Veliuonos piliakalnių aplinka

LT2007 m. rugpjūčio–spalio mėnesiais Veliuonos piliakalnio (A690P) bei Veliuonos piliakalnio II su papiliu (A691KP) aplinkoje buvo atlikti archeologiniai tyrinėjimai. Šioje vietoje numatomi esamo kelio rekonstrukcijos darbai. Planuojama kelią, jungiantį Veliuonos miestelio centrą su Kauno–Jurbarko plentu, praplėsti, pakeisti dangą, atlikti kitus rekonstrukcinius darbus. Kadangi 350 m ilgio rekonstruojamo kelio atkarpa yra paminklinėje teritorijoje, prieš pradedant vykdyti žemės judinimo darbus vykdyti archeologiniai kasinėjimai. Veliuonos piliakalniai įrengti Nemuno ir Veliuonos santakoje esančiame aukštumos kyšulyje. Piliakalnį nuo papilio skiria 30 m pločio ir 17 m gylio griovys. Numatomas rekonstruoti kelias eina šiuo grioviu, supa papilį (Pilies kalną) iš ŠR pusės ir užkyla į gretimą kalvą link miestelio centro. Archeologiniai tyrimai atlikti vadovaujantis UAB „Kelprojektas“ pateiktu topografiniu planu, jame pažymėtose ribose nuo esamos kelio ašies. Ištirtos dvi 14 ir 20 m2 perkasos, 17 šurfų po 4 m2, 71x1,5 m (106 m2) kelio šlaito pjūvis, iš viso – 208 m2. Teritorija, kurioje numatomi žemės judinimo darbai, patikrinta metalo detektoriumi (apie 1000 m2). Taip pat surinkta istorinė medžiaga, ankstesnių archeologinių tyrinėjimų duomenys. Dalyje numatomos kelio praplėtimo zonos archeologinių kasinėjimų atlikti buvo neįmanoma. 70 m atkarpoje, esančioje tarp Veliuonos piliakalnio (A690P) bei Veliuonos piliakalnio II (A691KP), kasinėti neleidžia paminklosauginiai reikalavimai. Šis kelio ruožas yra įsiterpęs tarp dviejų piliakalnių šlaitų, tad norint ištirti plotą – po 5 m nuo esamos kelio ašies – tektų nukasti ir iki 5 m aukščio abiejų piliakalnių šlaitų apačias. [...] [p. 129-130].

ENIn 2007 a field evaluation was conducted at a planned road reconstruction site in the vicinity of the Veliuona hill fort site (Jurbarkas district). Two trenches (14 m2 and 20 m2), seventeen test pits (4 m2 each), and a 71x1.5 m (106 m2) exploratory trench alongside the road, a total of 208 m2, were excavated. The road was rebuilt during the interwar period, the angle of the incline was lowered, and it was paved with stone. During the Soviet period, ditches with reinforced concrete channels were built on both sides of the road. In trench I fill, mostly gravelly soil, was discovered up to a depth of 1.2 m. Only at a depth of 2 m was the ground surface from the period of the hill fort’s use during the 13th–14th centuries reached: charred wood particles attesting to fires, animal bones, and several pottery sherds. No highly distinct cultural layer was found and evidently the foot of the hill fort site was not settled. A similar stratigraphic situation was also observed in test pits 1 and 2. Test pits 3–5 were excavated in the narrow strip between the existing road and the reinforced concrete trough. It was revealed that the archaeologically valuable cultural layers had been destroyed here during earlier road reconstruction work. Test pits 6–9 were excavated somewhat further from the axis of the existing road and followed the boundaries shown in the topographic plan. In test pits 7–9 a layer of rubble up to 1 m thick and dating to the 20th century was discovered. Only in test pit 8 was a fragment of a stone foundation and brick wall dating to the 19th–20th centuries uncovered at a depth of 30 cm.Another test pit (number 10), a 71 m long exploratory trench in the road’s slope, and trench II were excavated on the same side of the road. A layer of black earth up to 1.2 m thick that contained diverse 20th century rubbish was discovered in the test pit. The corner of a brick building: stone foundations and brick wall were discovered in trench II at a depth of 30 cm. The building should be connected with the outbuildings of a manor house that was located on the other side of the road. It was still marked on plans from the late 19th century. Another 7 test pits (11–17), in which nothing of archaeological value was found, were excavated on the NE side of the road. Only in test pits 13–14 was stone paving, evidently laid during the interwar period, unearthed at a depth of 20 cm. During the entire excavation period 5 registered artefacts were discovered (all in trench I): a 14th century crossbow bolt tip, a 19th century brooch with a coat-of-arms, and 3 part-thrown pot sherds. An abundance of 19th–20th century material, which should be connected with the nearby former manor house, was collected in the trenches and test pits: about 300 household pottery sherds, 170 animal bones, 47 stove tile sherds, 70 various iron artefacts, mostly nails, and various glass shards.