Žardės neįtvirtinta gyvenvietė ir buvusio Gibišių piliakalnio vieta

Abstract

In 2023, exploratory excavations (Fig. 1) were carried at the unfortified settlement of Žardė and at the location of the former Gibišiai hillfort (Klaipėda, W Lithuania). the excavation focused on the S side of the Žardė settlement, which was occupied in the late 1st and early 2nd millennium and in the 16th–18th centuries. A total of 16 test pits (32 m2 in total) were excavated in a 410-m-long section of the settlement. At the site of the former Gibišiai hillfort, two trenches covering a total of 20 m 2 were excavated in a 130-m-long section. Thus, the total size of the investigated area at both sites was 52 m2. Test pits 5 and 6 in the W part of the Žardė settlement encountered a cultural layer, which contained archaeological finds, at depths ranging from 0.35 m to 0.5 m and measuring 3–15 cm in thickness. the layer was composed of a black peaty soil with charred inclusions, burnt stone and clay fragments, and hand-built and wheel-thrown pottery dating to the 11 th –13 th centuries (Fig. 2). charcoal samples were collected for AMS 14c dating. The site of the former Gibišiai hillfort revealed a 20 cm layer of peaty soil, as well as redeposited, mixed, and mechanically redistributed cultural layers up to 1.2 m in thickness. A pit measuring 8.3 m in width and up to 1.2 m in depth was discovered in trench 1 – possibly a disturbed defensive ditch of the former hillfort (?).