Multidisciplinary Research in Late Bronze Age Kukuliškiai Settlement (Klaipėda District): Methods and Primary Results

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present the most important results of the archaeological research of the Kukuliškiai settlement (Klaipėda district) in 2017–2020. During 3 seasons of the research, more than 3 hectares of the territory on the Littorina sea terrace were scanned by GPR, 101 geological drills were hammered, and an area of 45m2 was investigated. Fifteen AMS 14C dates were taken from different objects and stratigraphic layers of the settlement. Dating showed that settlement was contemporaneous and occupied around c. 800–400 cal BC. The complexity and scope of the research provides valuable insights into the lifestyle of Late Bronze Age coastal community. The discovery of wooden structures, organic artefacts and ecofacts indicates that the site provides excellent conditions for the survival of organics, of which there are only a dozen in Lithuania. The site and the collected research data, therefore, offer exceptional opportunities for the study of Bronze Age life not only in the coastal Lithuanian, but also in the southeastern Baltic region.

Keywords

• Late Bronze Age
• southeastern Baltic
• hillfort
• hilltop settlement
• pottery