The Settlement Pribrezhnoye

LIETUVOS ARCHEOLOGIJA. 2004. T. 25, p. 135-156. ISSN 0207-8694 THE SETTLEMENT PRIBREZHNOYE EDWIN B. SALTSMAN The settlement of the Baltic Coastal Culture (Rzuce- dwellings could nave formed a settlement simultaneously. wo Culture) Pribrezhnoye was discovered by the author House 2 was on the southern edge of settlement. It in 1994. It is located in 0.2 kms west of the suburban set had an elongated form and its long axis was SW-NE orien tlement called Pribrezhnoye within the precincts of Kali ted (Fig. 2). The whole length of the construction is ningrad, at the coast of the Vistula bay (Fig. 1). In 17.70 m, the average width is 4 m. The walls of the dwel 2000-2002 the Neolithic Division continued excavations ling were formed by double rows of postholes (the dis of this site. Its whole investigated area is 554 m2. The set tance between them is 0.12-0.20 m). The diameter of tlement occupies the northern flat slope of sandy height postholes is 0.13-0.15 m and the depth is 0.15-0.35 m. (7.5 m above sea level), which is separated from the bay Along the long axis of the dwelling we can clearly see a by marsh-ridden lowland. row of rare large postholes from roof-supporting posts The whole area of the site was defined only approxi with diameter of 0.30-0.35 m and 0.40 m deep. There was mately, as the southern and extreme eastern parts were one more row of postholes (their diameter is 0.25-0.40 m) destroyed or built up in the past. We can only guess the there. It also passed along the internal rectangular of the original sizes. Judging by everything, the settlement oc construction, but was situated closer to its S-W wall. The cupied the territory of not less than 15000 m2. entrance was in the narrower N-E side of the house, on The stratigraphy is of the following character: direc the extension part. The dwelling had at least 2 living ro tly under the turf cover there is a layer of light-grey co oms or maybe more and was divided by a partition. loured ground with capacity from 0.08 up to 0.36 m. This The construction was sunken into the subsoil on the layer formed up owing to wind processes. Below it, there side of the entrance and in the middle part up to 0.15— is the actual culture layer. Stratigraphically it looks like a 0.30 m and then the layer became thicker to the butt-end whole and represents black coloured intensive ashen san of the house where it reached 0.60 m. The fill of the hou dy loam in the locations of inhabited constructions or grey se is the intensive ashen sandy loam of almost black co coloured ashen sandy loam in the interhousing space. The lour in its low part, closer to the top-layer it gradually capacity of the culture layer varies from 0.10 up to 0.80 m. becomes light-grey. Apparently the upper layer was for Under the culture layer there is yellow-grey subsoil sand med after some fire when the dwelling was deserted. The of insignificant capacity of 0.02-0.16 m. Subsoil sand for accumulated dust consists mainly of isolated fragments med up by infiltration of ashen particles from the cultu of ceramics. The round in the plan hearth with the diame re layer. Below it, there is light-yellow subsoil sand. ter of 1.20 m was situated almost in the center, of the dwel On the settlement the remains of 6 household const ling. It was 0.46 m deep. The samples of charcoal from ructions were excavated (the article contains the descrip this hearth gave the following radiocarbon data: tion of dwellings 2 and 3, the characteristics of others will 4220140 BP, cal. 2903 (2879) 2675 B.C. The majority of be given in a separate study which presently is under finds were concentrated in the bottom layer. Two well po preparation for publishing). Four houses had a post struc lished axes of hard kind of stone with a narrowed butt ture of extended form, traces of fire are on all of them were found here. Their dimensions are 12.5x4.5 CM and without any exception. Due to the black coloured filling, 12x5 sm accordingly (Fig. 3:18). By form they remind of the traces of constructions arc easily seen on the light- axes from the settlement at Nida (Rimantiene, 1989, p. 61). yellow sand. Taking into consideration the large size of The plummet represents a plane stone and a hollow the site, it is possible to assume the idea that nearly 20 (Fig. 3:17). Probably, a roughly polished mattock and a S T U V W 1 1 1 1 + A4 + f + 4- + M + ..4: • + • • • -i-o •© .4 - • • / + * • +••• • 9 line of the filling of dwelling heathers e I postholes LL__'J turf layer erosive under turf layer poor ashen sandy loam intensive ashen sandy loam WzzB w;m inciusjon of ashes llfl] ] I layer before subsoil stamper formed the grinder, what proves existence of ag space (Fig. 5), though house 3 has an earlier date. The „ riculture (Fig. 3:12, 14). Amber artefacts are not nume small trapezoid axe made of crystal rock had an oval sec rous at the settlement. An oblong formed lamellar pendant tion in the middle and a beveled top part (Fig. 5:12). was found in the house (Fig. 3:16). The ceramics is vario Another miniature trapezoid axe sized 2.6x2.5 cm was us in its forms. We can note apart wide-mouthed vessels made of slate (Fig. 5:13). It had two polished edges. The of group 3, but there are also other 5 groups of vessels in lens-formed amber decoration with a hole in the center the dwelling (Fig. 3:8, 10, 11). Only one amphora was had the diameter of 2.4 cm (Fig. 5:10). The ceramics is found. It had 2 handles and an oval rim (Fig. 3:13). Be represented by fragments of wide-mouthed vessels of akers had very slightly profiled necks, one of the vessels group 2 (Fig. 5:7), group 3 (Fig. 5:6), group 4 (Fig. 5:1), was decorated with tiny handles (Fig. 3:1, 2, 3,4). There group 6 (Fig. 5:4), deep bowls (Fig. 5:2,3), amphorae with are 2 types of bowls in the house: a finely ornamented sloping shoulders (Fig. 5:11). The beaker is notable for deep bowl and a sherd from the tray-shaped pot of low its almost straight neck and slightly narrowed to base bo side walls (Fig. 3:7, 6). dy (Fig. 5:8). The outlines of house 3, which is located in the ne The lay-out of settlement is connected to character of ighbourhood with house 2 and in parallel to it, were defi its landscape. The houses were inverted to the gulf by ned clearly enough (Fig. 4). The postholes limited their long side and followed the natural bend of the hill. precisely the construction of extended form, its long axis Dwellings 2 and 3 occupied the higher position on the hill was oriented SW-NE. Length of the construction is in and their butt-ends were rooted into its base. At the en vestigated for a distance of 13.20 m. The dwelling is sligh trance the surface of hill was transformed into the plane tly narrowed to the entrance and in the average part is terrace. 3.70 m wide. Its narrower part has 3.20 m. The extension The remains of post-structured dwellings repeatedly where the entrance was situated had the following dimen occur at Late Neolithic sites in the East Baltic region. In sions: 2.60x2.20 m. As in other household constructions, the settlements in Suchacz (the coast of the Vistula bay) along the center of the dwelling there was a row of rare there were double rows of posts and an extra row of roof- posts with diameter up to 0.32 m and up to 0.40 m in depth. supporting posts along the long axis. Inside the dwellings Closer to the NE wall of the dwelling in parallel to the (sized within 12 m) there were stone hearths (Ehrlich, basic row, there was one more row of large postholes. In 1936, p. 54-63). Constructions with hearths inside and some cases the posts were propped up by stones. Two double walls were also found during the excavations of external double rows of the stakeholes with the diameter Nida settlement in Lithuania (Rimantiene, 1996, p. 262). 0.14-0.15 m on the whole are parallel to each other, but The constructions were 7-10 m long and 4-5 m wide ave- the distance between them varies. They are numerous and ragely. The dwellings had several rooms. The remains of probably some of them were rearranged during the repair oblong dwellings were also found in the Eastern Lithuania of the construction, that is why it seems that they are ar in the settlement Žemaitiškė 2 (rnpnmiHKac, 1990, c. 88- ranged chaoticly. The postholes of larger size were also 89). Dwellings with structure of posts are known from the found regularly in external rows, their diameter was up to settlement Lagaža (Lubanskaya Ravnina). All of them were 0.30 m (and up to 0.60 m deep).

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