An Archaeologist and His Road to Voruta

AN ARCHAEOLOGIST AND HIS ROAD TO VORUTA ALBINAS KUNCEVIČIUS An Archaeologist An Archaeologist Voruta and His Road to ALBINAS KUNCEVIČIUS My friend and colleague Gintautas Zabiela is celebrat- cially considering his busy schedule and his inquisitive ing his fiftieth birthday. I first learned about this from mind, and his willingness to see and learn anything. my colleagues at Klaipėda University, Vladas Žulkus, I racked my brains for quite a while, trying to think and Audronė Bliujienė, the editor of this publication, how I could tell readers about my friend. I tried one who decided to mark the anniversary by dedicating this way, but quickly became bored, as what I had written issue of Archaeologia Baltica to him. They asked me seemed more appropriate for a jubilee toast or a formal for an assessment of Gintautas Zabiela’s work, and I report. Then I tried another way, but again something agreed with great pleasure. We have known each other was wrong. And then I had the idea that the best thing for years. I know his work thoroughly, I consult it regu- to do would be to have an informal talk with Gintautas. larly, and quote from it during my lectures and in my An interview might be unusual for a research publi- own work. And I suggest that archaeology students do cation; but in this case it is the perfect opportunity to the same. tell readers about his, in my opinion, highly successful research career as an archaeologist, and to discuss the situation in archaeology in Lithuania at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century. Associate Professor Dr Gintautas Zabiela, I have in- vited you for a talk, because my friends and your colleagues from Klaipėda University have asked me to write an article on your work and about you to mark the occasion of your fiftieth birthday. First, I got a call from Professor Vladas Žulkus, and then from Dr Audronė Bliujienė, editor of the university’s publication Archaeologia Baltica. Audronė also asked me, ‘You know, Gintas has a good sense of humour, so maybe you can try and write something “informal”. I tried, but the result was not exactly what I’d wanted. I think I know you quite well: we are nearly the same age, we both work on the archaeology of historical times; we meet quite often to discuss issues concerning archaeology or monument protection; and we’ve had the Gintautas Zabiela takes aerial photographs of hill-forts chance to spend longer together on several occasions for the Atlas of Lithuanian Hill-Forts; January 2005 (photograph by Z. Baubonis). (such as on that bus trip from Germany, or at Bamberg University’s conference on Mediaeval archaeology). But let’s start from the beginning. I know that you were I accepted, but it took me a long time to get round to born on 11 May 1962 in Vaitkuškis, in the Anykščiai it. This is an honourable jubilee. Therefore, it would district, but went to Leliūnai secondary school in the be unfair to simply enumerate his past work or repeat Utena district, and left in 1980 with a gold medal. I’ve exhaustive data about his person and his career, espe- even tried to find Vaitkuškis on Google, but could not; although, as far as I remember, when we were passing 14 With his parents in the village of Vaitkuškis (in the Anykščiai district) in 1964. BALTICA 16 BALTICA ARCHAEOLOGIA I Leliūnai once, you mentioned that it was the village When we moved to Leliūnai in the summer of 1978, TO GINTAUTAS where you were born. the history teacher Vidmantas Kutka was looking for ZABIELA, people to help in the excavations of Diktarai burial A FRIEND That’s right, I went to Leliūnai secondary school. I AND COLLEAGUE site. They needed five or six people to work there dur- was born ten kilometres from Leliūnai, in the village ing the summer, for five rubles each. This old burial of Vaitkuškis, which is in the Anykščiai district. There site was one of the many sites explored by Vytautas used to be a single farmstead there in the 19th century, Urbanavičius. Most of the burials there date from and then two farmsteads in the first half of the 20th the 16th century. Diktarai is three or four kilometres century. That’s where I was born. There is nothing left from Leliūnai. So we would ride to the excavation site there now. Land reclamation destroyed everything. In by bike. That was my first encounter with archaeol- 1968, my parents moved to the village of Juškonys, ogy. During the excavations, I worked as an ordinary situated two kilometres away. I went to primary school worker, a digger, but I enjoyed it. There were excava- in Juškonys, and then, from the fourth grade, I went tions, preparations ... and the number of graves found to Skiemonys secondary school for four years. At that there was quite large, maybe a hundred. We excavated time, they started merging the smaller collective farms throughout the summer, although, as you know, Vytau- into larger ones, so the former Lenin collective farm tas Urbanavičius would always excavate quite fast. We was joined to the Anykščių šilelis collective farm, and would start digging in the morning, after two or three in 1975 my parents moved to Leliūnai. Leliūnai was al- hours we would have uncovered a grave, and then we ways a larger centre, and even had a church. Therefore, would keep busy till the end of the day with the prep- from the eighth grade till when I completed school, I aration. That was the daily routine. But I enjoyed all lived in Leliūnai. those things. I was fascinated by the science and the profession. I began looking at which educational insti- I am intrigued by the fact that you left secondary tutions I could enter, and it was clear that there was no school with a gold medal, but you nevertheless chose choice other than to study history at Vilnius University. archaeology. At that time, there was no separate study of archaeology at the university. Why did you choose So you mean that you had no other ideas, only archae- archaeology? When someone finishes school with ex- ology? cellent results, they can choose from among other more prestigious professions, both nowadays and then. Why Only archaeology. I knew what I wanted to do. Even at archaeology? Even now, in my capacity as a lecturer, I school, when we had to write essays and fill in all kinds might add that far from every applicant is highly moti- of questionnaires about future professions, my teachers vated or well informed about his or her future profes- could not quite grasp what I meant by ‘an archaeolo- sion. gist’. Of course, they knew what archaeology was, but 15 An Archaeologist An Archaeologist Voruta and His Road to ALBINAS KUNCEVIČIUS Beside the Pedersborg hill-fort in Denmark during the conference ‘Castella maris Baltici 5’, September 1999. it was rather strange that a ninth or tenth-grade school- cialised studies in archaeology began at the university, boy was so eager to pursue a career in a profession that the period was actually an interregnum. It was a time was hardly ever mentioned at school. of generational change. Then Professor Dr Mykolas Michelbertas came to teach at the university, but he came slightly later and did not teach me. Now I joke Then we can say that to a certain extent it was Vytautas that I studied archaeology at the university only up to Urbanavičius who inspired your interest in archaeolo- the birth of Christ, and then nobody lectured on later gy and guided you. Let’s go back to your studies. When times ... the Iron Age, let alone later times ... I was not you entered the university to study history, at that time taught those subjects at university. On the other hand, it was only possible to specialise from the third year. there was Vladas Daugudis’ specialised course, and a Did you change your mind during your studies? I re- very good course in anthropology by Professor Dr Gin- member from my experience that Pranas Kulikauskas, tautas Česnys. Also, Dr Jonas Stankus gave lectures on the only archaeologist at the university, had nearly metals and the analysis of them, and Mykolas Michel- finished working as a lecturer, whereas Aleksiejus bertas gave a course in numismatics. Luchtanas, who had recently completed his studies and his military service, was only just beginning. If we compare those times with the present-day state of And what about field trips? studies in archaeology at the universities of Vilnius and After my first year, in the summer of 1981, there were Klaipėda, the situation then was quite different, and excavations at Obeliai burial site, headed by Vytau- specialised studies, especially the practice, were based tas Urbanavičius. At that time, they were excavating on personal aspirations and ambitions. the burial site on the lake shore. I spent a month or As far as my studies were concerned, I tried to go so there. As you know, archaeology covers a wide deeper into archaeological subjects on my own. Al- range of historical periods. However, I was not sure though Pranas Kulikauskas was still lecturing, he was yet which way to turn. I knew that the Stone Age did about to retire. During those two years, Aleksiejus not appeal to me. Furthermore, by that time, I knew Luchtanas was doing his military service and did not more about research into late-period burial sites and lecture.

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