų metu planuojamo Jonavos PR aplinkkelio teritorijoje, o kartu ir Skarulių pilkapių vietoje iš viso buvo ištirtas apie 5807 m2 dydžio plotas (žr. Marcinkevičiūtė E., Šatavičius E., ATL 2010 metais, V., 2011, p. 103-113; ATL 2012 metais, Vilnius, 2013, p. 23–26; ATL 2013 metais, Vilnius, 2014, p. 23–27). Dar apie 539 m2 tirti E. Zimaitytės 2008 m. (žr. ATL 2008 metais, V., 2009, p. 114–117). Tyrimų metu nustatyta, kad tirto ruožo ŠR ir PV dalys iki įžemio beveik visiškai sunaikintos įvairių vėlyvų perkasimų, o dalis sluoksnių (pavyzdžiui, tamsiai pilkas smėlis) perklostyta. Perkasose atidengti litologiniai sluoksniai siejami su keliais skirtingais archeologiniais objektais: Skarulių miesteliu, pilkapynu ir akmens amžiaus gyvenviete. Iš viso tyrimų metu įvairiuose litologiniuose horizontuose atidengta apie 13 įvairių objektų (dėmių, duobių, stulpavietė). Rečiau identifikuojami žmogaus ūkinės veiklos pėdsakai atkasto tirto ploto centrinėje dalyje. Čia, pačiame rudo smėlio sluoksnio viršuje atidengtos senojo arimo žymės. Tai bemaž taisyklingai statmenai susikertančios siauros arklo paliktos arimo vagelės, užpildytos degėsingu pilku smėliu (1 pav.). Jos preliminariai datuojamos I tūkst. pr. Kr. II puse. [...] [p. 58].

ENIn 2014, 82 m2 were excavated during the investigation of the SE part of the Skaruliai barrow territory. Lithological layers connected with several archaeological objects were unearthed in the trench: Skaruliai town, barrow cemetery, and stone age settlement. A total of about 13 various sized and shaped objects (pits and stains), two of which were called storage pits from the town of Skaruliai (mid 19th-mid 20th century). They were unearthed in the various lithological horizons and were almost round pits, roughly 1.4–2.4 m in diameter, with sheer walls in the vertical cross-section and a depth of up to 1.5–2.2 m. They were filled with grey, organic-rich sand/gravel. Isolated sherds of hand thrown or partly thrown clay vessels were encountered in them. Less commonly identified traces of human economic activity, i.e. signs of ancient ploughing on the upper surface of a layer of brown sand, were unearthed in the central part of the excavated area. These were roughly regular, narrow perpendicular furrows cut by an ard and filled with charcoally grey sand. They should be preliminarily dated to the second half of the 1st millennium BC. The remains of two ditches from barrows 5 and 6 were unearthed in the central and NE parts of the excavated strip. The small ditch segments were up to 1–1.2 m long, 50–60 cm wide, and 20–50 cm deep, the ends having been destroyed by various later digging. The barrow mounds and base horizons have been completely destroyed.A cultural layer, up to 5–30 cm thick, from a stone age settlement was identified during the investigation. About five per cent of the 45 flint finds discovered in it had been burnt or had cracked from heat. The flint finds had been produced from good quality grey flint and mainly consisted of various sized flakes (about 77.8 % or 35 specimens), blades and blade pieces being only about 15.6 % (7 specimens). Two undetermined artefact fragments and one end scraper were also found. The flint finds date to the final palaeolithic and are ascribable to the Swiderian culture. The absolute majority of the roughly 207 sherds of household pottery discovered during the investigation are small, about 1–3 cm2 in size, only tens of them being larger. All of the sherds are from partly thrown or hand thrown vessels; the absolute majority of the sherds (about 5/6 of the entire quantity) are small, roughly 0.5–3 cm2 in size, only tens being larger. The majority of the sherds are from hand thrown vessels (about 3/4 of the entire quantity), partly thrown comprising a significantly smaller percentage (about 1/4 of the entire quantity). Relatively few, compared to previous years, sherds of blackware vessels were discovered (about 1/5 of the entire quantity). In addition, some of the hand thrown blackware sherds have been deformed from heat and become a porous clay mass. This could have occurred after failing to control the temperature increase during firing or due to a large fire. The walls of the vessels sherds are 0.4–1.2 cm thick. In the excavated area, sherds of glazed vessels were found in greater numbers (a total of 59 sherds) than in any previous year. These were fragments of several late 19th-mid 20thcentury pitchers and plates. In addition, isolated sherds of large faience plates or bowls and fragments of four porcelain saucers were discovered in various disturbed modern.In addition, isolated sherds of large faience plates or bowls and fragments of four porcelain saucers were discovered in various disturbed modern layers. These latter were decorated inside with sparse golden floral designs or horizontal lines (at the rim). They had been manufactured between 1890 and 1917 by the porcelain and faience factory owned by the M. S. Kuznetsov society in Rīga.