On May 24-26 joint field inventory of archaeological monuments took place in Estonia. The activity involved Partners 1 (University of Tartu), 7 (Pskov Region Archaeology Centre) and 9 (Pskov Museum), as well as Associate Partner No. 3 (the Institute of History of Material Culture). The works concentrated upon visiting formerly known, mostly state protected sites.
May 24 concentrated upon lands north of Lake Peipsi. First, close to Tartu, the settlement of Kobratu and village cemetery of Vedu with sacred lime tree were visited. Barrows from the 2nd part of the 1st millennium AD were attended in Piilsi, Lemmaku and Kivinõmme. In Tudulinna there is a village cemetery where 14th-15th century graves, furnished with artefacts of Novgorodian character were found some years ago. One destination of the trip was the western shore of Narva River – from Vasknarva down to Kuningaküla and Gorodenka villages. It appeared that most of the inhabitants are newcomers but it was advised to come back and talk to Maslov family – both over 80 and native – in Kuningaküla village. In the end of the day the famous Pühtitsa / Kuremäe monastery – with present-day monastery cemetery and bus station on place of the barrows with inhumation graves from the 11th-13th centuries. The ancient sacred oak where the icon of Uspen’e (Ascension) was found is still growing. The last monument visited was the barrow cemetery of Jõuga from the 12th-13th centuries, with 14th-16th cc- zhalnik graves at the edge of the necropolis.
On May 25 the first visited monument was Kusma village cemetery with disturbed zhalnik graves. The hill fort of Alatshivi belongs, judging by its fortifications, from the Final Iron Age – 12 – early 13th century. On Alatskivi hill fort a big pine tree had fallen in storm, tearing up a large piece of ground with its roots. From the raised soil, from the original depth of ca. 40 cm several brick fragments were found. This enables us to set up the hypothesis that the hill fort functioned in some way also after the crusades of the 13th century. Close to the hill fort, in the presently deserted churchyard of Alatskivi with some 17th century stone crosses several fragments of cremated bones had been unearthed by a mole. The bones were of different stage of cremation. This find probably indicates to the location of pre-Christian flat-ground cremation cemetery, bound to the prehistoric hill fort. No prehistoric cemetery was known from the immediate vicinity of Alatskivi hill fort until that time. Close to Alatskivi hill forts we visited also the barrows of Kokora, big in size but strongly plundered long ago already.
Information was gained about a formerly unknown offering stone in Alasoo village. We heard that in 1962 an old woman from the adjacent village Pusi had admonished the newcomers who had bought the household in the immediate vicinity of the stone with the words: „This is old offering stone. You must take care for it!“ (See on vana ohvrikivi. Seda tuleb hoida!)
After visiting the town of Kallaste the Late Iron Age cemeteries of Ranna and Raatvere close to the shore of Lake Peipsi were visited. On the hill fort of Torma Linnutajamägi, archaeologically not excavated and of unclear date, the traces of recent plundering by using metal detectors were discovered. The last visited object was the village cemetery of Välgi with 14th-15th finds typical for the Novgorod and Pskov lands.
On the third day sites monuments south of Tartu were visited. The inventory concerned here several monuments from the Roman Iron Age: the stone grave of Kambja, the hill fort and settlement of Unipiha and the stone grave (tarand grave) of Jaagupi. Also the medieval stone cross of Tatra valley and offering stone of Unipiha were involved among the objects. The cemeteries of medieval communities originating from the Novgorod or Pskov Lands were visited in Laguja and Makita. The ground of the last site was covered with irregular stone clusters and some zhalnik type grave marks, reconstructed after the excavations. The joint trip ended on the hill fort of Otepää, the strongest in south-east Estonia where the excavated brick walls of medieval bishop’s castle are currently being conserved. Otepää, first mentioned in Russian chronicles in 1116, will celebrate its anniversary in 2016. The colleagues from St Petersburg saw also the hill fort of Rõuge and the re-constructed Viking Age house close to it.
Visiting the sites typical for adjacent territories has provided a fruitful experience both for the Estonain and Russian partners. Cross-border joint field inventories provide a deeper understanding of the cultural contacts, and cultural and social processes of the past. This form of cooperation also gives a practical context to discuss both principal and urgent questions of archaeological heritage protection and to the exchange of experiences.