Books by Olga Khomiakova
FEMALE DRESS OF SAMBIAN-NATANGIAN CULTURE OF THE I–IV A.D.
COMPONENT ANALYSIS AND CHRONOLOGY. GER... more FEMALE DRESS OF SAMBIAN-NATANGIAN CULTURE OF THE I–IV A.D.
COMPONENT ANALYSIS AND CHRONOLOGY. GERMANIA-SARMATIA: MONOGRAPH (1)
Papers by Olga Khomiakova
Bronze bracelets with widened ends from the Sambian-Natangian culture are the earliest examples o... more Bronze bracelets with widened ends from the Sambian-Natangian culture are the earliest examples of such items in the Baltic region and the western part of the East European Plain. According to burial complexes, their appearance in the adornments of local tribes dates to the second half of the 3rd century – early 4th century. The latest specimens are dated to the second half of the 5th century. These bracelets were imitations of prestigious decorations made from precious metals, characteristic of the Germanic elites of the late Roman period and the beginning of the Migration Period. However, unlike their prototypes, these bracelets served as simple ornaments used as symbols of identity with the culture of Northern European tribes.
The article presents an overview of the glass beads of the Sambian-Natangian culture of the 1st –... more The article presents an overview of the glass beads of the Sambian-Natangian culture of the 1st – 5th centuries and the early medieval culture of the Prussians of the 6th – 8th centuries. The main attention is devoted to the items of the period of Roman influences of the 1st – 4th centuries. Beads as objects of mass import appeared in the South-Eastern Baltics as soon as the Amber Way started functioning at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. They are found in largest numbers in the inventory of women’s burials.
The arrival of glass beads into this region was directly related to the intensity of the amber trade. These items serve as one of the chronological markers. Up to two thirds of all beads known in the Sambian-Natangian area belong to the period of intensive contacts between the local population and the Middle
Danube centers in the first half of the 2nd century. In the 3rd – 4th centuries, objects characteristic of the early Roman period were replaced with jewelry, that has the greatest number of parallels in the barbaric territories of Northern and Central Europe. In the 2nd – early 3rd centuries Sambian-Natangian necklaces form from several tens to hundreds of beads. In the 3rd – 4th centuries, such necklaces are rare, and contain up to ten beads in average. Since the Migration period, their number has been minimal.
Краткие сообщения Института археологии (КСИА), 2020
Рассматриваются булавки самбийско-натангийской культуры Юго-Восточной Прибалтики из женских компл... more Рассматриваются булавки самбийско-натангийской культуры Юго-Восточной Прибалтики из женских комплексов I–V вв. В женском уборе они наиболее разнообразны и представляют собой маркер межкультурных контактов и особый компонент региональной модели убора. Для реконструкции местоположения булавок в уборе костюма местных племен привлекаются сравнительные данные соседних территорий. Импортные по большей части и нехарактерные для самбийско-натангийского женского убора булавки, возможно, могли использоваться по-разному: как деталь одежды, элемент прически, головного убора, быть скрученными на манер подвески в составе ожерелий. В раннесредневековой культуре пруссов VI–VIII вв. булавки исчезают из женского убора, редко встречаясь в инвентаре детских и мужских захоронений. The paper examines the pins found in women’s assemblages from cemeteries in the Kaliningrad Peninsuladating to 1st–8th centuries. The pins are analyzed as a marker of cultural links and an element of local population clothes.
Archaeologia BALTICA, 2016
The article deals with characteristics of the cultural landscape of archaeological sites of Dollk... more The article deals with characteristics of the cultural landscape of archaeological sites of Dollkeim-Kovrovo (Sambian-Natangian) culture dating from the Roman Period. The study is based on a spatial analysis, and is built on the currently known information, drawn from prewar archives, publications, research from the second half of the 20th century, and on the results of field surveys conducted by the author. GIS-based techniques were applied. The archaeological sites from the Roman Period located on the eastern border of Dollkeim-Kovrovo Culture in the valleys of the River Pregolja and the River Dejma are the focus of attention. In order to carry out a comparative analysis, information on the burial grounds of the 'cultural core' on the Samland Peninsula is used. The spatial layout of the burial grounds and settlements is analysed. As a result, a pattern for the spatial evolution of Dollkeim-Kovrovo culture in the Roman Period and the testing of the hypothesis of the existence of 'contact zones' in the West Balt cultural circle are proposed for consideration.
Archaeologia BALTICA, 2015
Artefacts from Orehovo grave 8 and Rovnoe grave 26, adorned with concentric circles and zones wit... more Artefacts from Orehovo grave 8 and Rovnoe grave 26, adorned with concentric circles and zones with Sshaped relief stamps (Fig. 2.3,5), are also defined by the convex central part. The diameter of the brooch from Orehovo is about 5.4 centimetres, the item from Rovnoe is smaller, about 3.7 centimetres.
Статья посвящена системе расселения самбийско-натангийской культуры Юго-Восточной Прибалтики I ты... more Статья посвящена системе расселения самбийско-натангийской культуры Юго-Восточной Прибалтики I тыс. н.э., роли в ней городищ, структуре отдельных центров расселения. Городища рассматриваются в качестве доминант в культурном ландшафте, которые организовывали округу с неукрепленными поселениями и хозяйственными зонами. Могильники находились на периферии таких центров. Отдельные центры расселения формировали концентрации памятников в местах сбора янтаря на Калининградском полуострове, вдоль Преголи и побережья Калининградского залива, важных для контроля транспортных коммуникаций. Данная система была довольно устойчивой и могла существовать длительный период на протяжении I тыс., эволюционировав в систему расселения раннесредневековых пруссов.
The article discusses the settlement system of the Sambian-Natangian culture of the South-Eastern Baltic region in the 1st millennium AD, the role of hillforts in it, and the structure of individual settlement centres. Hillforts are considered as dominants in the cultural landscape; together with unfortified settlements and economic zones they formed single districts. Burial grounds were located on the periphery of such centres. Individual settlement centres produced clusters of sites in the locations of amber gathering on the Kaliningrad Peninsula, along the Pregol River and the Kaliningrad Bay coast, which were important for the control of transport routes. This system was quite stable and could exist for a long period during the 1st millennium, evolving into the settlement system of the early medieval Prussians.
By the 5th century AD, massive gold bracelets with widened ends became one of the elements of pre... more By the 5th century AD, massive gold bracelets with widened ends became one of the elements of prestigious culture, symbolizing the power of the heads of barbarian tribal associations. Zones of concentration of such products in the 5th century are located in the Carpathian-Danube region and Gallia. In the western part of the East European Plain in the 5th century. under the influence of this fashion for displaying high social status, bracelets with extended ends made of silver, a material available to the tribes of these territories, became widespread. There are two zones of their concentration: the northern zone in the Baltics, Upper Dnieper region, and Middle Oka region; and the southern zone in the Middle Dnieper region and the left-bank forest-steppe of the Dnieper. Bracelets made of silver and its alloys from the Middle Dnieper region were found in women's burials and hoards, indicating their connection with female dress. Their appearance could be associated with the influence of the «Middle Danube» model of female dress during the Great Migration period, and this model persisted until the 6th-7th centuries. The second group of bracelets is documented in the antiquities of Nemunas and Western Dvina basins in the Baltics. They are predominantly found in male warrior complexes dated to the 5th century, belonging to the members of collectives that could control strategically important routes connecting Scandinavia and Southeastern Baltic with more eastern territories.
The paper presents the results of the investigation relating to the Yakovlevo/ Ilischken cemetery... more The paper presents the results of the investigation relating to the Yakovlevo/ Ilischken cemetery of the Sambian-Natangian culture. This cemetery known since the end of the 19th century because of the find of a pugio, which is a type of Roman dagger weapon, is unique for the southeastern Baltic region; archaeologically it has never been examined before. Our study found that the graves in this cemetery are represented by individual cremations roofed with concentric stone structures. The funerary assemblage in the graves includes items imported from the Roman provinces as well as their derivates dating to the middle–end of the 1st – startup of the 2nd centuries AD. The cemetery is located within one of the centers inhabited by the eastern population of the Sambian-Natangian culture which settled along the routes of the transport communications related to amber trade.
Abstract. Spindle whorls of the Sambian-Natangian culture of the 1st–5th centuries and
the early ... more Abstract. Spindle whorls of the Sambian-Natangian culture of the 1st–5th centuries and
the early medieval culture of the Prussians dating to the 6th–8th centuries are found in female
graves and at settlements. During the Roman period these items were represented by
the types characteristic for neighboring Central European cultures, in particular, the Wielbark
culture. Some items are imported. The earliest spindle whorls have been found in inhumation
burials of the Early Roman period, they became a typical item of the funerary
assemblages starting from the first half – middle of the 2nd century. Characteristic forms of
the items existed during a long period, and can be found in the contexts related to the Migration
period and the Merovingian dynasty period. The forms of the spindle whorls discovered
at the unfortified settlements in the Kaliningrad
Abstract. The paper publishes results of the 2015 excavations of the Il’ichevka 1
settlement in ... more Abstract. The paper publishes results of the 2015 excavations of the Il’ichevka 1
settlement in the Kaliningrad region. The excavated settlement sites dating to the period
of Roman influences and the early medieval period are of special interest. These sites
include remains of an above-ground structure, a number of middens and a standalone kiln.
The finds discovered at the sites are attributed to the Sambian-Natangian culture and the
Prussian culture characterizing the material culture of this region which bordered on the
Wielbark area in the first centuries of our era, and the Elbląg and the Olsztyn groups in
the 5th–7th centuries.
The article presents a possible reconstruction of the formation of a regional model of the female... more The article presents a possible reconstruction of the formation of a regional model of the female dress
in the South-East Baltic in the first centuries AD. The study is based on a review of the Sambian-
Natangian complexes of the 1st–2nd centuries with barbarian elements, the leading place among which
belongs to brooches of group V after O. Almgren. Most of the materials presented in the article
are published for the first time. The traditions of making northern European “barbarian” brooches
influenced the emergence in the Baltic cultures of their own brooch set, jewelry style and the attire
in general. The model of the female dress that emerged in the middle 2nd century on the Kaliningrad
Peninsula – a contact zone with East German cultures – is a marker of the processes associated with
the development of social structures among the population of the Sambian-Natangian culture.
В статье представлена возможная реконструкция процесса формирования региональной
модели женского убора в Юго-Восточной Прибалтике в первых веках н.э. В основе иссле-
дования – обзор самбийско-натангийских комплексов I–II вв. с варварскими элементами,
ведущее место среди которых занимают фибулы группы V О. Альмгрена. Большинство
материалов, представленных в статье, публикуется впервые. Традиции изготовления северо-
европейских “варварских” фибул повлияли на возникновение в культурах Балтии собствен-
ного фибульного набора, ювелирного стиля и убора в целом. Появившаяся в середине II в.
на Калининградском полуострове – контактной зоне с восточногерманскими культурами,
модель женского убора является также маркером процессов, связанных с развитием у насе-
ления самбийско-натангийской культуры собственных социальных структур.
Archaeologia Lituana
This article is devoted to the Central Nadruvians hillforts, located within the territory of the ... more This article is devoted to the Central Nadruvians hillforts, located within the territory of the intercultural area of theWest Balt Circle (the so-called Inster-Pregolian group of sites), and concerns the possible role of hillforts in the context of settlement patterns and social organization in the first half of the 1 st millennium AD. Morphological characteristics (sizes, structure) and the dating of Nadruvians hillforts, which can be inhabited in the Roman and Early Migration period, are discussed. Data regarding unfortified settlements and burial grounds are added. According to the results of a survey and a GIS analysis, local centers of settlement patterns in the 1 st half of the first millennium AD could be formed in what can be considered a "key" for transport communications between the microregions of the Pregolya river.
The article deals with the category of large crossbow tendril brooches of the late Roman period, ... more The article deals with the category of large crossbow tendril brooches of the late Roman period, characteristic for the South-Eastern Baltic region cultures – the so-called Große Armbrustfibeln. The brooches represent an assemblage of items of few variants with various decorations with wire-coil ornament. They have several sources of origin in Central and North European antiquities, and also demonstrate the process associated with the beginning of the local production of jewelry and dress accessories in the Baltic cultures.
The paper examines the pins found in women’s assemblages from cemeteries
in the Kaliningrad Penin... more The paper examines the pins found in women’s assemblages from cemeteries
in the Kaliningrad Peninsula dating to 1st–8th centuries. The pins are analyzed as a marker
of cultural links and an element of local population clothes.
The paper considers problems associated with the characterization of female burials in the South-... more The paper considers problems associated with the characterization of female burials in the South-
East Baltics in the case when there is no anthropological source. Based on the materials of the
Sambian-Natangian and early medieval cultures of the Prussians, archaeological markers of the
social gender are distinguished, which can be compared with the data of burials allowing for the
determination of biological sex and age.
Abstract. The paper explores some distinctive features of the funerary rite typical for
the early... more Abstract. The paper explores some distinctive features of the funerary rite typical for
the early medieval culture of the Prussians based on the studies of cremated remains.
The paper is focused on the human remnants retrieved by the authors during the excavations
of the Kulikovo/Sorthenen cemetery (Zelenograd district of the Kaliningrad
region). The results are compared with the expertise data on cremated remains from other
ground cemeteries in the Kaliningrad peninsula. The data from the comprehensive study
of the materials from the graves help establish the continuity of funerary traditions among
the Prussians in the period from the 6th–8th centuries to the 11th–13th centuries.
Abstract. The paper discusses the issues related to interpretation of female openwork Samland bel... more Abstract. The paper discusses the issues related to interpretation of female openwork Samland belt sets (fig. 3, 1) of the Dollkeim Kovrovo/Sambian-Natangian culture of the early Roman period as a marker of social status. The group of the burials with such belts
differs from similar burials in the quantity and quality of burial offering sets (tab. 1); the size and structure of the burials (fig. 1–2, diagram 1). The openwork decoration of the belt sets is associated with a metalworking technique known as opus interrasile, it finds analogies among artifacts coming from the Roman provinces and Central Europe (fig. 3, 1).
The set with Samland belts includes mass-produced Roman imported goods, imitations of prestige items typical for elites of the Central and Western European cultures (fig. 3, 2–5). The concentration of finds of the openwork belt sets coincides with the groups of sites in the Kaliningrad Peninsula, which are located in the places where amber was collected and extracted (fig. 4). The Samland belts can be viewed as one of local symbols of group identity and attribution to social groups, which administered the functions of distribution and exchange in the amber trade system.
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Books by Olga Khomiakova
COMPONENT ANALYSIS AND CHRONOLOGY. GERMANIA-SARMATIA: MONOGRAPH (1)
Papers by Olga Khomiakova
The arrival of glass beads into this region was directly related to the intensity of the amber trade. These items serve as one of the chronological markers. Up to two thirds of all beads known in the Sambian-Natangian area belong to the period of intensive contacts between the local population and the Middle
Danube centers in the first half of the 2nd century. In the 3rd – 4th centuries, objects characteristic of the early Roman period were replaced with jewelry, that has the greatest number of parallels in the barbaric territories of Northern and Central Europe. In the 2nd – early 3rd centuries Sambian-Natangian necklaces form from several tens to hundreds of beads. In the 3rd – 4th centuries, such necklaces are rare, and contain up to ten beads in average. Since the Migration period, their number has been minimal.
The article discusses the settlement system of the Sambian-Natangian culture of the South-Eastern Baltic region in the 1st millennium AD, the role of hillforts in it, and the structure of individual settlement centres. Hillforts are considered as dominants in the cultural landscape; together with unfortified settlements and economic zones they formed single districts. Burial grounds were located on the periphery of such centres. Individual settlement centres produced clusters of sites in the locations of amber gathering on the Kaliningrad Peninsula, along the Pregol River and the Kaliningrad Bay coast, which were important for the control of transport routes. This system was quite stable and could exist for a long period during the 1st millennium, evolving into the settlement system of the early medieval Prussians.
the early medieval culture of the Prussians dating to the 6th–8th centuries are found in female
graves and at settlements. During the Roman period these items were represented by
the types characteristic for neighboring Central European cultures, in particular, the Wielbark
culture. Some items are imported. The earliest spindle whorls have been found in inhumation
burials of the Early Roman period, they became a typical item of the funerary
assemblages starting from the first half – middle of the 2nd century. Characteristic forms of
the items existed during a long period, and can be found in the contexts related to the Migration
period and the Merovingian dynasty period. The forms of the spindle whorls discovered
at the unfortified settlements in the Kaliningrad
settlement in the Kaliningrad region. The excavated settlement sites dating to the period
of Roman influences and the early medieval period are of special interest. These sites
include remains of an above-ground structure, a number of middens and a standalone kiln.
The finds discovered at the sites are attributed to the Sambian-Natangian culture and the
Prussian culture characterizing the material culture of this region which bordered on the
Wielbark area in the first centuries of our era, and the Elbląg and the Olsztyn groups in
the 5th–7th centuries.
in the South-East Baltic in the first centuries AD. The study is based on a review of the Sambian-
Natangian complexes of the 1st–2nd centuries with barbarian elements, the leading place among which
belongs to brooches of group V after O. Almgren. Most of the materials presented in the article
are published for the first time. The traditions of making northern European “barbarian” brooches
influenced the emergence in the Baltic cultures of their own brooch set, jewelry style and the attire
in general. The model of the female dress that emerged in the middle 2nd century on the Kaliningrad
Peninsula – a contact zone with East German cultures – is a marker of the processes associated with
the development of social structures among the population of the Sambian-Natangian culture.
В статье представлена возможная реконструкция процесса формирования региональной
модели женского убора в Юго-Восточной Прибалтике в первых веках н.э. В основе иссле-
дования – обзор самбийско-натангийских комплексов I–II вв. с варварскими элементами,
ведущее место среди которых занимают фибулы группы V О. Альмгрена. Большинство
материалов, представленных в статье, публикуется впервые. Традиции изготовления северо-
европейских “варварских” фибул повлияли на возникновение в культурах Балтии собствен-
ного фибульного набора, ювелирного стиля и убора в целом. Появившаяся в середине II в.
на Калининградском полуострове – контактной зоне с восточногерманскими культурами,
модель женского убора является также маркером процессов, связанных с развитием у насе-
ления самбийско-натангийской культуры собственных социальных структур.
in the Kaliningrad Peninsula dating to 1st–8th centuries. The pins are analyzed as a marker
of cultural links and an element of local population clothes.
East Baltics in the case when there is no anthropological source. Based on the materials of the
Sambian-Natangian and early medieval cultures of the Prussians, archaeological markers of the
social gender are distinguished, which can be compared with the data of burials allowing for the
determination of biological sex and age.
the early medieval culture of the Prussians based on the studies of cremated remains.
The paper is focused on the human remnants retrieved by the authors during the excavations
of the Kulikovo/Sorthenen cemetery (Zelenograd district of the Kaliningrad
region). The results are compared with the expertise data on cremated remains from other
ground cemeteries in the Kaliningrad peninsula. The data from the comprehensive study
of the materials from the graves help establish the continuity of funerary traditions among
the Prussians in the period from the 6th–8th centuries to the 11th–13th centuries.
differs from similar burials in the quantity and quality of burial offering sets (tab. 1); the size and structure of the burials (fig. 1–2, diagram 1). The openwork decoration of the belt sets is associated with a metalworking technique known as opus interrasile, it finds analogies among artifacts coming from the Roman provinces and Central Europe (fig. 3, 1).
The set with Samland belts includes mass-produced Roman imported goods, imitations of prestige items typical for elites of the Central and Western European cultures (fig. 3, 2–5). The concentration of finds of the openwork belt sets coincides with the groups of sites in the Kaliningrad Peninsula, which are located in the places where amber was collected and extracted (fig. 4). The Samland belts can be viewed as one of local symbols of group identity and attribution to social groups, which administered the functions of distribution and exchange in the amber trade system.
COMPONENT ANALYSIS AND CHRONOLOGY. GERMANIA-SARMATIA: MONOGRAPH (1)
The arrival of glass beads into this region was directly related to the intensity of the amber trade. These items serve as one of the chronological markers. Up to two thirds of all beads known in the Sambian-Natangian area belong to the period of intensive contacts between the local population and the Middle
Danube centers in the first half of the 2nd century. In the 3rd – 4th centuries, objects characteristic of the early Roman period were replaced with jewelry, that has the greatest number of parallels in the barbaric territories of Northern and Central Europe. In the 2nd – early 3rd centuries Sambian-Natangian necklaces form from several tens to hundreds of beads. In the 3rd – 4th centuries, such necklaces are rare, and contain up to ten beads in average. Since the Migration period, their number has been minimal.
The article discusses the settlement system of the Sambian-Natangian culture of the South-Eastern Baltic region in the 1st millennium AD, the role of hillforts in it, and the structure of individual settlement centres. Hillforts are considered as dominants in the cultural landscape; together with unfortified settlements and economic zones they formed single districts. Burial grounds were located on the periphery of such centres. Individual settlement centres produced clusters of sites in the locations of amber gathering on the Kaliningrad Peninsula, along the Pregol River and the Kaliningrad Bay coast, which were important for the control of transport routes. This system was quite stable and could exist for a long period during the 1st millennium, evolving into the settlement system of the early medieval Prussians.
the early medieval culture of the Prussians dating to the 6th–8th centuries are found in female
graves and at settlements. During the Roman period these items were represented by
the types characteristic for neighboring Central European cultures, in particular, the Wielbark
culture. Some items are imported. The earliest spindle whorls have been found in inhumation
burials of the Early Roman period, they became a typical item of the funerary
assemblages starting from the first half – middle of the 2nd century. Characteristic forms of
the items existed during a long period, and can be found in the contexts related to the Migration
period and the Merovingian dynasty period. The forms of the spindle whorls discovered
at the unfortified settlements in the Kaliningrad
settlement in the Kaliningrad region. The excavated settlement sites dating to the period
of Roman influences and the early medieval period are of special interest. These sites
include remains of an above-ground structure, a number of middens and a standalone kiln.
The finds discovered at the sites are attributed to the Sambian-Natangian culture and the
Prussian culture characterizing the material culture of this region which bordered on the
Wielbark area in the first centuries of our era, and the Elbląg and the Olsztyn groups in
the 5th–7th centuries.
in the South-East Baltic in the first centuries AD. The study is based on a review of the Sambian-
Natangian complexes of the 1st–2nd centuries with barbarian elements, the leading place among which
belongs to brooches of group V after O. Almgren. Most of the materials presented in the article
are published for the first time. The traditions of making northern European “barbarian” brooches
influenced the emergence in the Baltic cultures of their own brooch set, jewelry style and the attire
in general. The model of the female dress that emerged in the middle 2nd century on the Kaliningrad
Peninsula – a contact zone with East German cultures – is a marker of the processes associated with
the development of social structures among the population of the Sambian-Natangian culture.
В статье представлена возможная реконструкция процесса формирования региональной
модели женского убора в Юго-Восточной Прибалтике в первых веках н.э. В основе иссле-
дования – обзор самбийско-натангийских комплексов I–II вв. с варварскими элементами,
ведущее место среди которых занимают фибулы группы V О. Альмгрена. Большинство
материалов, представленных в статье, публикуется впервые. Традиции изготовления северо-
европейских “варварских” фибул повлияли на возникновение в культурах Балтии собствен-
ного фибульного набора, ювелирного стиля и убора в целом. Появившаяся в середине II в.
на Калининградском полуострове – контактной зоне с восточногерманскими культурами,
модель женского убора является также маркером процессов, связанных с развитием у насе-
ления самбийско-натангийской культуры собственных социальных структур.
in the Kaliningrad Peninsula dating to 1st–8th centuries. The pins are analyzed as a marker
of cultural links and an element of local population clothes.
East Baltics in the case when there is no anthropological source. Based on the materials of the
Sambian-Natangian and early medieval cultures of the Prussians, archaeological markers of the
social gender are distinguished, which can be compared with the data of burials allowing for the
determination of biological sex and age.
the early medieval culture of the Prussians based on the studies of cremated remains.
The paper is focused on the human remnants retrieved by the authors during the excavations
of the Kulikovo/Sorthenen cemetery (Zelenograd district of the Kaliningrad
region). The results are compared with the expertise data on cremated remains from other
ground cemeteries in the Kaliningrad peninsula. The data from the comprehensive study
of the materials from the graves help establish the continuity of funerary traditions among
the Prussians in the period from the 6th–8th centuries to the 11th–13th centuries.
differs from similar burials in the quantity and quality of burial offering sets (tab. 1); the size and structure of the burials (fig. 1–2, diagram 1). The openwork decoration of the belt sets is associated with a metalworking technique known as opus interrasile, it finds analogies among artifacts coming from the Roman provinces and Central Europe (fig. 3, 1).
The set with Samland belts includes mass-produced Roman imported goods, imitations of prestige items typical for elites of the Central and Western European cultures (fig. 3, 2–5). The concentration of finds of the openwork belt sets coincides with the groups of sites in the Kaliningrad Peninsula, which are located in the places where amber was collected and extracted (fig. 4). The Samland belts can be viewed as one of local symbols of group identity and attribution to social groups, which administered the functions of distribution and exchange in the amber trade system.
enamels from the collection of the Prussia Museum. The material is used as a basis for studying finds of different categories from the Baltic region. The data from the museum collections and archives are provided. Items previously known from illustrations made at the end of XIX century – early XX century are published for the first time. The author suggests typological and chronological characteristics of the items and analyzes their distribution across the region.
from the Prussia Museum of Koenigsberg in the holdings of the State Historical Museum.
The data are examined in the context of contemporary knowledge of the sites and material
culture of the Baltic communities in the first centuries of the Common Era. This set of
ancient Roman beads handed over by Bezzenberger as a gift to the Moscow Archaeological Society at the 15th Archaeological Congress held in Novgorod in 1911 is made up of the
most typical items associated with the cultures of Southeastern Baltics during the Roman
period and the Migration period.
on the formation of the 1st-millennium settlement system and social landscape in the southeastern
Baltic region (Kaliningrad region). The features of the landscape location of fortified settlements (hillforts)
are considered. These data are compared with information on the location of burial grounds (the
most-studied type of monuments in the region), which indicate several concentrations that represent
local groups of sites. Attention is paid to the following questions: What role did hillforts and other sites
play in the social organisation of the cultural landscape and the settlement system? What might the
structure of the individual settlement centres of the Sambian-Natangian culture have looked like?
The available data indicate that the main settlement centres on the Sambian peninsula are formed
in the places of amber mining and dumping. Along the Pregolja river and the coast of the Vistula
gulf, they are located in the most important places to control the river communications of the region.
Archaeological sites are concentrated in micro-regions, at the centres of which are hillforts. Being
dominant in the landscape, the hillforts might have formed a district around them with unfortified
settlements and economic zones, which were located on the most suitable sites near the hillfort. But
the burial grounds, for the location of which topography was important, are located on the peripheral
areas of such micro-regions. Such settlement centres are likely to have formed clusters on the Sambian
peninsula and more sparse, more loosely connected concentrations in peripheral and contact areas.
Such a system was quite stable and could exist for a long time in the 1st millennium AD.