Jurgionių senkapis

LT2013 m. buvo tęsiami Jurgionių senkapio (Trakų r., Aukštadvario sen.) archeologiniai tyrimai, pradėti 2010 m. (ATL 2010 metais, V., 2011, p. 151−157). Per pirmąjį senkapio tyrimų sezoną buvo ištirtos dvi perkasos (215 m2 ), rasti 27 kapai. Taip pat aptikta pavienių žmonių kaulų. Rasti 174 registriniai radiniai. 2011 m. tyrimai senkapyje buvo tęsiami (ATL 2011 metais, V., 2012, p. 175−179). Perkasoje 3 (80 m2) ištirti 5 kapai, iš jų vienas dvigubas (30A ir B). Kapuose ir atsitiktinai senkapio teritorijoje aptikta 40 registrinių radinių. 2013 m. tyrimai (perkasa 4) vyko kalvelės, kurioje yra senkapis, V dalyje, į V nuo 2010 m. irtos perkasos 2. Ištirtas 80,8 m2 plotas (20x4 m dydžio su dviem išpjovomis). Į perkasos plotą pateko ir 2010 m. darytų perkasos 2 išpjovų vietos. Rasta 17 kapų. Senkapio chronologija liko nepakitusi-XIV a. pabaiga-XVI a. pradžia. Jį palikusi gana turtinga ir karinga bendruomenė gyveno krikščionybės sklaidos epochoje ir laidodami mirusiuosius dar laikėsi gajų senųjų papročių. [...] [p. 182-183, 188].

ENIn 2013, the excavation of Jurgionys (Trakai district) cemetery continued with an 80.8 m² trench. 17 inhumations were found. The hill had long been ploughed and so some of the graves have been disturbed or completely destroyed. Isolated human bones were encountered in the sod and immediately under it. Undisturbed or partially disturbed burials are found at a depth of 25–55cm. Due to the soil’s qualities (gravelly sandy loam) the grave contours are visible only in some of the burials. Especially poor traces of a hollowed log (?) coffin were discovered in only one burial (36). Like in the previously excavated part of the cemetery, many of the individuals in area 4 were interred with their heads to the SE (120−150º; six burials), E (80−100º; four burials), and S (155−200º; three burials) with only one each to the SW (230º), W (260º), and NW (300º).The individuals were buried with abundant grave goods. No burial without any was found. The most frequently encountered grave goods in the burials of both sexes were knives, sherds of household pottery, belt buckles, and loops. More ornaments (earrings, temple ornaments, rings, and a penannular brooch) were found in female burials. Fire strikers were a more characteristic grave good for male burials; a spearhead and two axes were also found. Bird bones (domestic chicken and in one, goose) were found in three burials. The horse teeth discovered in two burials were perhaps equestrian symbols. Chance finds from destroyed burials, including an imported slate spindle whorl, a bronze ring with a widened bezel with overlapping terminals, a six-petal ring and an eightpointed star-shaped iron decorations were found on the cemetery’s grounds. A cast tin openwork pendant with zoomorphic designs, i.e. a swastika made of four serpents, was an exceptional find. The cemetery’s chronology is the late 14th early 16th centuries. The fairly wealthy and martial community that left it lived in the period of the spread of Christianity, but tenacious old customs were still retained in the funeral rites.