People from the crossroads of the Mūša-Lielupe river basin in the eastern Baltic region during the Late Roman and Migration Periods

Abstract

The present paper deals with recently discovered, unique imports from Lithuania. Three Zwiebelknopffibeln and a gleicharmige Bügelfibel, together with other rare finds, were unearthed in the Mūša-Lielupe river basin. In fact, these recently discovered artefacts evidently point to rapid changes in the socio-economic and cultural life in the region, in which struggles for power equaled those for domination over internal waterways, the Mūša-Lielupe river. Communities which managed to control the Mūša-Lielupe river had access to the Baltic Sea. Archaeological evidence in the region points to broad and far-reaching inter-regional contacts and to a high level of social differentiation even in the Early Migration Period. In this context, a wide range of various insignia were imported and developed locally in order to mark the social status of high ranking individuals.