Kartenos piliakalnio kompleksas

LTKartenos piliakalnis su gyvenviete (UK 23783) yra Kartenos miestelio (Kretingos r., Kartenos sen.) P pakraštyje, Minijos kairiajame krante. Jam priskirta teritorija apima 7 ha. Rašytiniuose šaltiniuose Kartena (Cartine) pirmąkart paminėta 1253 m. Archeologinėje literatūroje piliakalnis žinomas nuo 1899 m. XX a. pradžioje jį žvalgė L. Kšivickis, 1948 ir 1966 m.-LII, 1982 m.-MMT, 1992 m.-KPC, o 1995 m.-J. Kanarskas. Vizualinio apsaugos zonos pozonio žvalgomuosius archeologinius tyrimus 2011 m. vykdė B. Lisauskaitė (ATL 2011 metais, V., 2012, p. 635). Žvalgymų metu į P–PV nuo piliakalnio aptikta papėdės gyvenvietė. Piliakalnis su gyvenviete datuoti I tūkst. II puse-XIII a. Iš viso 2012 m. Kartenos piliakalnio su gyvenviete teritorijoje ir vizualiniame apsaugos zonos pozonyje buvo ištirtas 143,36 m2 plotas, o archeologiniai žvalgymai atlikti 6250 m2 plote. Surinkta 14 individualių ir 136 masinės medžiagos (74 lipdytos lygiu ir grublėtu paviršiumi keramikos šukės, po 1 apžiestą ir žiestą keramikos šukę, 6 degintiniai kauliukai, gyvulio dantis, 18 molio tinko pavyzdžių, 33 šovinių tūtos ir 2 kulkos)) radinių. Iš jų IX– XIII a. datuojami 10 individualių radinių (titnago nuoskala ir fragmentai, žalvariniai dirbiniai, švino fragmentas), lipdyta ir apžiesta keramika, molio tinko pavyzdžiai ir osteologinė medžiaga. Viena žiesta šukė priskiriama XVII– XVIII a., o kiti kultūrinę-muziejinę vertę turintys radiniai (šaudmenys, sidabro žiedas, monetos)-XIX–XX a. Piliakalnis datuojamas I tūkst.-XIII a. Tyrimų medžiaga (radiniai, brėžinių originalai, ataskaitoje nepanaudotos skaitmeninės nuotraukos) saugomi KM. [...]. [Iš teksto, p. 87, 94]

ENIn 2012, 143.36 m2 were excavated and 6250 m2 surveyed on the grounds of Kartena hillfort and settlement (Kretinga district, W Lithuania) and in their protection zone. The cultural layer in the hillfort’s enclosure has been ploughed and partially destroyed by military fortifications. The 4–6 cm thick bottom horizon of the cultural layer has survived under a 28–29 cm thick layer of formerly ploughed topsoil. Aboveground pole structures stood on the hillfort hill. The postholes were arranged in a circular or slightly elongated oval plan, were 22–33 cm (more rarely 36–40 cm) in diameter, had a semicircular, bowl-shaped, and, towards the bottom, a narrowing cylindrical cross-section, sometimes had steps on one side, were set 9–32 cm into the ground, and were arranged in rows at intervals of 10–58 cm. The intervals between the structures were 85–120 cm. Some of the posts had a circle or semicircle of stones at the base. A 35–47 cm thick cultural layer under an 80–86 cm thick layer of fill and surface erosion deposits was discovered at the NW foot of the hillfort. The lower settlement’s 10–14 cm thick cultural layer, which is under a 32–42 cm thick layer of formerly ploughed soil, was discovered at the E foot.The cultural layer from the protected upper settlement at its foot has been badly damaged by ploughing and was bulldozed during melioration work, but has survived in the lower locations. Three fire sites were excavated in the settlement. They were round, bowlshaped in cross-section, and filled with soil containing large and small pieces of charcoal, small pieces of clay daub, flakes of burnt stone, sherds of hand built pottery, and isolated burnt bones. Bronze artefacts (a ring with a widened bezel and overlapping terminals, a strap distributor with two strap ends, fragment of a pin’s crossbar, etc.), a flint flake, hand built and partly thrown pottery with smooth and rough surfaces, and 19th–20th-century finds were discovered during the excavation. No cultural layer was found beside the mythological rock with a cow’s or the Devil’s footprints that is near the hillfort. The hillfort and settlement date to the second half of the 1st millennium-13th century. [From the publication]