Medininkų pilies restauravimas: mintys po penkerių metų

ENArchaeologist Dr. Linas Girlevičius, who participated in the exploration and restoration of Medininkai Castle from 2009 until 2012, found no artefacts dating from earlier than the 14th century. Neither did he find artefacts that could help to establish a precise date for the beginning of construction at the castle. However, he did discover clear traces of a fire that took place in 1402, and a cultural layer that had accumulated for around one hundred years beneath the fire stratum. L. Girlevičius, as well as Sigitas Lasav- ickas, believe the construction of the castle took around a hundred years. Some confusion existed regarding the marsh that lay in the northern part of Medininkai Castle. For a long time, it was believed that the location of the castle had been selected specifically for its proximity to the swamp, so that sufficient water was available for livestock and fire fighting in case of sieges. Between 2009 and 2012, however, it was discovered otherwise. Excavations revealed that the ground floor of the north-eastern tower was below the water level of the swamp. It was therefore decided to carefully drain the area around the tower, lowering the water level by 30 cm. Dried peat can shrink by up to 10 times, and it was feared that this could endanger the foundations of the tower. This did not occur, demonstrating that the marsh must have appeared after the castle was built. The bottom of the elevator shaft that was installed in the tower during reconstruction still remains in water-laden soil, and so had to be encased in a specially designed stainless steel enclosure.A building located beside the western wall of the castle was thoroughly investigated during the archaeological excavation. It had a number of uses - from holding animals to administrative and residential purposes. Buildings constructed inside the defensive walls were a typical feature of the castle’s architecture, so it was not difficult to decide on the reconstruction of this building. Reconstruction of the main tower, which had been halted in 2002, recommenced with the installation of reinforced concrete beams for the ceiling panels, to replace the existing ones. This was important for binding together the walls of the tower. Areas that had been subject to further restoration were covered with plaster, except for corner stones and window edges. The facades that were to be covered with plaster were recessed 2 cm deeper into the surface, compared to these masonry details. The outside of the tower was left unplastered, despite the fact that the surfaces that had initially been planned to be covered with plaster were built of standard, rather than restoration, bricks. Thanks to the experience of Dr. Linas Girlevičius and based on his recommendations, engineering solutions have been designed in such a way as to minimise archaeological obstacles to their implementation. Therefore, when proposals were prepared in 2014 for the further reconstruction of Medininkai Castle, a completely different direction was chosen, giving priority to archaeological considerations. Former proposals to heighten the masonry wall were shelved, and instead the wall was to be recovered from a stratum of ruins up to eight metres in depth. In this way, the height of the masonry would be increased not according to hypothesis, but strictly on the basis of scientific fact.The opening of the entire masonry perimeter of the castle has been proposed, from the inside to the stone pavement, and from the outside to the escarpment. This would involve the removal of soil up to the centre of the ditch if its cross-sectional view were triangular, or right up to the inner edge if it were trapezoidal. If the ditch had dams to regulate the water level, their remains should be found and restored. If no dams existed, then the water barrier must have been unplanned, accidental, momentary and seasonal. The removal of all trees and shrubs from the escarpment has also been proposed, as after removing a thick layer of ruins mixed with soil, the plants would lose their roots. This would be an initial step. The southern tower, which is almost covered by ruins, would become visible from the outside. After opening it up, the foundation of the western gate could be displayed, covered with a modern canopy, which would reveal the former extent of the gate. It would be possible to open up the outside of the eastern gate, which is now almost entirely buried under ruins. The central part of the castle territory, which contains the foundations of buildings mentioned in the inventory of 1622, as well as fragments of pavements, should be explored and displayed if possible. It is known that a chapel was built in the middle of the courtyard, but its exact location is not yet known.