Šiaulių kapinynas

LT2009 m. baigti archeologiniai tyrinėjimai Šiaulių kapinyno (unikalus kodas 27096) teritorijoje, rekonstruojamo Vaisių gatvės 16A namo sklype. Iškasta viena perkasa (P-8), ištirtas 27,4 m2 plotas. Šiaulių kapinynas (27096) Vaisių gatvėje tyrinėtas 1961, 1998 (žr. ATL 1998 ir 1999 metais, V., 2000, p. 271–273), 2007 (žr. ATL 2007 metais, V., 2008, p. 189–190) ir 2008 m. (žr. ATL 2007 metais, V., 2009, p. 128–130), ištirta 12 kapų [p. 125].

ENDuring a 2009 excavation on the grounds of Šiauliai cemetery, trench 8 (18 m long and 1–2.7 m wide) was excavated. All of the investigated objects were divided into two groups: cemetery finds and the old town objects which disturbed the burials. The old town objects included stone foundations, wooden stakes, and canine bones. Sherds found in the vicinity of the stones and under them allow the building to be dated to the 18th–19th century. During the 2009 investigation the bones from two small animals were found. One of them is a dog connected with the old town period, the other a whole chicken which should belong to the cemetery period. It cannot have been used for food so it was probably sacrificed during funeral-related rites. In 2009 six burials (11–16), found at a depth of 0.84–1.2 m, were excavated. Five burials were oriented in the usual NW or SE direction. Only burial 11, that of a male, was oriented differently: 15° (NE). The females were buried with their heads to the SE, males to the NW. Burials 12, 13, and 14 were arranged in one row, burial 15 in another. Burials 11 and 16 were between these two rows. All of the individuals had been buried supine, the legs extended, and the arms in various positions. A socketed axe and tanged knife were placed in burial 11 for the male there. Coil beads and one spacer plate, i. e. fragments of a coil bead chaplet with a narrow spacer plate were collected in the vicinity of burials 12 and 13. Stones were found in the pit in burial 14, but none in the other pits. Since 1961, 263.9 m2 have been excavated in Šiauliai cemetery and 18 burials with few or no grave goods found. This was a flat cemetery dating to the 4th–5th centuries.