A Hundred years of archaeological discoveries in Lithuania

ENThe history of Lithuanian archaeology goes back three centuries, but the first facts recorded by archaeological excavations in this land date to the early 19th century. A good century after that, when the Russian Empire still ruled the land, the first information gathering processes were occurring during the excavation of ever new kinds of archaeological objects: hillforts, barrow cemeteries, flat cemeteries, etc. The acquisition of deep knowledge essentially began only after the First World War. The first archaeological generalisations date from that time (the most famous being the work by Jonas Puzinas (1905-T978) Naujausių proistorinių tyrinėjimų duomenys [Findings of the Most Recent Archaeological Explorations] (Kaunas, 1938)). As Lithuanian archaeology entered the 21st century, it was investigating almost every possible kind of archaeological object and employing the most advanced methods. The first scientific information about these investigations annually appears in the book Archeologiniai tyrinėjimai Lietuvoje [Archaeological Investigations in Lithuania], which has been published for 50 years now, i.e. since 1966, some of that time under somewhat different names. When up to 500 very diverse archaeological investigations are conducted in the country annually, it is difficult for such a publication to capture both their significance and their contribution to the knowledge of the prehistory of Lithuania and the region. Fortunately, the presentation of the data from the latest investigations to the scientific community and broad public is not a hurried process. In light of all this, the book's editorial team decided to assemble a survey of the achievements of Lithuanian archaeology during the last century (from the end of the First World Warto the present).In light of all this, the book's editorial team decided to assemble a survey of the achievements of Lithuanian archaeology during the last century (from the end of the First World Warto the present). This survey was to be prepared by specialists in the separate periods and to be based on the investigations of several of the most significant objects that characterise the region or period under discussion. Each specialist was allowed to examine their topic in their own way and so the articles differ somewhat. Nevertheless, as a whole, they present a fairly comprehensive image of Lithuanian archaeology, from the traces of the first people to walk the land to the archaeological heritage of 19,h-20,h-century events, which are already purely historical. The result is this distinctive, profusely illustrated, English volume on Lithuanian archaeology. [Extract, p. 7].