Smailieji kovos peiliai-durklai baltų kraštuose I m. e. tūkstantmečio viduryje

LTŠio straipsnio tikslas - iš peilių ir kalavijų, literatūroje minėtų įvairiais terminais, išskirti savitą, Vidgirių kapinynui būdingą, ilgų kovai skirtų peilių grupę - smailiuosius kovos peilius-durklus, turinčius prie nugarėlės griovelius. Aptarti jų chronologiją, paplitimo teritoriją, kilmę, pamėginti rekonstruoti jų nešiojimo būdą. Šiuos peilius išskirti į atskirą grupę paskatino dar ir tai, kad pastaraisiais metais, tyrinėjant Nemuno žemupio ir Vidurio Lietuvos kapinynus, ypač padaugėjo duomenų, liudijančių, kad tokie peiliai atspindi tam tikrus etninius, teritorinius ir chronologinius dėsningumus [p. 28].

ENRecent excavations of the burial fields in the lower Nemunas and central Lithuania have uncovered large numbers of knives that represent a relatively rare type: tapered battle knife-daggers. These specialized weapons are 25-26 cm in length, with a very short tang of 4-6 cm. The blade is at the widest (2.5-4.5 cm) near the tang. At about midpoint, the blade begins to taper and terminates in a very slender dagger tip. Along the dull side of the blade run two or three grooves. As the knife's center of gravity is near the handle, we can infer that the weapon had a thrusting or stabbing function. The concentration of the knives in a well-defined region suggests an association with a distinct ethnic group. Their archaeological context also represents a relatively short time span, at about AD 450-550, and the artifact type therefore has potential value as a temporal horizon-marker. The older archaeological literature from the East Prussia indicates that prior to WWII some 60 knives of this type were found at 20 sites in this region. They are variously named as one-edged swords, battle-knives or daggers. It is also known that a substantial number of these knives were not published.A few battle-daggers were also found in pre-WWII Lithuania and deposited in museums, but not described in the literature. From 1960, however, they have been more frequently found and recorded in archaeological investigations, especially in the ongoing cemetery excavations at Vidgiriai, Plinkaigalis, Kalniškiai, and Marvelė. In light of these new finds, for example, that they were worn in conjunction with a diagonal shoulder strap. They are associated with a certain complex of artifacts. The distribution of Baltic sites with knife-daggers extends along a coastal zone from Elblag near the Gulf of Gdansk to the north as far as Liepaja, Latvia. They are also well represented along the banks of the Nemunas up to Kaunas, and in the Nevėžis basin. The appearance of the knife-dragger in these regions coincides with other distinct changes that take place in the material culture, and this may reflect a period of historical turbulence. In my opinion, a probable explanation is the arrival by the 5-6th centuries A.D. of foreign groups in-migrating from the middle Danubian region. This is supported by the point of view among weapon specialists that the origin of the battle knife-dragger lies with nomadic tribes from the Pontic-Caspian area who later migrated to the middle Danube.