Research into the Late Iron Age. ¬– Archaeological Research in Estonia 1865–2005 Estonian Archaeology 1. Tartu University Press 2006, 127–158

Research into the Late Iron Ag.ArN MABSALU AND Hplru V,q.rr

Introduction

In Estonian archaeology the term 'Late Iron Age' des-ignates the period between the Middle Iron Age andthe Middle Ages. It starts with the beginning of theViking Age (c. 8oo AD) and lasts until the German-Danish conquest and violent Christianization ofEstonia in the first quarter of the r3'h century - in thecourse of the crusade wars depicted in the chronicleof Henry of Livonia (HCL). The period is dividedinto two parts: r) the Viking Age (8oo-roSo) and z)the Latest Iron Age Q.o5o-tzz5).

The term'Viking Age'was introduced in Estonianarchaeology since the r9zos. However, between thetwo world wars it was regarded as a term for open-ing the broader context ofthe epoque, and not as aspecial period in Estonian prehistory. In the Sovietperiod, the use of this nomination was avoided inwritten texts for ideological reasons (in the con-text of the Anti-Normanist theory predominantin Russia), and the Late Iron Age was regarded asone period without any inner division. The returnof the 'Viking Age' into archaeological terminol-ogy has occurred in parallel to the re-gaining ofpolitical independence, i.e. since the late r98os, andsince then it has been used to designate a separatesub-period within the Late Iron Age. The changesbecame 'legitimized' somewhat later in re-writtenarchaeological chronologies (Lang t996, 332 ff; Lang& Kriiska 2ooL, roz f; Kiristaja zoo4). The 'Latest

Iron Agel as a term, was introduced in English quiterecently - to designate the period that followed the

Viking Age and lasted until the end of prehistory.Although at that time adjacent Scandinavia alreadylived in the Middle Ages, in the eastern Baltic theIron Age persisted.

All researchers since Constantin Grewingk, whopresented the first periodization of the prehistoryof the Baltic countries (Grewingk r87r), have seenthe Late Iron Age as a separate period in Estonianarchaeology, preceding the Middle Ages. In thecourse of history, its beginning has been dated dif-ferently - between the 8'h and ro'h centuries. As the

9'h century is quite poor in finds and it is often dif-ficult to distinguish the finds from that period, inthe previous monumental general treatment ofEstonian archaeology, the Late Iron Age was esti-mated to have begun in 9oo (faanits et al. ry82).However. the accumulation of new material and theneed to use a common language with the archaeol-ogy of the Nordic countries have caused, since the199os, a transition to the year 8oo - a stipulated butstill generally accepted date.

In former research, the end of the Late Iron Agehas been estimated in different ways: as taking placein the year rzoo (EA I, 1935), in the early r3th century(|aanits et al. ry82), in o5o (Lang ry96, 334), or some-where between 12oo and rz5o (Lang & Kriiska zoor,rcz f). The date nz5 presented in this volume is alsostipulated. As the transition to the new epoque, i.e. theMiddle Ages, caused no rapid and profound changes inthe native culture and in the settlement pattern, on thebasis of the archaeological material the upper border ofthe Late Iron Age might also be considered to lie in c.

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r25o or even later. The favouring of the date D25 in thistreatment is conditioned by two reasons. First, for thenative population the conquest period (rzo8-rzz7) stillmeant the continuation of the Iron Age. Real innova-tions of a'Europead origin initially remained very lim-ited and, considering the uprising of nzz-tzz4 (HCL,XXVI: z ff), also episodic. Second, the genesis .of the'European objects - the first towns, stone castles andchurches - as well as the social, economic and politi-cal structures of the Middle Ages - belongs mainly tothe second quarter ofthe r3tr century (see Russow efal., this volume). The favouring of the year 1225 overnz7 -the time of conquest and Christianization of thelast Estonian district, Saaremaa - is conditioned by thedesire to keep the archaeological chronology in a simi-lar rhythm of z5 -year s periods.

In contrast to earlier epoques, the Late IronAge is also represented by occasional data in theScandinavian sagas and the Russian and Germanchronicles. A special place among the latter belongsto the chronicle of Henry of Livonia (HCL), thefourth part of which depicts the conquest andChristianization of Estonia. The chronicle providesessential data about the society, territorial divisionand warfare of Estonia, also offering a footholdto interpretations of the archaeological material.Historical studies have shown the high reliability ofthis chronicle, and the same can also be said on thebasis of a comparison between it and the archaeo-logical record. Here it is especially important tomention several hillforts: excavations at these siteshave made it possible to relate the archaeologicalcultural layer to definite historical events.

Archaeological sites from the Late Iron Ageare numerous in Estonia. Among them we candistinguish:

(r) stone graves:- with a compact setting (often formed from ear-

lier tarand-graves or cairn graves),- with sparsely located stones (covering a large

area);(z) cemeteries with flat pit-graves:

- with inhumation burials,- with inhumation and cremation burials,- with cremation burials;

(l) sand barrows (in eastern and south-easternEstonia):- with inhumation burials,- with cremation burials;

(4) open settlements;

(s) hillforts;

(0) shelters;

(z) fossil land usage systems;

(8) iron smelting sites;

(9) harbour sites;

(ro) offering sites (trees, groves, springs, stones,hills, etc.);

(n) hoard finds;

(rz) stray finds.

Since the mid-rg'h century the investigation of thesesites has continuously provided new data about thefinal period of the prehistory of Estonia.l

The earliest investigations (fromthe end of the r8th century to rg2o)

Already at the end of the r8'h century, when archae-ology was only in its infancy in Estonia, severalLate Iron Age hillforts, which were also well knownin the oral tradition of the native peasantry, wereamong the first things to attract the attention of thelocal Baltic German scholars. Short descriptions ofsome hillforts were thus presented by pastors AugustWilhelm Hupel and ]ohann Adam Andreae, as wellas by Ludwig August Mellin, who was known as acartographer. The latter also compiled the map of

1 In the following survey, research rp Io 1944 is presented'

by Ain Mdesalu, and from 1944 to 2005 by Heiki Valk.

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Fig. ts. A view of Varbolahillfurt by L. Mellin (qSS).

\ arbola hillfort (called Jaanilinn) and its surround-ings (Mellin ry86;Fig.39). The collection of archae-ological artefacts (see TVauri, this volume, b) andthe drawing of antiquities began at the same timee.g. Eduard Philipp Korber and fohann Christoph

Brotze).From the late r83os onwards, archaeological activ-

in'intensified, as several local learned societies andaccompanying museums were established, the mostimportant among them being the Learned EstonianSociety in Tartu and the Estonian Literary Societyin Tallinn. The Late Iron Age objects constituteda relatively large proportion of the stray finds andsites collected and excavated by the members ofthese societies.

The first to be mentioned as an academicresearcher of those times dealing with the LateIron Age is Professor Friedrich Kruse. Duringhis tours of inspection in the areas of present-dayEstonia and Latvia in 1838 and 1839, he performedsmall-scale excavations at several Late Iron Agehillforts and graves. He published the results ofthese excavations as a separate book (Kruse r84z).In this, the Late Iron Age antiquities were dated tobetween the 9th and r3th centuries, and they wererelated to the Scandinavian-Germanic tribes thatin Kruse's view inhabited the above-mentionedareas at that time.

In some of his articles, Professor ConstantinGrewingk also discussed Late Iron Age antiquities,

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Fig. +o. Late lron Age sites excavated until ry44. t lru, z Saha and Lagedi, 3 ]oesuu in Jiigala, 4 Kehra, 5 Kuusalu, 6 Iila,

T Inju, S Rohu, g Punamiigi in Antu, to Kohtla, u Kukruse, n Tilrsamiie, 4louga, 4 Kuremae (Pilhtitsa), ry KuningakilIa,

6 Otgin Krest, ry Ardu, fi Leedu, ry Miku in Tarbja and Valgma, zo Kahala, zt Virikq and Viiiitsa, zz Huuksi, zj Eistvere,

z4 Pajusi, z5 K6oIa, z6 Villevere, z7 L\havere, zB Madi, z9 Kuude, 3o Heimtali, jt Riuma, jz Sammaste, 3j Taugasalu,

34 Hummuli, 35 Lahepera, S6 Ovi, 37 Kobratu, j8 Tartu, j9 Sandimardi in Verevi, 4o Alt-Laari, 4t Peedu, 4z Otepiiii,

4j Metste, 44 Verepkova, 45 Mola (Maly), +6 lrboska, Konetchki and Slovenskoye Pole, 47 Laura, 48 Kirimde, 49 Vardi

and Varbola, 5o Limandu, 5t Kuusiku and lira, 5z Haimre, 5j Laukna, 54 Vtiike-Kalju, 55 Margu in Moisakilla and Lehu,

56 Tabria, 57 Soontagana, 58 K6msi, 59 Pajumaa, 6o Paju, 6t Kurevere, 6z Tagamlisa, 6j Pidula, 64 Kogula, 65 Kaarma,

Loona and Kr)ku, 66 Piila, 67 Valjala, 68 Tonija, 69 Asva, Randvere and Viltina, 7o Pi)ide, 7t Viira and Ptiiilda, 7z Muhu,

7j Mi)la and Kantsi.

e.g. the cemeteries of Riuma and Inju (Grewingk engaged himself in the investigation of antiqui-

fillb; rSST), (Fig. 40). He argued that these graves ties. He carried out small-scale excavations at the

belonged to the Estonians who he believed to have ancient strongholds of Kaarma, Poide and Muhu,

arrived in the area of what is now Estonia in the and composed the descriptions of all of the hillforts

8th century, thereby taking the place of the earlier on Saaremaa (Holzmayer 1868). In 1868-1874 he

Gothic population. excavated the stone graves of Piila, Kantsi, Pddlda,

On the island of Saaremaa, local gymnasium Paju, Loona, Mlla, Kurevere and Viira (Holzmayer

teacher Jean Baptiste Holzmayer (r839-r89o) r88o).

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Some Late Iron Age graves were excavated byProfessor Georg Loeschcke. He tried to relate thedifferent burial sites originating from the early z"dmillennium to the different social strata (Loeschcke1889). However, his suggestion that the stone graveswere these of the lower strata, and the sand barrowswere dedicated to outstanding persons has found nosupport in subsequent investigations.

laan lrng, the first (amateur) archaeologist ofEstonian origin, whose contribution to the regis-tration of antiquities is of inestimable importance,also performed excavations at several Late Iron Agesites, such as the stone graves of Villevere (1828),Sammaste (r88o), Taugasalu (r88o), and the hillfortof Lohavere (r88o). In addition, |ung was the first toidentify this stronghold as castrum Leole, mentionedin the chronicle of Henry of Livonia as the residenceof Lembitu, who was one of the main Estonian lead-ers in the struggle against the crusaders. Althoughfung's writings appear to be strongly influenced bythe ideas of the Baltic German researchers, the datahe collected is of lasting value.

In addition, in the last third of the r9ft cen-tury plenty of graves were excavated by dilettantisuch as schoolteachers, clergymen, landlords, etc.Thus, Late Iron Age stone graves were excavatedby Nicolai Knorring in Pajumaa (1866), by HansWihner in Riuma G8z), by Leopold Schroederand Carl Duhmberg in K6ola (r8S9) and by |akobRennenkampf (the r88os) in Ardu. Otto Dieckhoffexcavated the barrows at Kuremde (1869), and AugustBielenstein those in Metste (r8SS). Carl Georg Sieversundertook an expedition of two and a half weekduration to Saaremaa Island in 1877, and he man-aged to investigate several graves at Kurevere, Pidulaand Tagam6isa in that time. In north-eastern Estoniaa few graves were excavated by Russian researchers.In 1886-1887 Professor Pavel Viskovatov investigatedthe stone grave of Tlirsamde, and in r89z he exca-vated the barrows of Piihtitsa together with NikolaiKharuzin, a scholar from Moscow.

The first truly outstanding figure in the inves-tigation of the Estonian Iron Ages was Professor

Richard Hausmann. In the introductory part of theexhibition catalogue, which was compiled byhi- ottthe occasion of the ro'h Russia-wide ArchaeologicalCongress held in Riga in 1896, he also provided asystematized review of the Iron Age in the then EastBaltic Provinces of the Russian Empire (Hausmann1896). He divided the Iron Age into an Early (r"--,

5'h centuries) and a Late (9th - the beginning of ther3'h century) stage. Although he observed a strongGothic influence in the Early Iron Age material cul-ture, he nevertheless related the evidence ofthe LateIron Age to the culture of the local Estonians, Livsand Latvians. The borders of the areas of inhabita-tion of these nations were also clearly representedin the map of the antiquities of the 8th-13th centuries,prepared by fohann Sitzka (1896) for the above-mentioned Congress.

Hausmann's main targets for excavation were IronAge cemeteries. In 1896, he excavated an excep-tional monument in southern Estonia - a group ofbarrows at Hummuli near Valga. There were plentyof stone graves used in both the r't millennium andat the beginning of the z"d millennium AD investi-gated by Hausmann: those of Vddtsa (r89o), Pajusi(t8g+), Kukruse (r8gS), Heimtali (18gS), Kuude(r8gS), Lahepera (r8gS), Kobratu (r9oo) and Eistvere(r9or). In analysing the results of the excavation ofthe latter grave, he also provided general statementsabout Late Iron Age burial places in the easternBaltic region (Hausmann rgoza). In Hausmann'sview, both cremations and inhumations occurredat the beginning of the z"d millennium AD in theseareas. At the same time, he distinguished severalgrave types, such as stone graves, tarand-graves2and cemeteries with pit graves, as well as cemeterieswith inhumation and cremation graves. Hausmannargued that the tarand-graves initiallybelonged to anation that inhabited these areas in earlier times, asin the Late Iron Age the local Estonians also beganto bury in these graves. lfausmann was, however,

2 In those tim es, tarand-graves were called Steinreihengriiber(see Lang. this volume, b).

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quite modest in drawing conclusions. His contri-bution to the systematization and publishing ofthe archaeological data was nevertheless of greatimportance.

Preparations for the 1896 Congress in Riga alsoinvolved the investigation of hillforts. Some morenotable hillforts (e.g. Punamiigi in Antu and Muhu)were discussed by local scholars in their writ-ings. In addition, Sergei Bogoyavlenskij, archae-ologist from Moscow, in co-operation with locallandlord R. Stackelberg, performed minor excava-tions at several Late Iron Age hillforts, e.g. Otepziei,Valjala, Muhu, Soontagana, etc. (Stackelberg &Bogoyavlenskij rs96). As only narrow trenches weremade, the results of these excavations proved to berather modest. Somewhat more attention should bepaid to the distribution map of Estonian and Latvianhillforts compiled by A. Bielenstein (1895). He alsopresented a classification of the hillforts on the basisof their morphology (Bielenstein 18g6).

At the beginning of the zo'h century, most excava-tions involved stone graves. It was at this time thathistory teacher Artur Spreckelsen and doctor AdolfFriedenthal began their archaeological activity.Their main interest was in Early Iron Age antiqui-ties, but they also excavated some graves that eithercompletely or partially belonged to the Late IronAge. Thus Spreckelsen excavated the stone gravesof Saha (r9o3, r9o5) and Lagedi (19o6-19ro), andFriedenthal these of Rohu (rgro) and K6msi Ggt+).Some local learned societies that investigated theantiquities in their vicinity played quite an activepart in the excavations. For instance, the PiirnuSociety for Antiquites excavated the stone graves ofMargu in Moisakiila (t8gz), as well as Lehu (r9oo)

and Tabria (r9oo), while the larvamaa AntiquitiesPreservation Society performed excavations at thegraves of Virika, Kahala, Valgma and Huuksi in r9o3,and subsequently at the graves of Valgma (rgo4),

Miku in Tarbja Ogos-rgol) and Leedu (r9ro-r9n).

Max Ebert, a German archaeologist who workedin Riga for some time, played a significant role in theformation of Estonian archaeology. He was the first

to apply consistently the tlpological method to thearchaeological material of the East Baltic provinces.In this context, his review of Estonian and Latvianantiquities should be emphasized (Ebert r9r3). Asconcerns the artefacts of the Late Iron Age, he paidmore attention to weapons. On the basis of swordsand spearheads found in Estonia, Ebert stressed thestrong Scandinavian influence on the local culture.

Research from rg2o-rg 44

In r9zo, a new stage in archaeological activity wasintroduced, as the Chair of Archaeology at theUniversity of Tartu was established in that year. Bythat time, the Late Iron Age data occupied the largestproportion of the entire archaeological record thathad been accumulated. In addition, many hithertounknown Late Iron Age sites were discovered in thecourse of the subsequent registration of antiquitiesin the r9zos. As a result of numerous fieldwork andthe first general treatments (Tallgren r9z5; Moora

ryz6b; see below), the Late Iron Age already becameone of the best examined prehistoric periods in theearly days of Estonian professional archaeology.Apparently this was the reason why no archaeologistsubsequently specialized directly in the Late IronAge, and primary attention was instead devoted tothe Stone and Early Iron Ages.

Archaeological fi eldwork

Cemeteries

As financial resources were rather limited, only small-scale excavations of cemeteries were performed in theearly rgzos, in an attempt to_investigate different typesof graves in different parts of Estonia. Harri Mooraconducted excavations at the stone graves of Koola

Ggzz), Kirimde (1923) and Madt Ggz). The latter hadpreviously (r9zr) been investigated by Aarne Michael

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Tallgren, as were the graves of K?iku (r9zo) and Tonija(r9zr) on the island of Saaremaa, and the barrows of\tola (Maly) and Konetchki in Setumaa (r9zr). Theinvestigation of Setumaa was considered important,since this area became Estonian territory under thePeace Treaty of Tartu in r9zo, and the previouslyobtained and compiled archaeological record wasstored in Russia. In t924, under the general supervi-sion of Birger Nerman (while the individual excava-tion plots were monitored by Marta Schmiedehelmand Eerik Laid), excavations were undertaken closeto the hillfort of lrboska (Izborsk) - at two graves ofthe zhalnik-type in the nearby Slovenskoye Pole cem-etery, as well as at the barrows of M6la (both sites arein present-day Russia).

For the reasons indicated above, in the late rgzosprimary interest was focused on earlier periods,whereas the Late Iron Age remained in the back-ground. However, as several Early Iron Age graveswere also used in the final stages of prehistory, theexcavation of these graves also contributed to theunderstanding of Late Iron Age burial customs.In addition, several Late Iron Age graves were res-cue-excavated. Therefore, in the period rg25-rg4o,almost every year witnessed the excavation of someLate Iron Age cemetery, and actually every archae-ologist of Estonia was involved in the excavations ofsites from that period. Only a few specialized arti-cles were published on these investigations, but toa certain extent the results were, however, includedin general reviews of Estonian history. The findingsand grave finds of the rgzos and early 193os werepartly used in the general treatment of Estonianprehistory (EA I, 1935),

As concerns the excavated sites of the r93os,Moora conducted fieldwork at the stone graves ofSandimardi in Verevi Qyz) and Kobratu (1935,together with Artur Vassar). Richard Indreko exca-vated the cemetery of Haimre (r929-t93o, 1937-1938), and Vassar the cemeteries of Kehra GgZl),Viiike-Kalju GgZg), Laukna (rs:s), and Ovi (rsrS).Osvald Saadre performed excavations at barrows,both in eastern Virumaa Qy7-ty8 at Olgin Krest;

1938 at fouga) and Setumaa Ggzz in Verepkova).Schmiedehelm investigated the stone grave ofKogula in Kdrla on the island of Saaremaa (rg3r),and the stone graves of Kobratu Ggzt) and IiIa(1935) on the Estonian mainland. In ry35 she alqoexcavated the barrows of Laura in Setumaa.

As for the Baltic German archaeologists,Friedenthal and Spreckelsen continued their archae-ological activity. The former excavated the Late IronAge stone grayes of Kuusiku (tgzl,Iira (r9zr), Vardi

GglZ-tgl+), and Limandrt Ggll). The results ofthe Vardi excavations were published (Friedenthal1938). In addition to these, Friedenthal excavatedbarrows in eastern Virumaa, opening four moundsat Olgin Krest (1933), and one in Kuningakila

Ggl).Spreckelsen briefly discussed the Late IronAge evidence in his work concerning the graves ofLagedi, which, for the most part, were dated to theearlier periods (Spreckelsen ry27; r93z).

The spring and summer of ry4o were the mostintensive period in respect of the investigation ofgraves, as the archaeologists had to hastily excavatethe monuments that were situated on the territoryof the Soviet military bases that were to be exactedby the Soviet Union in ry39. The graves then exca-vated also included some of Late Iron Age origin,e.g. the stone graves of Randvere (Indreko) andViltina (Saadre, Schmiedehelm and Vassar) on theisland of Saaremaa.

Hillforts

First of all, reference should be made to the earlybook about ancient strongholds by E. Laid (1923). Inthis, Laid presented a classification of hillforts thatwas based on their morphology. Due to the absenceofexcavated evidence, only quite a vague dating forhillforts was possible, i.e. the entire Late Iron Age(8oo-rzoo). As a matter of fact, there were very fewhillforts excavated by this time in Estonia.

In the 192os, some small-scale excavations werecarried out at hillforts (in ryzo-t94 at |oesuu in

ldgala, and in rg27 at Alt-Laari), but these monu-

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ments were relatively poor in finds. In ry24 Nerman,together with Laid and Schmiedehelm, performedexcavations of two-week duration at the hillfort ofIrboska. Nerman was presumably concerned withthe former presence of Scandinavian populationthere, since according to the Russian chroniclesand oral tradition, it was the residence of Truvor, aPrince of Viking origin and one of the three legen-daryVarangian founders ofthe state ofRus in86z.

These investigations clearly indicated that moreextensive excavations were needed in order toobtain more reliable results. However, at this timethere were no financial means available for thatpurpose. The systematic investigation of Estonianhillforts did not start before the second half of ther93os, whereas then the interest in hillforts evenreached the governmental level. In this, the so-called Estonian National Clubs played an importantrole, presenting the investigation of hillforts as aresearch task ofnational significance and raising theissue in governmental circles. Consequently, finan-cial support for the investigation of hillforts wasprovided by the Ministry of Education, the CulturalEndowment and many different enterpriseg andestablishments.

The systematic investigation of hillforts waslaunched in 1936, when excavations began at threesites: Peedu near Tartu (see Moora r939b), Iru(Vassar 1939) and Kuusalu (Schmiedehelm r93g) inHarjumaa. All of these also yielded aLate Iron Agecultural layer, though only from the first half of theperiod, i.e. the Viking Age. In t937 and 1938, excava-tions were continued at Iru and Asva on Saaremaa(Indreko 1939). In fact, the latter had already beensurveyed in ry34 using minor trial excavations.The excavations ofAsva and Iru revealed that theseplaces had been inhabited in as early as the LateBronze Age, and thereby the chronology of ancientstrongholds became more complete.

Subsequently, of the most important hillforts ofthe early r3th century, those of L6havere and Varbolawere concentrated on. The battles around these fortswere recounted in the chronicle of Henry of Livonia,

and in the case of Varbola, in the Russian chroni-cles as well. At the hillfort of L6havere, excavationswere started in 1939 under the guidance of Mooraand Saadre. The work proved to be successful, as theextensive remains of charred logs that werd discov-ered provided good opportunities for the investiga-tion of both defensive constructions and buildings(Moora & Saadre 1939). The excavations at Ldhaverewere continued in the following years.until r94t,when they were interrupted by the war.

In 1938 Laid began excavations at the hillfort ofVarbola, the rampart of which is the mightiest ofthe Estonian hillforts (Laid rglg). These excavationsalso yielded numerous finds and discoveries; a wellof 14 m in depth being one of the most remarkableof these. The investigations continued there .until1942.

Hoards, coins and artefacts

Several hoards originating from the Late Iron Agewere discovered, among them those containing sil-ver ornaments and coins. Some short articles on thecoin hoards of the gth-rzth centuries were publishedby Friedenthal (lqf.4a-b) and Walter Anderson(rg:s; rq:q). Separate reference should be made to amore thorough article on the mid-g'h century hoardof 47o Arabian coins found in the village of Kohtla(Anderson 19z6). Friedenthal also published a syn-optic article (1936) on the coin hoards found on theterritories ofpresent-day Estonia and Latvia. A sep-arate article on the hoard of silver items fqund fromTartu was written by Schmiedehelm (ryzg).

Only a few special studies devoted to Late IronAge artefacts were written by Estonian archaeolo-gists. Only the article by Erna Ariste (1938) on thering-headed decorative pins and Moora's studies

G9z9c; r93r), which included an analysis of sometlpes of Late Iron Age eastern Baltic bracelets andneck-rings, can be noted here.

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General treatments

In the rgzos and r93os, several general reviews werepublished on the Late Iron Age and its archaeo-logical monuments on the basis of fresh as well aspreviously known data. The earliest of these, theabove-mentioned small booklet by E. Laid aboutEstonian prehistoric strongholds (r94), which wasalso provided with a list of the hillforts, includingtheir main characteristics, photos and plans, shouldbe noted. In the first half of the r9zos, both Tallgrenand Moora were vigorously engaged in the studyoi the Late Iron Age, and as a result they publishedthorough analyses of this period (Tallgren r9z5;-\Ioora ryz6b).

In t925, volume Ii of Tallgreds Zur ArchtiologieEestis, which devoted 30 pages of its total to theMiddle Iron Age, and as many as 16o pages to theLate Iron Age, was published. In this synthesis,Tallgren attempted to discuss the archaeologicaldata in relation to the contemporary natural envi-ronment. On the basis of the distribution of thefinds, he demonstrated that by the Late Iron Age thedistribution of settlement, especially that of westernEstonia and Saaremaa Island, had expanded consid-erably in comparison with the Early Iron Age. Asfor the graves, he emphasized the variety of burialcustoms. He argued that in most parts of Late IronAge Estonia, the dead were buried in stone gravesresembling these of the Early Iron Age, while inwestern Estonia, stone graves with low and sparsestone cover, and in southern Estonia sand barrowswere in use. The artefactual record was consideredto reflect both southern Baltic and Scandinavianinfluences. At the same time, Tallgren admitted thatthe Estonian Late Iron Age culture possessed a spe-cifi.c national individuality, and that this culture wasof a democratic and rural nature.

Moora's book (r9z6b) provided an excellent reviewof the Late Iron Age, although in a slightly morepopular form than that of Tallgren. As one of hismain conclusions, Moora stressed that by the end ofprehistoric times, a distinct national culture of the

Estonians that differed from neighbouring nations,had came into existence. The society of prehistoricEstonia was regarded as more egalitarian than thesocieties of most of its neighbours.

B. Nerman, who was concerned with certainissues of the Estonian Late Iron Age, summarizedhis study in a book about the relations between theScandinavian and eastern Baltic regions in the LateIron Age (Nerman ry29).In this, he primarily out-lined and emphasized Swedish, first and foremostGotlandic influences in the material culture, espe-cially the weapons, of the eastern Baltic Viking Age.

The most important synthesizing presentation ofthe early 193os was Moora's book on Estonian pre-history, as it was more generalizing and concisethan the previous ones, and published in German(Moora r93z). As a novel approach, in this studymore attention was paid to cultural and trade con-nections. Moora argued that the Late Iron Age wasa period of considerable upsurge, when Estonianculture became more independent than before. Inaddition to the contacts in southern and northerndirections that already existed in the Middle IronAge, in the Viking Age relations on the East-Westaxis also became important for Estonians. Estoniawas situated at the crossroads of trade routes andconsequently the influences came from variousdirections. By developing these influences creatively,the Estonians shaped their distinctive national cul-ture. For broader perspective, Moora emphasizedthat throughout prehistoric periods, except .forthe Stone Age, the Estonian cultural border wasroughly marked by the Narva River and Lake Peipsi.Therefore, in cultural terms this area did not belongto Eastern Europe but was part of the Baltic culturalregion. Moora also criticized the view that it wasnot until the German expansion in the r3'h centurythat Estonia was integrated into the West. He arguedthat this expansion brought no significant changes,as the present centres, connecting roads and cul-tural borders continued to exist.

In ry32 the first volume of the large generaltreatment of Estonian history (ERA I, r93z) was

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published. No archaeologists were involved in thecompilation of this popular and national treatment.The part concerning the Late Iron Age was writtenby journalist |uhan Libe, and the chapter about reli-gion and mentality by folklorist Oskar Loorits.

A couple of years later, the whole of prehistory wasembraced in the first volume of a new treatment ofEstonian history (EA I, 1935), which was the mostconsiderable synthesizing work compiled in thedecades under discussion. The Late Iron Age com-prised the largest part (r3o pages) of the volume,almost as much as was dedicated to all of the previ-ous periods. The Late Iron Age part was principallywritten by Moora and Laid, while the linguistic-his-torical problems were discussed by |ulius Miigiste,and those of foreign relations by Hans Kruus. Thelatter also presented the review ofthe early t3'h cen-tury crusade. As it was then only a few years sincethe previous review of Estonian prehistory (Moora

ry32) had been published, no fundamental changesin the understanding of the Late Iron Age were madein the 1935 account. However, as this book was morecapacious, the problems of settlement, economy(i.e. field cultivation, stock raising, hunting, fishing,apiculture), handicraft and trade, religion, societalorganization, military matters and foreign rela-tions were discussed more thoroughly therein. Incomparison with the previous syntheses, more eth-nographic and linguistic-historical data as well aswritten sources had been used in this book. As forthe written record, Die Estlandliste des Liber CensusDaniae by Paul |ohansen (rg::), providing a surveyabout the parish division, villages and landownersin Harjumaa and Virumaa in about rz4o, was ofgreat importance. New data about the topographyof central Estonia - the location of the Pala Riverand the districts of that area that were mentioned inthe chronicle of Henry of Livonia - were presentedin the articles by historian Rudolf Kenkmann (1932;

r%).As for the following works of a general charac-

ter, reference should be made to the two works byMoora: as to an introduction to the collection of

articles on prehistoric hillforts in Estonia (Moora

ry3ga), and to an article about Estonian hillfortspublished in Finland (iS+o). In these he first pre-sented the argumentation for the chronologicalclassification of the hillforts, based not only,on themorphology of the monuments. On the grounds ofthe investigation results of the hillforts, he also drewsome novel and far-reaching conclusions about thesociety as a whole. Moora demonstrated that inaround the year looo a lot of minor and less forti-fied strongholds, presumably belonging to a localcommunity area (Germ. Mark,Est. saras), had beenabandoned. New hillforts were larger and stronger,as their construction was a concern of a certain mid-level territorial unit (kihelkond), or even of a largeradministrative unit. The hillfort of this larger dis-trict was designated by Moora by the term maalin'nus, which referred to their central position withina certain territory or land (maa). These strongholdswere located on important roads, and they func-tioned as the political and religious centres for thedistricts in question.

In conclusion, in the 192os-194os the investiga-tion of the Late Iron Age took a remarkable step for-ward, primarily due to the investigation of hillfortsand the accumulation of data about Late Iron Agestone graves. The period also yielded four generaltreatments of Estonian prehistory, in which primeattention was paid to the Late Iron Age. Regrettpbly,this development was interrupted by the Sovietoccupation and World War II.

Research from ry44-rggL

While the first year of Soviet occupation in r94o-r94r remained too short for the implementationof changes in archaeological approaches, since1944 new imprints were also imposed on Estonianarchaeology. For ideological reasons, the histori-cal contacts between Estonia and Russia neededto be emphasized, and the main period in the

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Rrspencu rNTo rHE Lern Inox AcE - ArN MApseru eNo Hprrr V_qJ,x

archaeological context was the Late Iron Age. Thefirst treatment on this issue was provided by Harri\Ioora (rS+8). A positive response to the ideologicaldemand was expressed in some treatments by Artur\hssar GgS+b; 196o). The same question became thetopic of Vilma Trummal's candidate thesis (1955).In the 195os eastern Estonia was regarded as beingsubordinated to feudal republic of Novgorod, espe-cially since the u3os. Scandinavian contacts wereneglected and disregarded or depicted in a negativelight. In the first half of the r95os even excavationsoccurred in a corresponding framework. In responseto Paul |ohansen's book (r95r) on the founding ofTallinn - according to him, by Scandinavian mer-chants after m9 -,int95z-t953 Svetlana Tarakanovafrom Moscow directed, with Osvald Saadre, excava-tions in the capital of Estonia. The aim of the works\vas to find the traces ofan earlier urban centre andobtain evidence of its inhabitants' close friendship\vith Old Rus (Tarakanova & Saadre 1955; Miill &Russow zoo3), (Fig. ar). The major excavations thatbegan in r95o in Otep?iii hillfort (first mentionedin 1116 and besieged by the Russians in nry) mightalso belong to the context of the study of Estonian-Russian relations.

Although in the Soviet ideological system the onlyaccepted theoretical approach was Marxism, it actu-ally found no far-reaching reception in Estonianarchaeology. It was mainly from its theoreticaltools that the concepts of the primary meaning ofmaterial and natural preconditions and economyfor the development of the society arose. In fact,throughout the Soviet period, in spite of the com-pulsory Marxist phraseology, there continued to bea nation-centred research approach. As the latestperiod of prehistory, the Late Iron Age was of spe-cial meaning here.

The moderation of the political climate in ther96os also marked the end of the ideologizedaccen-tuation of Estonian-Russian relations in archaeol-ogy. Contacts with Russian colleagues, however,remained limited, and joint projects were avoided.Co-operation with Latvia in the investigation of

Fig. +r. Archaeology and ideology: sculpture symbolizingEstonian-Russian friendship in the struggle against theGermans ft952) (photo: H. Valk).

the Late Iron Age was most intensive in the r96os,when Evald T6nisson was involved in the study ofthe Gauja Livs - a Finnic ethnicity in the southernneighbourhood of south-western Estonia.

Up to the r97os, in the studies of the Late IronAge the territory of Estonia was not dividedbetween researchers into research areas: only AitaKustin's topic was concentrated upon the islandsof Saaremaa and Muhu since the mid-r95os. In themid-r97os, when a new generation of archaeologistsemerged and the practical need for field invento-ries increased, most of Estonia was divided betweenarchaeologists into areas of responsibility. As a resultof such a division, of researchers engaged in LateIron Age studies, Mare Aun concentrated on south-eastern Estonia, Ain Lavi on northern Tartumaa,Mati Mandel on Liidnemaa and Evald T6nissonon Idrvamaa. Toomas Tamla's main research area

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REss-A.ncH INro tHB LetE InoN Acs - ArN M:irseru euo HErxr Verr

involved the Pada River basin in Virumaa, and PriitLigi's research concerned (since the early r98os) theAlutaguse district north of Lake Peipsi.

Archaeological fi eldwork

Cemeteries

In the r94os-r96os, among Late Iron Age sites(Fig. +z) much attention continued to be paid tothe study of cemeteries. New data about crema-tion graves remained quite limited in continentalEstonia. The first post-war excavations in Lootvina(1946 Vassar), launched due to rich Late Iron Agecremations in pit graves found occasionally in 1942,yielded no new grave complexes from that period.In north-western Estonia, smaller excavations tookplace on the damaged stone graves of Haimre (1948

Ariste) and Mallavere in HarjumaaQg55 Laul), bothwith a sparse stone setting. The continued excava-tions at K6ola (r95o Moora) only yielded limitedfinds, but some Late Iron Age finds were gainedfrom the Aseri tarand-grave (r95r Saadre). In north-ern Viljandimaa, as a larger project, |iiri Selirandcontinued excavations on the Madi stone grave in1959, r96r-t9@ and ry65-r966.In those years, anarea of almost rooo m' of the 11th-13'h century ceme-tery, which contained rich finds, was excavated. Onthe island of Saaremaa, part of Kdku cemetery withgraves within and between stone circles was stud-ied (rg+8-rg49 Metsar). Aita Kustin directed exca-vations at Rahu cemetery (r959-t9$), and openedthree enclosed stone-circle graves in Kurevere dat-ing from the 7'h-8th up to the rzth century (Kustin

t966).The r94os-r96os also yielded new information

about Late Iron Age inhumations which since the11th-12th centuries had become numerous besidecremations in Estonia. Additional data were prima-rily acquired from northern and eastern Estonia.In ry49 and r95o Erna Ariste (in r95o together withMoora) continued excavations at |6uga barrows in

the Votic inhabitation area of north-eastern Estonia.Soon trial excavations on a barrow at Palasi cem-etery occurred (1958 Moora and Tonisson). Otherexcavations took place mainly on inhumation cem-eteries from the late rz'h century and the first half ofthe r3th century, largely similar in character - withmainly west-oriented graves and richly furnishedfemale burials. The graves of that group were firststudied in Kiiti in Virumaa (rg+8 Ariste). Similarinhumations of that period, totalling 6z graves,came to light during long-lasting rescue excava-tions in Kaberla, where the cemetery was damagedby gravel-digging (1955 Kustini ry56 Laul; 1958,r96t, t964 Selirand; 1966 Aun). The results of thefirst excavation years have been published in a spe-cial article (Selirand ry62).The north-east orientedgraves from Tammiku in Virumaa, excavated byEvald T6nisson in 1958, date from the pre-conquestera - the late rzth century (T6nisson 1973). Some LateIron Age inhumations were also discovered in stone

graves with cremation burials. In Lddnemaa suchgraves, dating from the very end of the period, wereopened in Enivere (1947 Vassar; 1950 Tonisson),Haimre (1948 Ariste) and Mallavere (1955 Laul). Onthe island of Saaremaa, some inhumations from thelate rzs century were studied in Loona (t956-r958

Kustin). The material from Karja cemetery on thesame island, excavated in ry55 (Kustin 1958), waspredominantly from the t3'h century.

In the r96os, together with Latvian colleagues,T6nisson excavated the Livic barrows of the rr'h-r3th centuries in the Gauja River basin. The worksin Krimulda in ry59-t962 (together with |anisGraudonis) and in Birili in 1964 yielded new dataabout richly furnished inhumation graves.

Since the 19zos, new researchers became involvedin the study of Late Iron Age cemeteries. In thestrdy of cremation grnves, advances were greatest inLddnemaa, where data on Iron Age cemeteries weremost limited up to the r97os. The research into thealmost uninvestigated topic was commenced withdigging on K6msi III stone grave (r97o Lougas).In the r97os Mati Mandel launched a long-term

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Rrspexcn rNTo rHE Llrp InoN Acs - ArN MtiEseru eNo Herrr Verx

6IlmanduandMuraste,TKumna,SPadise,gLohu,rcAngerja,uHarmi,nPaunkil la,BKose,4Mallavere,4Ubina,6 Vaida, t7 Kehra, tB Kabeila and Kodasoo, t9 Kuusalu, zo Muuksi, zt Vatku, Tougu, V\hma, Uuskilla and llumde,zz Saueviilja, 4 Levala, z4 Kilti, z5 Tammiku, z6 Palasi, z7 Linnuse in Kunda, zB Varudi-Vanakitla, z9 Viru-Nigulaand Pada, jo Aseri, 3t Purtse, 3z Maidla in Virumaa, jj Kohtla-Kiiva and Edise, j4 Tarumaa, 35 Kuremcie, j6 louga,j7 Reastvere, jB Ripuka, 39 Koola, 4o Kalana, 4t Kurista, 4z Kassinurme, 4j Raatvere and Siiiiritsa, 44 Punikvere,45 Alatskivi (Peatskivi) and Lahepera, 46 Saadjcirve, 47 Vedu, 48 Lohavere and Kiirevere, 49 Olustvere, 5o Madi,5t Viljandi, Aindu and Mustivere, 5z Naanu, 5j Kuude, S+ Sinialliku, 55 Sammaste, 56 Vooru, 57 Torva, 58 Tartu,59 Unipiha, 6o Lootvina, 6t (Jderna, 6z Aakre, 6j Otepiili, 64 Tilleoru, 65 Metste, 66 Vana-Koiola, 67 Kirumpriri,68 Ktiripa, 69 Laossina, 7o Viiike-Rosna and Pedrijdsaare, 7t Tuderna, 7z Lindora, 7j Rouge, 74 Plaani, 75 Siksrilii andHino, 76 Vastseliina, 77 Kalatsova and Uusvada, 78 lrboska, 79 Einbi, 8o Linnamrie, 8t Koela and Uugla, 8z Vidruka,8j Maidla in Lcicinemaa, 84 Varbola and Keldrimcie, 85 Haimre, 86 lalase, 87 Keava and Linnaaluste, 88 Margu inM1isakilla, 89 Kolu (Ahli), 9o Ehmja, Enivere and Keskvere, 9t Kullamaa, 9z Vdike-Roude, 9j Konovere, 94 Lihulaand Sipa, 95 Kirbla, 96 Soontagana, 97 liirise, 98 Kasekiila and K1msi, 99 Vatla and Linnuse, rco Loona, rct Kurevere,rcz Lihulinn, rc3 Tuiu and Paatsa, rc4 Torise, rc5 Piila, rc6 Kriku, rc7 Sutu and P(illa, rc8 Valjala and Rahu, rc9 Karja,tto Kogula, nt Randvere, viltina and Kiio-Matsi, uz Pijide and Tornimiie, uj Tamse, u4 v6lla.

research program on the stone graves of Lidnemaa, graves in Uugla (t977, t98l from the 11th-r2th cen-mainly yielding material from the rrth - early r3th turies. Excavations also took place on Komsi IIIcenturies. The excavations began with work in stone grave Gglg), in Ehmja (r982-r99r), Kolu/AhliLinnamde i976-r98o) and continued on two stone (1986), Kirbla (r9S3) and Maidla Q983-t985, t987-

Fig. +2. Late Iron Age sites investigated during ry45-2oos. t Tallinn, z lru, 3 Proosa and Lagedi, 4 Lehmja, 5 Padikilta,

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Rpsnencu INTo rHE LerB InoN Ace - AIN MAeslru eNo Hnrrr Verr

Fig. +3. Excavations at the stone grave of Sammaste (photo: H. Valk).

1990). The Maidla stone grave is the Iargest com-pletely excavated site of that tlpe in Estonia. In thatcemetery, which has been damaged by collectivefarming activities, an area of z85o m' was opened.Excavations have shown that most typical graves inLddnemaa were flat stone settings with dispersedcremations, although in some cases closed com-plexes of artefacts could also be distinguished. TheMargu cemetery in Moisakiila (1986 Pdrn), whichalso contained post-medieval inhumations, belongsto the same group of western Estonian stone graves.

In northern Estonia, new data from Late Iron Age

cremation graves came from Proosa cemetery nearTallinn. In the course of long-lasting excavationsdirected by Kaupo Deemant between r97o andt'984,the whole cemetery dating from the Late Bronze

Age up to the crusades (a total of c. r5oo m') wasstudied.

New data from northern Tartumaa have beenobtained by Ain Lavi. The cemeteries of Raatvereand Vedu, which were excavated in r98r-r983 and1987 respectively, had no stone constructions, butincluded dispersed cremations or cremations inshallow pit-graves. Sddritsa cemetery on the shoreof Lake Peipsi may also originate from the Late IronAge. From the preserved remains of this site, stone-layers of presumed cultic purpose were studied in1983.

In southern Estonia, rich Late Iron Age mate-rial - numerous fragments of weapons and ridingequipment - was obtained from Sammaste stonegrave (Fig. 43;1989 Valk), which had been continu-

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REspencn rNTo rHE Lern InoN AcE - ArN MAsseru lNo HErrr Verr

truslv in use from the late Pre-Roman Iron Age to:he conquest. The excavations were commenced inorder to study the transition from a stone grave toa medieval village cemetery, but the site appearedto have stopped functioning as a burial place at thetime of Christianization. Data concerning the dis-persed cremation graves of the u'h-13'h centuriesir'ere obtained at Siksiilii cemetery in the south-east-ernmost corner of Estonia (r98o-i993 Peets andLaul).

After Kustin's death, research into the Late Iron-\ge cemeteries of Saaremaa ended for a decade.Investigations were continued with the excavationofthe Rahu stone grave (r98o Lang) and the open-ing of two graves at Piila cemetery (1989 Lougas).

Since the r97os, various new data abott inhu-mation graves were obtained in eastern Estonia.Research on the south-eastern Estonian barrowscontaining inhumations was commenced by SilviaLaul. The purpose of the work was to obtain infor-mation about the burial rites and ethno-cultural sit-uation after the end of the use of the long and roundbarrows, i.e. since the nth century. In Lindora, insouth-eastern V6rumaa, a cemeterywith 16 moundsirom the l1th or early o'h century was totally exca-vated in ry77 and ry18; in the latter year a 12th cen-tury barrow was also studied in Ttderna. Researchcontinued in r98o-r993 on Siksiilii cemetery. Thisrvork unearthed rich inhumation graves from thesecond half of the rz'h and r3'h centuries - some ofthem flat and some marked with barrows. Mostcharacteristic of Siksiilzi were weapon graves and thefinds of well-preserved textile remains. The richlyfurnished graves also continued into the r4'h andr5'h centuries. In parallel to the Siksiilii excavations,a rz'h-century barrow was opened at Plaani (i987Peets). Trial excavations at Metste barrows nearPolva (1987 Aun and luzar), where rich n'h centurygraves had been excavated in the late rgth century,yielded no undisturbed inhumations.

In eastern Estonia, Late Iron Age inhumations intwo cemeteries in northern Tartumaa were stud-ied by Ain Lavi. Excavations at the tqrand-grave of

Lahepera in ry77-r978 revealed a group of burialsfrom the late rz'h and r3'h centuries by the side of thestone grave. Raatvere cemetery, studied in r98r and1983, provided data about richly furnished gravesfrom the rr'h or early rzth century, whereby also someweapon graves with smithing tools were opened. InVirumaa, within Toomas Tamla's studies of the Padaarchaeological complex, consisting of two hillfortsand a settlement site (see below), r7z inhumationgraves were also opened on the cemetery from themid-rz'h up to the mid-t3'h century (r986, r988-1989Tamla). Burials with different orientations wererichly furnished with ornaments, and often alsowith weapons.

Excavations were also continued on the barrowcemetery of |ouga in eastern Virumaa (198o-1986,r99o) by Priit Ligi who took control of the investi-gation of the Votic settlement area of north-easternEstonia. In parallel to that work, small excavationstook place on the barrows of Kuremde (r9S5 Ligi)and Palasi (1985 Ligi and T. Tamla), the latter beingthe north-westernmost cemetery in the area of dis-tribution of the Votic barrows.

Hillforts

After World War II, research on Estonian hillfortscontinued from the beginning of the r95os. Toestablish their chronology, Harri Moora performedtrial excavations on several sites, mainly in south-eastern Estonia in r95o (Moora 1955).

From r95o-r974 large excavations directed byOsvald Saadre took place on Otepdd hillfort, whichwas one of the main centres of south-eastern Estoniain the final centuries of the Iron Age and also at thetime of the German conquest. The Iron Age cul-tural layers were partly damaged by the bishop'scastle, which dated from the r3th-t4th centuries. Asa matter of fact, due to the methodology and poordocumentation of the work, the excavated materialshave lost most of the information about their con-text. After Saadre's death, smaller excavations took

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Fig. ++, Late lron Age hillfort in Soontagana (photo: V. Lang)

place in Otepriii, on the hillfort's lower plateau (1983Maiesalu).

In the 195os and r96os several excavationsoccurred on the hillforts of Viljandimaa. In r95z and1953 Naanu hillfort was studied by Moora. Between

ry56 and 1962, Moora's excavations continued onL6havere hillfort. By the end of the expedition,c. 15oo m', i.e. more than zlz of its area, had beenopened. The work offered a good overview of thehousing and defensive structures, and the gatewayand two wells with well-preserved timber artefactswere also studied. In southern Viljandimaa, diggingfollowed at the Viking Age hillforts of T6rva Gg6s-ry67 Harri and Henn Moora) and Vooru Gg6g-r97o Henn Moora), as well as on Sinialliku hillfort,which dated from the tt'h-tz'h centuries j967-t969

Selirand).

Work in south-eastern and eastern Estonia contin-ued on the hillfort of R6uge. Its plateau, with severalremains of dwellings, was totally excavated (tgSt-r95z Moora; ryfi-ry55 Schmiedehelm), and theearthen rampart was cut with a trench. The strong-hold, with an intensive cultural layer, had been inuse from the 6'h to the u'h century (Schmiedehelm1959). Excavations also took place on the hillfort ofTartu (r956-t958, t96o Trummal), where the LateIron Age layers were disturbed by the medieval cas-tle even more badly than in Otep?i?i. Work done in

ry79 and r98o under the direction of Ain Mdesaluprovided information about the inner constructionof the hillfort's wall. Mare Aun studied the hillfortsof Alatskivi (Peatskivi), dating from the end of the r"millennium to the rz'h century (in rg68-196 g, r97r),and of Unipiha, from the 8'h-tr'h centuries (in 1968-

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Rpsn-tncn rNTo rHE Lers InoN AcE - ArN MABs-q.ru,q,No Hnrrr Vex

i9:o). In the context of Ain Lavi's research on thesettlement history of northern Tartumaa, excava-Iions occurred on the Viking Age hillfort of Kurista1984-1985 Lavi and Peets) and on Saadjdrve hillfort1984 Lavi), which was in use from the Viking Age

up to the crusades. In the r97os and r98os, extensiveercavations were conducted by Russian archaeolo-qist Valentin Sedov on Irboska hillfort on the east-ern frontiers ofthe ethnic Estonian (Setu) areas.

In northern Estonia, the only major work of thepost-war decades took place on the Viking Age hill-tort of Iru near Tallinn (1952-1958 Vassar). After ahiatus, the excavations were continued by ValterLang on its northern plateau and central rampartin 1984-1986 (Lang rq8Zb). Some Late Iron Agetinds were discovered during the excavation of therillage cemetery on the plateau of Varbola hillfort(rqS: Mark). Excavations at the Viking Age hillfortof Padise in 1963 (Saadre ry7o) and on Toompea('Cathedral Hill') in Tallinn (r98r-r982, r987 Tamm)provided only limited data about Late Iron Age set-tlement traces.

On the island of Saaremaa, excavations occurredin Valjala, the last fort which was besieged duringthe Estonian crusades in nz7. The work directedby A. Kustin in ry62 and ry64 within the rampart-enclosed area also opened the fort's well. In 1963Kustin excavated the hillfort of Paatsa.

The investigation of hillforts in western Estoniabegan with major work in Soontagana, a centrefrom the rr'h - early r3th centuries (Fig. 44; 1965Kustin; r966-t97t T6nisson). E. T6nisson's (Fig.+S)Soontagana studies were followed by digging inViking Age forts at Konovere (r97t-t97) andLohu Q974-t976), as well as by long-term work inVarbola, the largest stronghold of Estonia, fromthe late rrth - early r4'h century (t974-r989, antllr98z with Selirand, since 1978 with U. Tamla). Inthe course of these expeditions, part of the pla-teau with stove remains, as well as one of the gateswith unique defensive constructions, were opened.In addition, T6nisson dug trial pits on many otherhillforts with the purpose of studying their chronol-

Fig. +f. Evald TOnisson (photo: AI).

ogy. In Lddnemaa, in order to find the early post-conquest castle mentioned in the written sources,Kullamaa hillfort was studied with a trial plot (t974Tamm).

In Virumaa, T. Tamla excavated hillforts belong-ing to the archaeological complex of Pada: the smallViking Age fort Ggtt-tgzil and the big one fromthe final centuries of the Iron Age j979, 1983, 1985).On that site, the gateway was also opened (1985)and reconstructed. In addition, rescue excavationsoccurred at the rampart of Purtse hillfort (1978-r98tMeiesalu and T. Tamla), which had been damagedby the local collective farm.

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Open settlements and other sites

The research into Iron Age open settlements beganin Estonia with excavations in Mustivere, close toViljandi Q948-r949 Moora and Kustin). The aim ofthe works was to get comparative data to materialsfrom L6havere hillfort. As the expedition yieldedless information than expected, interest in open set-tlements decreased for more than two decades. Up tothe late r97os, problem-based excavations remainedconnectgd mainly with sites related to Viking Agehillforts. Thus in R6uge, about r/3 of the settlementdating from the Roman Iron Age to the tlth cen-tury was studied (t954, 1956-1959 Schmiedehelm).Work also took place at settlements related to Aakre(t972-t973 Aun) and Pada Q977-t978 T. Tamla)hillforts. The number and amount of rescue excava-tions of Iron Age settlements remained limited untilthe late r96os, with work at Tornimde in Saaremaa(1963 Kustin) and at Iru (ry67 Tonisson).

Since the early r97os, the cultural layers of IronAge open settlements attracted the attention ofthe new generation of archaeologists. Graduallythese sites also became regarded as source mate-rial for archaeological research. In the early r97os,trial excavations occurred on Late Iron Age settle-ments at Linnuse in Lzi:inemaa, close to Vatla hill-fort Q97z T6nisson), and in Kaseki.ila (1973 L6ugasand Mandel).

The systematic registration of open settlementsin Estonia (see Lang, this volume, a) began in thesurroundings of Tallinn in the mid-r97os underthe direction of Vello L6ugas and amateur archae-ologist Oskar Raudmets, but since the late rg7os,field-walking also involved many others (e.g. M.Mandel in Lddnemaa, T. Tamla and Tanel Moora inVirumaa). The Heritage Conservation Act of t'977laid the foundations for including Iron Age settle-ments in the list of nationally protected sites. Theincreasing number of registered monuments andtheir protected status also formed the basis for thegrowing number of rescue excavations that beganat large melioration objects of state and collective

farms (Lavi D97, 89 tr, fig. z). The extensive andnumerous fieldwork performed showed that I"ateIron Age settlement sites mostly remained in useeven in medieval and post-medieval times. As thesites are usually connected to the present-day settle-ment pattern and are often located in village centresor in the vicinity of manors, settlement continuityhas in most cases lasted until the present day.

The volume of rescue excavations related to con-struction projects was greatest in the late r97osand in the r98os. This wave of rescue work beganat the settlement at Iru hillfort (1976 L6ugas andU. Tamla) and also continued at the Iron Age andmedieval site of Linnuse in Kunda (rgZ8 K. faanits).Trial excavations also occurred at Kddpa settle-ment (1978-1979 T. Tamla and M. Laul) and at theViking Age settlement at the foot of Otepii2i hill-fort (1982 Mdesalu). The most extensive work onIron Age settlement sites occurred between 1978and 1985 in Olustvere (Lavi and Sokolovski, in 1983also Lang) and Lehmja (1985-1989 Lavi and Niinre).In Olustvere, on the construction plot of an agri-cultural technical school, c. zl3 of the settlementfrom the uth to the r8n century (c. 16,ooo m") werestudied. The excavations were largely initiated bythe finds of two large hoards of silver coins - onefrom the n'h and the other from the r4th century.In Lehmja, large rescue excavations in connectionwith the Tallinn-Tartu road re-construction mainlyprovided data about later periods (the Late IronAge occupation area was mainly studied in 1985). Inconnection with road building, Late Iron Age set-tlements were also extensively studied in Kuusalu

Q979-r98o Kraut), in Uderna GgSZ-rg8g Lang andLigi), in Vana-Koiola (1985-1988 Aun; r99o Udam)and in Pada (rq8o-r982 T. Tamla). Rescue workswith a smaller extent took place at the settlementsof Kirbla (1983 Mandel), Koela (1984 Mandel) andAngerja j986-t987 U. Tamla and Valk), as well asat the foot of Peatskivi hillfort (rq86 Lavi). In thecontext of the financial possibilities of the still exist-ing Soviet empire, the layers disturbed by ploughingwere also studied.

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RsseencH rNTo rHE L-crE InoNr Acn - ArN MArslru eNo Hsrrr V-A.rx

The number and amount of research-based exca-vations concerning Iron Age settlements was stillquite small. Such work occurred at the settlementsoi Keldrimrie in Varbola j985-r987 U. Tamla andTonisson), Kdrevere (r9S5 V. and M. Sokolovski)and Pada (1985 T. Tamla). The Proosa settlementnear Tallinn, which was studied with small plotsduring eleven field sessions (1985-1995 Deemant),rtas mainly medieval in origin, and yielded only at-erv finds from the Late Iron Age.

The investigation of ancient fields from theLate Iron Age began with the excavations of clear-ance cairns near K6msi in Liiiinemaa (t979, t98r-\landel).

Research into Estonian ancient iron smelting sitesn'as begun by A. Kustin with excavations in Tuiuin ry62 and in T6rise in 1969, both on the island ofSaaremaa. Since the mid-rgSos iron production hasbeen studied by fiiri Peets: extensive studies wereundertaken in Tuiu in 1986-1996 and smaller field-rvork in T6rise in 1989. Field inventories in the for-ests of Ttiu have revealed the huge dimensions ofthe local iron production complex from the rz'h-r4thcenturies. Related studies also involve excavationsat the adjacent Paatsa hillfort in 1989 and relatedsmithy, both dating from the same period. Thisr1'h-14'h century smithy, investigated in r989-r99o,is the only Iron Age smithy that has been excavatedin Estonia. Peets has also studied ancient iron pro-duction in northern and eastern Estonia, where heexcavated Late Iron Age and early medieval iron-smelting sites in Raatvere and Punikvere in north-ern Tartumaa (1983 together with Lavi), as well asin Palasi Q986-r987) and Tarumaa (1988-1989) inVirumaa.

General treatments andspecialized studies

Society and economy. During the Soviet occupationthe theoretical treatment of the Late Iron Age wasimplemented within new ideological conditions. Anew approach was especially demanded by the rul-

ing authorities for the basic concepts of social devel-opment, as well as for political reasons. In the frame-work of the Marxist approach, a key topic becamethe genesis of feudalism in the eastern Baltic region.This emphasis was presented in the first generalSoviet treatment of Estonian history (Naan ry52), insome special articles (Moora r953b; Vassar ry54a) andin the next general synthesis of Estonian history (EAI, rgSS).On the basis of the Marxist model, the LateIron Age in Estonia was regarded as a time of transi-tion from a society based on kinship relations andterritorial communities to a feudal society, wherebythe late rzth century was characterized as developedfeudalism already. The society was described as hav-ing an inner conflict between the old and new socialelites. The authority of the first was based on tradi-tions and kinship ties, the emergence of the new - onthe personal qualities of the new militant leaders andon their military success. The smaller and stronglyfortified new hillforts were regarded as belonging tothe new class of feudals, whereby the larger and oldones were interpreted as communal centres ruled bythe old elite - also becoming feudal as a reaction tothe emergence of their new rivals. The society wasdepicted as being in the stage ofthe genesis ofearlyfeudal state formations. The poorer members of thecommunity were regarded as depending on the feu-dal elite.

Although political and ideological factorsremained alien to Estonian archaeological thoughtas a whole during the Soviet period, Marxist ideasabout the meaning of the economic basis for thedevelopment of the society were more accepted.In the Soviet research milieu much attention waspaid to the study of economy. An essential reasonfor this was that in this field of study researcherscould express their ideas quite freely and historydid not need to be distorted. At the same time, thestudy of production was one of the key topics of theMarxist research of history and, as such, also offi-cially favoured. The results of investigations in thefield of production and economy were summarizedin special treatments on agriculture (Moora & Ligi

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Rr,ssencH rNto rHs LATe ItoN Acs - AIN M/iEsALU AND HErKr V,c.rr

1964), handicraft, trade, cattle breeding and hunting(Moora ry66; tg69; r97r). Regarding the three BalticStates as one area made it possible to draw conclu-sions about the economy and social order on a,com-parative scale. The collective works of Harri Mooraand agrarian historian Herbert Ligi Q969a-b; t'g7o),present definitive conclusions about the economyand society of the whole eastern Baltic region in the11th-13th centuries. The comparative approach basedboth on the archaeological and written data, madeit possible to distinguish considerable inner differ-ences within the area: the more rapid course of theeconomic and social processes, including fetdaliza-tion, in the southern part of the eastern Baltic regionin comparison with Estonia. The main keyword,however, was, in contrast to the r95os, not 'feudal

society' but the 'process of fetdalization (Moora &Ligi re6eb).

The political thaw of the r96os also enabled a moreliberal approach to the crusade and conquest warsof the early r3th century. Research and writing in thisfield (e.g. Tbnisson et al. 968), in fact, representedhidden support for the Estonian national spirit. Theemphasis shifted from the Estonians' and Russians'joint struggle against German aggression - a reflec-tion of official Soviet ideology resulting from WorldWar II - to the Estonians' fight against the crusad-ers. Also the general approach became more bal-anced and neutral (Vassar & Tarvel 1975).

Estonia's Late Iron Age in the national spirit (Laar

et al. ry89). Contacts with the east and the west werenow treated in a balanced manner. The gradual re-gaining of freedom since the mid-r98os generatedincreasing interest in Estonia's Late Iron Age westerncontacts. This context includes articles on EstonianViking Age coin and weapon finds (Selirand r98sb)and the Estonian perspective of the Viking expedi-tions (T6nisson r988b). In fact, the archaeologicalviews concerning the political and social aspects ofLate Iron Age Estonia had been de-Sovietized andlargely resembled those of the late r93os.

During the Soviet period, considerable advancesoccurred in the investigation of hillfurts' open set-tlements and settlement patterns. The mid-r95osbrought new conclusions about the Estonian hill-forts and open settlements (MAL, 1955). In thefirst general analltical survey on Estonian hill-forts (Moora1955), these sites were not regarded asmuch as military monuments but as reflections ofthe society and social development. The article waslater also published in German with some addi-tions (Moora,H. t967). A survey on the hillforts ofSaaremaa was composed by A. Kustin (1959). Fromcase studies, the excavation results of Rouge hill-fort were presented in a long article (Schmiedehelm1959). The materials from R6uge made it possible todistinguish the so-called R6uge Culture, character-izedby specific types of pottery from the second

Since ideological control over archaeologybecame half of the r't millennium AD.

milder since the r97os, the compulsory ideologi- In the first half of the r96os, in the course of the

cal demands, except for Marxist terminology, were L6havere excavations, the study of Estonian hillforts

already greatly neglected in the new monumental gradually became part of the research activities of

treatmentofEstonianprehistory(|aanits etal.ry8z). E. T6nisson. He published a booklet on L6havere

The situation made it possible to provide a new (rg6S),asmallbookonhillforts Qg66a) andanarti-

picture of Late Iron Age society. By the r98os and cle on Estonian shelters Gglz).After the death of

early r99os the model of the feudal society and the H. Moora and A. Kustin, the investigation of Late

process of early state formation had been rejected Iron Age hillforts was taken over by T6nisson. The

and, as a reaction to former pressure, the society results of the investigations were presented in his

was regarded as a largely egalitarian one (T6nisson doctoral dissertation (r988a), which offers a generalggza-b). overview of this group of monuments in Estonia.

The liberalization of the disintegrating Soviet Several ideas in this work, which remained unpub-

Union also enabled a political re-estimation of lished due to the author's premature death in zoor

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Rssn.{ncH rNTo rHE Lers InoN Acr - ArN MriEsaru eNt Hnxr Vlx

.rre presented in articles. Thus, there are examina-irons of the meaning of the term summitas cas-:'i in the chronicle of Henry of Livonia (T6nissonr98rc), about the chronology of Estonian hillfortsT6nisson r985b), and about hillforts as a reflec-

tion of the society (T6nisson ry8za). The large westEstonian forts enclosed with circular ramparts nowcame to be regarded as centres of a certain territo-rial unit (maa) that was no longer directly relatedto the kihelkond system (T6nisson r985a). There isalso a special article about the natural conditionsin the surroundings of L6havere hillfort (Rouk &Tonisson 1984).

T6nisson's treatments of Estonian Late Iron Agedwellings (r98o; r98ra) and stoves (rgSrb) are alsomainly based on the results of the excavation ofhillforts. The results of the investigation were laterdeveloped into surveys on dwellings in the Balticcountries (T6nisson r985c) and in the broaderFinnic context (Tbnisson rg86; rggo).

Since the r98os, analltical attention has been paidto the hillforts of north-eastern Estonia. ToomasTamla analysed the sites and their chronology inthe Pada River basin (rg8+), and performed a sur-vey on the defensive constructions of the hillforts ofVirumaa Gg8).In the context of hillfort studies, anarticle about Viking Age Irboska must also be noted(Sedov rq8s).

Special studies were dedicated to the originsof Estonia's main centres - Tallinn and Tartu. Asmentioned above. in Tallinn excavations occurredin ry52-r953 in order to find traces of Late IronAge urban settlement and Russian contacts. Laterthe materials were critically reviewed and Tallinnbecame regarded as a seasonal trading place, locatedat the foot of a non-permanently used hillfort(T6nisson ry76). The results of the archaeologicalexcavations on the hillfort of Tartu were presentedin a book (Trummal 1965), and there is an articleconcerning the relations between archaeology andthe raid of Prince Yaroslav I the Wise of Kiev in ro3o(Trummal ry7r).Ihe problems of the establishmentof towns were also regarded in a broader perspec-

tive, i.e. in the context of the eastern Baltic region(Tonisson r987).

The analysis of material from open rural settle-ments remained, due to the extensive amount offieldwork, limited with short surveys about build-ings from Olustvere (Sokolovskij 1985) and con-struction remains from the Lehmja settlement (Lavi& Niinre 1990).

Of Late Iron Age regional studies, the first majorresult of a general character was A. Kustin's manu-script thesis on the islands of Saaremaa and Muhu atthe beginning of the z"d millennium (Kustin ry6za)which remained unpublished due to the authortearly death. The main conclusions are presentedalso in an article (Kustin ry67). In another article(Kustin ry6zc) published in the book dedicatedto the so-called Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipsi intz4z, when the Livonian army was defeated bythe Russians, Kustin discussed sites on the west-ern coast of Lake Ldmmijdrv (the southern part ofLake Peipsi). New treatments were provided aboutEstonia's Late Iron Age administrative or territorialdivisions - about the location of the Korbe district(Arens ry49) and about the medium-level territorialtnits (kihelkonds) of southern and western Estonia(Tarvel t968 tgzt).

Studies on Late Iron Age cemeteries and burialcustoms were published in three monographs basedon candidate dissertations. The book by ]iiri Selirandon Estonian burial customs in the uth-r3th centuriesQ9fu is based on the cemeteries, finds and burialrites of continental Estonia. E. T6nisson's profoundmonograph about the Gur.lu Livs Q9fi presents therich grave finds from the barrows in the basin ofthe Gauja River, using them as a basis for drawingconclusion about Late Iron Age Livic society. MareAun's study (rg8o) concerns the Viking Age longand round barrows of south-eastern Estonia (seealso TVauri, this volume, a). The abundant materialfrom the cemeteries of Saaremaa was handled in A.Kustin's dissertation (r96za). Kustin also publishedan article about Randvere cemetery (r96zb), whichwas studied with rescue work in 1939. The results

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REssncH rNTo rHE LerE Inow Acn - ArN MAsseru eNo Hprrr Verr

of the investigation of the Votic cemeteries in theAlutaguse area (north of Lake Peipsi), both the olddata and the materials from new fieldwork, werepresented and analysed by Priit Ligi in his candi-date thesis UgSl),which was defended in Leningrad(St. Petersburg), and in two articles in Estonian(1988; r993c). The burial customs of the Late lronAge are also reflected in a popular book on ancientEstonian cemeteries (Selirand 1967).

A favourite research topic in Soviet archaeologywas ethnic history.In spite of the ideological pres-sure of the r94os and r95os, Estonian archaeologywas able to use the possibilities and benefits offeredby the new system in order to promote research infields related to ethno-cultural identity. It is impor-tant to note the meaning of this topic for nationalidentity and self-consciousness in the conditionsof occupation and Russification. The interdiscipli-nary research project to study the ethno-genesis ofthe Estonians and neighbouring peoples launchedby H. Moora in 1948 yielded output in the formof a collection of articles (EREA, 1956) that alsoinvolved the archaeological record of the n'h - earlyr3th centuries. Later attention has been paid to thedecrease in regional cultural differences and tothe formation of the Estonian common identity inthe Late Iron Age (Selirand r98o; 1989), as well asto the general ethno-cultural situation in the east-ern Baltic region at the threshold of the crusades(Selirand 1995b).

In the context of Late Iron Age ethnic stud-ies, the question of Finnic-Slavonic relations washighly topical during most of the Soviet period.It was expressed first in the interpretations of thelong and round barrows of south-eastern Estonia,which in the r95os and r96os were attributed to theeastern Slavs. In the r97os, however, the Estonianarchaeologists presented another interpretation:these monuments were assigned to the easternFinnic population (see also TVauri, this volume, a).Changes occurred also in the interpretation of theLatest Iron Age barrows of Alutaguse. Instead ofearlier approach which attributed the barrows to the

Votians (Moora ryz9b),these monuments were sincethe r95os interpreted as sites related to the mixedSlavonic-Votic population that migrated in the rz'hcentury from the Novgorodian Land (Trummal

t96o; r97ob; Moora, A. t964, zz ff). Since the r98os,however, ideas of the Votic identity and autochtonicorigin of this ethnic group were presented again byPriit Ligi Q987; r989a; rg%c) . In the category of LateIron Age ethno-cultural studies, one might add atreatment on the topic of the Chuds in the writtensources (Ligi r98o) and respective chapters from thestudies on the ethnic history of the Votians and theIzhorians (Moora, A. tg64; Moora & Moora 1965;Laul 1982, zo tr). The questions of Finnic-Slavonicrelations have also been discussed on a broaderscale by |. Selirand (rgtza).

Since most of the Livic finds, those from the tsar-ist period excavations, were stored in the archaeo-logical collections of the Learned Estonian Societyin the Institute of History in Tallinn, the study of theLivs as a special topic emerged. In the r96os EvaldT6nisson paid much attention to the study of theLate Iron Age Livic culture and society in the frame-work of his candidate thesis. His monograph on theGauja Livs Q974) was preceded by short treatmentson the Livic barrow cemeteries of Krimulda (r966c),

as well as on the relations between the CouronianLivs and those in the Gauja River basin Q97oa).The main data about the Late Iron Age Livic societywere also presented in Estonian (T6nisson r98zb).A short article concerns the population of Idumeadistrict, located between the Livs and the southernEstonians (T6nisson r966b).

In the r95os and r96os, much attention was paidto human osteology (palaeo-anthropology), pri-marily craniological measurements. Karin Markhas studied the respective data from Estonia in along-term perspective - from the Neolithic to ther8th century. As it was only since the rr'h centurythat inhumation graves with well-preserved skel-etons became numerous again in the Estonian IronAge archaeological material, osteological data fromthe Late Iron Age are, in fact, of special value here.

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Rssnencu INTo rHE Lern InoN Acn - ArN MAEseru eNo Hsrrr Verx

These data were analysed within a general treatment..f the Estonians'ethno-genesis (Mark 1956) and in a:pecial study about the anthropology ofthe easternEstonian population in the z"d millennium (Mark196;). An article was also published on the basis ofthe first years of the excavation of Kaberla cemetery-\lark r96z).

Questions of religion were not a favoured topic inSoviet archaeology. A survey ofEstonian prehistoricreligion published by ethnographer Alice Mooratr956b) in the context of the 'Khrushchevian thaw'long remained the only study in that area. Duringthe Soviet period, archaeologists'treatments on reli-gion were Iimited to studies on the emergence of thefirst Christian influences in Estonia (Selirand 1979),on the ideological message of pendant finds fromLohavere hillfort (T6nisson 1984) and on Estoniansprings possessing cultic significance (Tamla 1985)(see also Valk, this volume, b).

The period also made its contribution to arte-

fact stud.ies A survey of the main artefact tlpes ispresented in the monograph by |. Selirand Ggz+,8Z fl.The dating, however, is based not so muchon closed complexes but on data. from neighbour-ing areas. There are also case studies about certainartefact types and find groups: chains with dou-ble-spiral-headed pins which belonged to womenthead-dress (Selirand ry66), wide bronze-coveredknife sheaths (Selirand r97o), Estonian sword findswith master's signs (Selirand r98z) and damascenedspearheads (Anteins 196z; Selirand ry7). Otherweaponry studies include articles on three northernEstonian swords (Lti2ine & Selirand 1979) and onblacksmithing (Selirand r98r), on scramasaxes andswords (Mandel ry77; r99t), as well as on arrow-heads from Otepiiii hillfort (Mdesalu 1989). Thearticle on archaeological sclthes and sickles (Laul &T6nisson r99r) is also based mainly on the Late IronAge data.

Valter Lang has written about the fine pottery dat-ing from the 5th-1sth centuries found in Iru hillfort(1985) and on carinate vessels (rSSr); he has alsodiscussed Late Iron Ase finds from ancient Rdvala

Ggg6).There are special studies on hand-mouldedpottery from south-eastern Estonia (Aun 1976), onthe history of wheel pottery in Estonia (Selirandr988a), on the reflections of Scandinavian contactson the basis of some artefact finds from Saaremaa(Kustin r97o), on pendants from L6havere hillfort(T6nisson 1984) and on bracelets with thickeningends (Tamla, T. r99r). There exist two studies aboutmetal vessels - one of them dealing with the vesselfrom the hoard of Tartu (Bank ry62), and anotherdiscussing the Keiser-Otto-Schale from Kuude(Vassar ry7o).The latter find was regarded in con-nection with the Estonian uprising of nz3.

Within costume studies, in the general ethno-graphic survey on Estonian national costumes,existing data from the Late Iron Age were published(Moora ry57b). Textile studies were continued by S.Laul, who discussed common traits in the ancientdress of the Finnic population (r985b; r99o). A sur-vey ofprehistoric textiles is presented in the generaltreatment on ancient Estonian textiles from the r"to the rTth century (Laul 1986). There are also specialarticles about silk finds in Estonia in the late rz'h andearly r3'h century (Peets 1985), about burial mittensamong the Finnic population (Peets 1987), and astudy on lead ornaments in the eastern Baltic region(Moora 1963).

The most important sources about the Late IronAge communication and trade contacts are hoardsand coinfinds. The first survey on Estonian hoardswas made by T6nisson Q96z), who also publishedthe silver hoard of Kumna from the early r3'h cen-tury (r97ob). Ulle Tamla's main research concernsLate Iron Age silver ornaments. She has writ-ten about ornaments from the Varudi-Vanaki.ila(Tamla, U. r99r) and Angerja (Tamla & Valk r9S7)hoards. The Soviet period produced several publica-tions on Late Iron Age coin hoards. There are arti-cles on the Kohtla-Kriva hoard from the rz'h century(Soerd 1965), on Byzantine coins from the Vollahoard (Sokolova 196r), on the Viking Age hoards ofTartu (No on an ry7 7b), Kehra, Levala ( D obrovol'skij& Molv6gin 1985; 1986), Maidla, Kose and V2iike-

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R6ude (Leimus ry7gi 1986;1991) and on the Tamsehoard from the early r3'h century (Molvogin r97o).

During the period under discussion also severalgeneral studies on coin finds and coin circulationwere published. In numismatic studies, ArkadiMolv6gin has charactefized coin circulation inEstonia in the second half of the rz'h and early t3'hcentury (r9S5) and in the eastern Baltic region inthe late n'h and the early rzth century (rq8z). Onthe basis ofcoin finds, he provided a survey aboutEstonia's foreign contacts in the early r3'h century(Molvogin 1978). There are also articles about therole of oriental silver in the trade contacts of VikingAge Estonia (Selirand 1978), the pre-97o dirhamhoards from Estonia and Latvia (Noonan ry77a),the finds of Sigtuna coins from Estonia (Molvogin

& Talvio r98o) and a tzth century hoard of Englishcoins (Molv6gin r98o).

Research from rg92-2oos

Archaeologicai fi eldwork

The period since Estonia regained its independencewas initially characterized by a decreasing numberofrural excavations. This change was caused by sev-eral factors: the drastic fall in budget-based fund-ing, the collapse of the state and collective farmsystem and the end of extensive road constructionprojects financed from the Soviet Union's centralresources. For these reasons, up to the mid-r99osonly rare excavations occurred in the countryside.This mainly concerns some projects that had beenstarted in the late Soviet period or small-scale res-cue work. The number and amount of excavationshas increased due to the increasing research sup-port that has been granted by the Estonian ScienceFoundation only since the late 199os.

New data about cemeterieswerc mainly obtainedin northern and western Estonia. In Liidnemaa some

smaller studies were related to M. Mandel's grantabout the Middle and Late Iron Age cemeteries ofthe region. In the framework of this project, trialexcavations and field inventories using metal detec-tors were carried out from 2ooo-2oo2, whereby theresearch mainly concerned the stone graves of Sipa,

fdrise, Vidruka and Keskvere (Mandel 2oo3a, 94 tr).In northern Estonia, Late Iron Age cemeteries - flatpit-grave cremations at Kodasoo were studied (zoo3Vedru).

In the late r99os the investigation of Saaremaastone graves was continued by Marika Miigi, whoexcavated'seven ro'h-lr'h century graves at Piilacemeteri)in ry97-t998. Fieldwork using the metaldetector made it possible to discover a rich gravefind at Krio-Matsi farmstead near the Late Iron Ageharbour site of Viltina in 999. Use of the metaldetector also yielded rich finds from cemeteriesdisturbed by ploughing at St. Mary's chapel in Viru-Nigula in Virumaa (r99S T. Miigi and M. Tammet)and Harmi in Harjumaa (zoor U. Tamla).

The excavations of hillfurts continued mainly inthe framework of regional or local studies. In north-ern Tartumaa, Ain Lavi has studied five hillforts -

Kassinurme and Reastvere in 1998, Kalana in zooo,Kurista in zoor and Ripuka in zooz. Most of theseforts were founded in the rrth century and were inuse up to the early r3th century German conquest.Only in Kurista and Reastvere did the sites seemto have been deserted somewhat earlier, i.e. in therz'h century. In Saaremaa work continued on Poide(Kahutsi) hillfort $99o-t993 L6ugas; in 1993 alsoMiigi-Lougas) and on Lihulinn in Kdrla, the largestancient fort on the island of Saaremaa 1995-1996Peets).

A long-term project of research excavations inthe ruins of the Teutonic Order's Viljandi Castlehas provided some information about the culturallayer of the previous Viking Age hillfort there. Thesite has been excavated with small plots and trialpits in different areas since 997 Q997-r998 TVauri;2ooo-2oo4 Haak). The layers from the rz'h centuryand most of the r3'h century have not yet been dis-

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Rrsp,cncn rNTo rHE Llrs InoN Acn - ArN Mri,Bslru lNo Hsrrr Vlrx

Jovered. They were presumably removed in the con-struction of the Teutonic Order's castle.

In southern Harjumaa (now Rapla County), field-rr-ork (zoor-zoo5) at Keava hillfort and its surround-ings were directed by Valter Lang, Andres TVauriand Marge Konsa. The suggested late Viking Agecentre proved to be from the Latest Iron Age andalso from the period of the crusades. As a uniquennd, the excavations unearthed a hidden gatewaythat passed under the rampart. New data related tothe hillfort or related settlement were also gainedabout Late Iron Age settlement on Toompea Hill inTallinn (1995 Aus and Talvar).

In zoo5 Heiki Valk launched a project to study thechronology of the southern Estonian hillforts, dig-ging three sites in V6rumaa. It was established thatthe large fort of Tilleoru dated from the ron and nthcenturies. Excavations at Vastseliina and Kirumpiiiiprovided data only about medieval and post-medie-val times, although concerning Vastseliina this datecannot yet be regarded as final.

As the collapse of the Soviet Union put an endto the large projects of road construction, sincethe r99os the study of open settlements has mainlybeen limited to small-scale excavations. In northernEstonia such work also occurred within V. Lang'sKeava project in zoor-zoo:. The Linnaaluste I andIII settlements close to the hillfort date from the 8th-rr'h centuries, and Linnaaluste II is from the LatestIron Age. Some Viking Age finds were obtainedfrom rescue work at Lagedi (1998 Sarv) and Lehmja(zoo4Lavi) near Tallinn, and rescue work followedthe discovery of a Viking Age hoard at Ubina inHarjumaa (zoo5 U. Tamla and Kiudsoo). Trial exca-vations also took place at the Late Iron Age settle-ment of Kaberla (zooz Vedru), and problem-basedresearch was launched at the settlement of Uugla(zoos Mandel).

In southern Estonia, new data on Late Iron Agesettlements were obtained from Viljandi and its sur-roundings during the r99os. Rescue work was car-ried out at the Late Iron Age settlement of Aindu(1992-1993 Valk), which is located 4 km north of

the town and was damaged by melioration activi-ties. The settlement complex of Viljandi, whichwas studied in the course of research excavationsfinanced by the town, provided rich finds from thero'h - early r3th centuries. The study concerned twosettlement sites - one in the Lossimzied ('Castle

Hills') area, the other c.5oo m south-east of it, closeto Lake Viljandi. The first complex (t999-zooz, zoo5Valk; zoo3-zoo4 also Rammo and Veldi) includesdisturbed layers transported into the foundationsof trebuchet platforms built when the hillfort wasbesieged in rzz3, and the remains of a household ona tiny hilltoo. It cannot be ruled out that the com-plex included also a ritual site. The location of thefirst settlement unit on several hillocks with steepslopes and with no direct access to water does notmake it possible to interpret it as an ordinary vil-lage. The second open settlement, studied in zooz,dates from the ro'h-u'hto the early r3'h century andis probably related to a single farm. In addition toViljandi, Late Iron Age cultural layers related to asettlement at the foot of a central hillfort of thattime were also studied in Tartu - in Ulikooli St. inthe r99os (Piirits and Vissak).

In the r99os, much attention was paid to the studyof settlement sites in Setumaa. Several field inven-tories (mainly performed by Arvis Kiristaja andAIi Kikkas) have created a general and quite rep-resentative picture of the settlement pattern (Aun& Kiristaja 1998). A number of settlements werealso studied in the course of trial excavations (Aunzoorb). The sites in Uusvada (1993 Valk), Kalatsova(1993 Peets), Vdike-Rosna (rqq6 Luik and Kiristaja)and Laossinall (zoor-zooz Aun) have already beenin use since the 1lth or 12th century. The largest ruralexcavations on Late Iron Age open settlementsin Estonia during the last decade occurred on thesmall island of Pediijiisaare/Sosnasaare near Viirska(r998-zooo Aun). The site was studied in connec-tion with the construction of the new centre forthe border guard authorities. Close to Setumaa, inthe framework of the Siksiilii project, a trial pit wasmade at Hino settlement (zoo4 Rammo and Valk).

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In recent years, the work done in Gotland by DanCarlsson has inspired M. Miigi to identify and studyancient harbour sifes on the coast of Estonia. Inzoo4-2oo5 corresponding studies were launchedin Viltina, Kogula, Tornimde, Sutu and Piilla (onthe island of Saaremaa). In zoo5 the cultural lay-ers adjacent to the coast in Muuksi on the coast ofeastern Harjumaa were interpreted as a harbour byGurly Vedru.

Since the r99os the intensification of the studyof prehistoric land use systems by V. Lang has pro-vided new data on Late Iron Age land cultivationin northern Estonia. The mapping and excavatingof the field boundaries and clearance cairns, bothin research and rescue contexts, has taken place inseveral places in northern Estonia: at Vatku (1996,1999), T6ugu (1993, 1995), V6hma $994-199),Uuskiila Q997-r998) (about these sites see Lang2oooa, zzt ff) and Ilmandr (zooz-zoo:). Similarwork also occurred in Muuksi (1995 Lang andVedru) and KasekiilaGggg Lang). The digging of thestone fences at Einbi village in the Swedish settle-ment area on the Noarootsi Peninsula in Lddnemaaby Swedish researcher Felicia Markus in r999-zoothas yielded data referring to the 1r'h-13'h centuries(Markus zooz,l:tff).

f. Peets continued studies on ancient iron pro-duction. His work on the 11th-14th century iron pro-duction complex in Tuiu on the island of Saaremaalasted until 1996. Excavations were followed by suc-cessful iron smelting experiments using the ancienttechnologies, and furnaces re-constructed on thebasis of excavation finds (see Kriiska & L6ugas, thisvolume). In the light of the fieldwork of zoo5 in therecently deforested area, the Tuiu complex proved tohave been much larger than even earlier suggested,and the remains of a Late Iron Age smithy were alsoidentified in K?iku. Traces of Late Iron Age ironproduction have also been found at Ilumiie I andIII settlements (1996 Lang and Peets) in Virumaa.The investigation results of different sites show thecontinuity of iron-smelting with tuyere-furnishedfurnaces from the late rr'h-rz6 up to the mid-r4th

century, when the tradition was interrupted every-where in Estonia.

General treatmentsand studies

The new situation after the fall of the Soviet Union(access to western libraries and foreign contacts;see Konsa, this volume) led to changes in the inter-pretation of the archaeological record. Concerningthe events of the early r3th century, in addition tothe traditional concept of the 'ancient struggle forfreedoml the concepts of the Baltic crusades andEuropeanization emerged. In introducing the lat-ter term, a great deal belongs to the project CultureClash or Compromise: Europeanization of the BalticRim noo-t4oo, initiated by Nils Blomkvist (GotlandUniversity). The project also involved Estonianarchaeologists engaged in the study ofthe Late IronAge (M. Mdgi, A. Pdrn, E. T6nisson and H. Valk).

The decreasing amount of fieldwork made itpossible to pay more attention to the analysis ofthe already existing archaeological material. Theend of political isolation, access to recent westerntreatments and the broadening of the theoreticalbasis caused changes in ideas about Estonian LateIron Age society. Simultaneously, a gradual shiftoccurred in approaches towards Estonia's posi-tion as a research area. Instead of nation-centredresearch, regarding the country as an ethno-politi-cal unit whose external relations are limited totontacts with neighbours', the broader view of thecountry as part of a larger network of societies andsocial developments has emerged.

In such a framework, the transition from the con-cept of an egalitarian (e.9. Tbnisson ry9za) to non-egalitarian society began in Estonian archaeology inthe early 199os. The opposition of two approachesin this question, as well as on principles of archaeo-logical research as a whole, was expressed in a sharpdiscussion between P. Ligi Qgqa; ry94b-c), on theone hand and Evald T6nisson Ggg+a-b) and fiiriSelirand Ggg+b) on the other (see also Konsa, this

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volume). Ligi's post-processual approach presentedthe 'social elite' and the'legitimization and manifes,tation of power' as new ke1'words (Ligi r995a).

In Estonian archaeology in general, the newapproaches were accepted in a more moderate man-ner, just in certain contexts for interpreting thesource material. The concept of non-egalitarian LateIron Age society has, however, been expressed inall recent general analyses (Kriiska & TVauri zooz;Miigi zoo3a), as well as in monographs on the LateIron Age of Saaremaa (Magi zooza) and Ldinemaa(Mandel zoqa).In a short survey on the VikingAge society of Saaremaa, the role of the plunderingeconomy has been emphasized (Ligi r995b).

The concept of the non-egalitarian society hasalso evoked the question of taxation systems andtaxation units. On the basis of archaeological datafrom southern Harjumaa, V. Lang suggests that thevakus-system, known from the medieval period,probably akeady existed in the early r3'h century andis therefore of Iron Age background (Lang zooz).The pre-conquest origin of the vakus institution washowever, denied by some historians, due to the lackofrespective written sources (Tarvel 1999).

In the study of administrative and territorialunits, the concept of hillfort district or land (maa)was, on the basis of the comparison of archaeologi-cal sources, toponyms and written data, added tothe traditional hierarchical division based on dis-tricts - maakonds and kihelkonds (T6nisson r985a).This idea has recently once again been applied toLddnemaa (Mandel zoo3b). There is also a study ofthe meaning of the kihelkond institution compiledon the basis of the written data (Tarvel 1998).

Important ke)'words have been territorial units,centres, peripheries and hinterlands, land owner-ship and power. These questions were discussed inregional studies of the ancient Rdvala district (Lang1996) and Late Iron Age Saaremaa (Mdgi 1998;zoozb; zoo4a), as well as in new district historiesof Lddnemaa (Mandel 1993) and Virumaa (Tamla1996). In the Keava project, attention is being paidto the settlement pattern and administrative svstem

of southern Harjumaa. The question of Late IronAge centres and temporal changes in their networkis currently being studied in southern Estonia (H.Valk).

At the Institute of History of Tallinn University,most of the research involves northern and westernEstonia in the Iron Age and Middle Ages, especiallythe coastal areas. Within these frameworks thetopic of maritime cultural landscapes has emerged- both from a theoretical perspective (Ilves zoo4)as well as concerning the study ofcoastal areas andharbours in Saaremaa (Magi zoo4a). For northernEstonia, the use ofcoastal areas has been defined asa research problem (Vedru zoot,nT ff).

General attention has also been paid to the con-tacts between Scandinavia and the eastern Balticregion: both from the viewpoint of Late Iron AgeFinnic culture (T6nisson ry9zc) and the easternBaltic as a whole (Valk zoo6f). As a special topic,the relations between Post-Viking Age Estonia andoccidental Europe, including Scandinavia, havebeen examined (T6nisson 1998). In this respect, thestudies about Saaremaa should particularly be noted(Mdgi zooza).

During the last decade, the transition from theIron Age to the Middle Ages and the integration ofthe Iron Age society into the new, European struc-tures has emerged as a special field of research. Thebeginning of the Middle Ages is no longer regardedas an event connected with the end of the crusadesand conquest, but as a dynamic process expressedin social, cultural and religious changes. Data fromSaaremaa haye shown both settlement continuity andthe continuity of the native pre-conquest elite fromthe Iron Age to the Middle Ages (Miigi t999b; zoot;zoozb).It is assumed that this social group acceptedChristianity on the Scandinavian model, granting asmooth transition from the old to the new religion,whereby the transition may have begun even beforethe German conquest (Magi zooza; zoo3b). On thebasis of the weapons depicted, the trapezoid grave-stones at the churchyards of Saaremaa and Lidnemaahave been attributed to the native elite of Dre-con-

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quest times (Sipelgas 2ooo), but these dates have,from an art historian's perspective, been rejected astoo early (Markus zoq). Attention has also been paidto societal changes at the transition to the MiddleAges in northern Viljandimaa (Haak zoo3b), and therole of the native elite as a mediator of cultural inno-vations of a European character has been emphasizedin a broader context (Valk zooz; zoo6c).

The period of Estonian independence has also pro-vided new views on the hillforts and the formation ofurban centres. There are special treatments about thehillforts of north-eastern Estonia (Tamla, T.t99z;r9q6)and the eastern part of central Estonia, mainly north-ern Tartumaa (Lavi zooz). Special studies concernthe strongholds of Otepii?i (Miiesalu 1993), Iru (Lang

ry95d; 996),Varbola (Tiamla, rJ. rggzb;T6nisson 1999)and Lihula (Mandel zooo), as well as the changes ofthe functions of south-eastern Estonian hillforts in thesft-r5'h centuries (Miiesalu ryg6). Of T6nissons herit-age, the unfinished manuscripts of books on Varbolaand L6havere hillforts, as well as on Estonian hillfortsin general, should be mentioned. A booklet aboutIrboska hillfort in the 8n-rom centuries appeared inRussia (Sedov zooz), and in spite of the author's death,the manuscript about the excavation results is stillexpected to be printed.

The formation of early urban centres wasapproached by T6nisson Ggg6) from the point ofview of Late Iron Age trading places related to hill-forts. V. Lang(zoo4) has also emphasized the role ofthe hillforts, accentuating, however, the functionaldiversity of sites that are similar in appearance.

On the basis of the archaeological data there hasbeen some discussion of Late Iron Age Tartu andTallinn (see also Russow et al. this volume). Mostof archaeologists who have studied Tartu (Trummal

1996; Metsallik rygz; 1995; Mdesalu & Vissak zooz)have regarded the town as a centre that developedcontinuously from the Late Iron Age into the MiddleAges. Andres TVauri's monograph about prehistoricTartu (zoora) considers it, however, to be a non-con-tinuous settlement unit, having its heyday at the timewhen it belonged to Old Rus in ro3o-ro6r. According

to TVauri, there are no definite settlement traces fromthe rz'h century, and he doubts even in the existenceof a hillfort on the eve of the crusades. Data aboutprehistoric Tallinn were first summarized by |aanTamm (rgg:), who has also analysed the location ofits Late Iron Age harbour sites (zoo3), its landscapesituation and natural conditions (zoo4a), and theoldest settlement traces from Toompea Hill - the siteof the ancient hillfort (zoo+b). A preliminary surveyexists about the genesis of Viljandi, where Late IronAge settlement units are located outside the area ofthe medieval town (Valk zoo5).

Up to now, questions related to Late Iron Age sef-tlement history and settlement patternhave not yetbeen studied to any great extent. Although numer-ous data on settlement sites have accumulated sincethe r97os in the course of fieldwork, there exists nogeneral analysis. A representative picture of LateIron Age settlements has only been composed con-cerning the most investigated regions - the PiritaRiver basin (Lang ry96), Lddnemaa (Mandel rgg3;zoo3a) and Setumaa. In the latter case, a thoroughanalysis exists concerning only the second half ofthe r't millennium (Aun zoo3b), and data aboutlater periods are presented merely on a distributionmap (Kiristaja zooo). Studies on settlement historyinvolve also M. Miigis research on Saaremaa. Thereare case studies about |alase village in Harjumaa(Tamla ry94a), Ridala district in LiiSnemaa (Pdrn

1999) and the surroundings of Kaberla in Harjumaa(Vedru zoo:b). Conclusions on south-easternEstonia in the 6'h-roth centuries have been made byMare Aun Gggz),but the work is based on the stud-ies performed in the r96os-r98os. Since the r99os,however, numerous new data about open settle-ments have been added. The recent thesis by FeliciaMarkus (zoo4) regards the question of the Swedishsettlement in western Estonia in a long-term per-spective, also including the Late Iron Age.

The future perspectives in the field of settlementpattern analysis are connected with the GlS-relateddatabase of place-related archaeological informationthat is being composed at the University of Tartu. A

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similar approach has, for example, been used in theBA thesis of Priit Ldtti about Latest Iron Age andmedieval larvamaa (zoo l.

Articles on the villages of northern Estonia in aboutrzoo (Vedru zoo3a), on the buildings in Estonian vil-lages of that time (Lavi 2oo3), on Late Iron Age eco-nomic buildings (Lavi r995a) and the genesis of theEstonian smoke cottages (Lavi zoo5) are also relatedto settlement studies. A. Lavi has performed a surveyon Estonian wetland roads (Lavi 1998). The questionof roads and communication in the Late Iron Ageand in the Middle Ages has also recently emerged asa special research topic (Veldi zoo4).

Concerning rural economic activities, attentionhas been paid to the study of land use systems (Langr995b) and cattle breeding (Maldre zoqc). Specialarticles deal with the Late Iron Age animal bonesfrom Tartu (Saks 1994) and Viljandi (Saks & Valkzooz). Differences in the finds from Estonian LateIron Age hillforts and open settlements, referringto the functional differences of these sites, have alsobeen analysed (TVauri zooz).

In cemetery studies, the main results of the recentyears are monographs based on data from Saaremaa(Magi zooza) and Lddnemaa (Mandel zoo3a). M.Miigi discusses artefact finds, changes in burial ritesand societal changes in Saaremaa at the transitionto the Middle Ages. M. Mandel analyses differentgrave forms and burial practices, as well as ques-tions related to settlement pattern and cultural con-tacts. Mdgi has treated the changes in burial cus-toms on the island of Saaremaa also in a separatearticle (zoo4c). A survey of Late Iron Age burialrites in the south-easternmost corner of Estonia ispresented in a monograph about Siksiilii cemetery(Laul & Valk zoo6), which continued in the medi-eval period. Excavation data from Proosa cemetery,covering a long time-span, have also been analysed(Deemant 1993).

In addition to presenting the source material, newapproaches have also been offered. In the case ofLddnemaa cemeteries, much attention was paid tothe analysis of cremated bones and animal bones

(Allmiie zoo3; Maldre zoo3b), and the studies haveproved the partial deposition of the cremationremains in the cemetery. The finds and burial cus-toms of the Late Iron Age stone grave in Madi haveserved as the basis oftheoretical approaches (Konsazoo3a-b). In individual questions, the date of theemergence of Late Iron Age inhumation graves(Miigi 1995), burial customs and their religiousaspects (Miigi zoo3b), and the question of ancientgrave robbery (Tamla 1998) have been discussed. Inrelation to experimental archaeology, the cremationof a pig, furnished with Viking Age female orna-ments and costume (1998 Miigi), must be noted.

The analysis of the archaeological material fromthe cemeteries has also been performed from osteo-logical and palaeodemographic aspects. The tra-ditional comparative craniological studies havebeen complemented with cluster analysis (Heaposti996), and on the basis of skeletal remains, a physi-cal picture of the Estonians at about rzoo has beencomposed (Heapost zoq). Surveys have been per-formed on the basis of skeletal material from Siks2iliicemetery (Heapost zoo6) and on odontologicaldata from J6uga cemetery (Sarap 1993). A study hasbeen undertaken about dental pathologies from thegraves of Pada (Limbo zoo4).

In ethno - cultural studies regional diversities withinEstonia have been emphasized (Selirand 1989). Thepopulation in Alutaguse and areas north-east ofLake Peipsi has been distinguished, differently fromthe former concept of Votic-Slavonic mixed popu-lation, as being of Votic origin (Ligi rggz). P. Ligialso presented new views on the ethno-genesis ofthe population of present-day north-western Russia(rSS:b). Rejecting the traditional thesis of Slavoniccolonization and instead presenting the hypothesis oflanguage change caused a subsequent discussion inFennoscandia Archaeologica (Panchenko et al. ry94;Ligi t994a). The question of present-day and formerethnic identities was also discussed in an article onSoviet pan-Slavism in archaeology (Selirand 1996).

Also in the case of Siksiil?i cemetery, the questionof its ethno-cultural background has emerged. The

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community probably represents a Finnic ethnicitywhose main area of inhabitation lay in the north-easternmost corner of Latvia (Laul & Valk zoo6). Thequestion of the Finnic population in north-easternand eastern Latvia has also been emphasized in thecontext of textile studies (Laul rggo). The fact thatparallels to the Late Iron Age and medieval archaeo-logical textiles of Estonia and their ornamentationcan be found in the ethnographic data from Estoniaand other Finno-Ugric areas - both among the Finnicgroups and the Volga Finns - refers to ancient con-tacts or a common culture in remote past (Laul 1996;zoo4). An article has also appeared on the mutualrelationships between the people of late prehistoricSaaremaa and the Livs (Miigi zoo5).

Estonian Late Iron Age religion is discussed in thetreatment of Estonian prehistoric religion in a long-term perspective (Jonuks 2oo3; 2oo5, 92 f). A sur-vey about the latest phase of Estonian pre-Christianreligion has been written from an anthropologicalviewpoint (Mets zoo3).

The last 15 years have seen considerable advancesin artefact studies and the studies of ancient tech-nologies, whereby in ttrese relations new inter-pretive aspects have emerged. In addition to thetraditional studies of distribution, Qpology andchronology, since the late r99os the meaning ofartefacts has also become a topic of discussion. Thetreatments of the first half of the 199os are still of atraditional character. From that time there is a sur-vey on finds from the Votic cemeteries of Alutaguse(Ligi rgg:c) and three tlpological and chronologi-cal studies about Viking Age ornaments and theirdecoration: on penannular brooches, bracelets andbreast pins (Miigi-L6ugas 1994; t995 Md,,gi t997).

Heidi Luik has written about the Estonian finds ofoval brooches (r998b), S-shaped pendants and straptags (r999a) and comb-shaped pendants (r999b). Hermain work is a profound survey of Late Iron Age andmedieval bone and antler artefacts. It includes a mon-ograph on bone combs (Luik r998a) and a PhD thesis(Luik zoo5), based on a number of articles: on boneskates (Luik zooo) and small bone spades (Luik &

Tamla zoo5), on bone artefacts as grave goods (Luik

zoo3a) and on the use of bone and antler in Estoniaon the eve ofthe conquest (Luik zoo3b). Special stud-ies concern bone and antler finds from the hillforts ofOtepliii (Maldre zoor), L6havere, Soontagana, Valjalaand Varbola (Luik zoo+; Tamla & Maldre zoor), aswell as from the hillforts and settlements of Kuusaluand R6uge (Luik zoor; Luik & Maldre, in print) andfrom the settlement and cemetery of Pada (Luik &Maldre zoo5).

Weapon studies have served as the basis for twoMA theses: on Estonian scramasaxes and swords(Mandel ry92) and on the weapon finds fromOtepiiii hillfort (Maiesalu ry92). Part of the lat-ter-mentioned study concerning armour finds hasalso been published (Miiesalu 1995). There are alsopublications on the use of trebuchets in the Balticcrusades (Miiesalu zoorb), about the weaponry ofthe Estonians in about rzoo (Mandel zoo3c), aboutweapons and edged tools from Siksiilii cemetery(Peets zoo6a) and about knife-shaped javelin heads(Peets ef al. zoo6; Valt zoo6). The latter-mentionedarticle presents the tlpology of finds and makeschanges to their chronology, showing that certaint)?es were in use in the peripheries longer than hadpreviously been suggested.

In addition to presenting source material, themonumental work on Viking Age M-type spear-heads from the Baltic Sea region (Creutz zoo3),which includes corresponding data from Estonia,also discusses several questions related to the manu-facturing and distribution of the spearheads, as wellas their meaning in Late Viking Age society. Thework presents an innovative idea about the produc-tion of spearheads in many local centres. The sameconcerns silver-patterned finds - the complicatedornamentation is explained as being made in themanner of matrixes of Scandinavian origin.

In the study of Late Iron Age technologies, pri-mary attention has been paid to the production ofiron, textiles, pottery and silver ornaments. A surYeyabout iron smelting and blacksmithing technologieswas presented by I. Peets (zoo3a-b). His investiga-

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rions, especially of the iron production complex atTuiu in Saaremaa (Peets 1996) show that tuyere-fur-nace based iron production ofthe Late Iron Age andearly medieval period, i.e. from the rr'h-rz'hto mid-r-1'h centuries was extensively practised in Estonia.The quantity of iron produced annually in Estonia'smain iron production regions - north-westernSaaremaa and northern and eastern Estonia - is esti-mated at 4ooo-45oo tons per year, which exceedednvofold the expected iron needs of Estonia at thattime. An article on Late Iron Age and medieval ironproduction in northern Tartumaa was written by A.Lavi (1999). There is also a special study about pre-historic and medieval smithing tools (Peets zoo6b).

Peets has also studied textile finds and corre-sponding technologies used in Estonian Late IronAge and medieval rural sites Gggz; rgg).In futuremore attention will be paid to medieval urban tex-tiles. There is a survey on the Estonian costume atabout rzoo (Magi & Ratas zoo3) and an article onthe shirt finds from Sikslilii cemetery (Laul zoo4).Research in the field of textile and costume studiesis being continued by Riina Rammo (zoo5).

Andres Tvauri has studied pottery production.He has published surveys about Russian pottersin Viljandi and Tartu in the r3th century (Tvaurizoooa) and Slavonic pottery of Rus origin inEstonia (Tvauri zooob), but the main investigationresults are presented in the recent monograph onEstonian pottery in the Latest Iron Age, i.e. the n'h-r3'h centuries (TVauri zoo5). TVauri claims that theEstonian wheel-made pottery of the n'h-r6th centu-ries is based on north-west Russian traditions andwas either imported from Russia or produced at alimited number of centres by professional masters.The book also provides a general survey about themaking, tlpology and distribution of pottery.

Research has also involved Late Iron Age silverhoards or some rare silver ornaments, especiallytheir manufacturing technologies and chemicalcomposition. In this area much has been done sincethe mid-r99os by Ulle Tamla and Urve Kallams.An interdisciplinary approach has provided good

results concerning hoards from Varbola, Angerja,Paunkiila, Padiki.ila and Lohavere (Tamla & Kallavusr998a-b; r99gt 2oooi zoo3; Kallavus & Tamla zoo3;Tamla et al. zooz), as well as on the technology ofmaking silver ornaments (Tamla, U. 1998; Tamla etal. zoo4). Special treatments concern the hoard ofT6rma, a silver bracelet form Angerja, a disc-shapedbrooch from Padikrila and Estonian silver hoards inthe St. Petersburg Hermitage (Tamla, tJ. r9g9; zooz;zoo4; zoo6). Late Iron Age silver ornaments havealso been discussed from an art historian's view-point (Kirme zooo, ro ff).

Some artefact groups are discussed in special arti-cles. In the studies on the Estonian finds of spin-dle whirls (Vedru 1999) and fishing implements(Lougas 2oo\ r35 ff), finds from other periods arepresented in addition to those from the Late IronAge. T. Tamla has studied the finds of Hanseaticbowls in Estonia Gggg), they are regarded as bap-tism vessels from the period of Christianization inthe rzzos. There is also a study about a unique ironkettle from Raatyere cemetery (Lavi et aI. ry98) anda survey of two Borre-style pendants from Tartu(Metsallik r996).

Artefacts have also been used as a basis for thestudy of Scandinavian contacts. The latter havebeen analysed on the basis of the ornamentation ofspearheads (Magi-Lougas 1993a; Creutz rg94; r9g5),as well as on the basis of Viking Age Scandinavianornamentation as a whole (M?igi-Lougas r993b). Aspecial study concerns Scandinavian ornaments inEstonian Late Iron Age silver hoards (Tamla 1995).

During the last 15 years, much attention has beenpaid to hoards and coin finds and several Late IronAge hoards have been published. Articles havebeen written about two Viking Age coin hoards inEstonia found in the rTth century - those of |drise(Talvio zoo3) and a long-lost hoard (Leimus 1996).A find of Arabic coins stored in Saaremaa Museumand the Piila Viking Age hoard (Leimus zoo5;zoqc) have also been published. As concerns thenth century hoards, reference is to be made to thereports about the finds of Sauevdlja (Molvogin

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lgg4b; Tamla r9g4b) and Edise (Leimus & Molvogin1998) and the so-called Rezwow's hoard (Leimus

zoorb). The long-lost rzth century hoard from Vaida(Molvogin & Leimus 1995) and the Muraste hoardfrom the mid-rz'h century (Leimus zoo4b) have alsobeen dealt with. An article about the prehistoriccoin hoards of Leiiinemaa (Molvogin r993b) hasbeen published as a local-level survey.

Hoards are the main basis for the study of tradingcontacts in the Viking Age and Latest Iron Age - bothin the inland perspective (T6nisson 1996) and espe-cially for regarding Estonia within a broader network.Corresponding work on the Viking Age Arabic silvercoins is currently being done by Ivar Leimus, whohas published an article about the respective hoards(zoo+c) and about graffiti on silver coins (zoo3a). Inthe Viking Age silver trade, the role of beaver furs asan important exchange article has been emphasized(Leimus & Kiudsoo zoo4). Arkadi Molv6gin has per-formed a survey on the western European coins ofthe Late Viking Age and the Post-Viking period. Hismonumental catalogue on corresponding coin findsfrom Estonia Q994a) was preceded by an article onthe last wave of western European Viking Age coins(rSS:a). There exists a survey about the Estonian col-lections of Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman and laterBritish coins (Leimus & Molv6gin zoor). The studyof hoards and coins has produced a survey aboutmoney in Estonia in about rzoo and articles aboutthe first German merchants in Estonia and their ori-gins (Leimus zoozb; zoo3b).

Conclusions

The Late Iron Age is the period with the richestarchaeological material, the most attractive sites andthe largest number of excavations in Estonian pre-history. The cemeteries of this period, rich in finds,offer good material for interpretations of the societyand religion. The study of the impressive Late IronAge hillforts has provided data not only about finds,

fortifications, construction remains and their dates;but has also formed the basis for discussions aboutadministrative and territorial division. The dig-ging of open settlements, which reached its great-est intensity in the late Soviet period, has provided alarge amount of material, much of which has not yetbeen analysed. In artefact and technological studies,in addition to treatments of certain artefact groups- first traditional, and since the r99os also of inter-pretive character -, during the last decades primeattention has been paid to iron production and irontools, weapons, pottery, textiles, bone and antlerartefacts and silver ornaments.

As a whole, Late Iron Age artefact chronology inEstonia needs to be revised. and numerous closedfind complexes, both from graves and settlementsites, offer good opportunities for this. The study ofthe economic activities of the period, which reachedits peak in the r96os, has also undergone a revivalin the last decade, especially in the framework ofenvironmental research and work on tillage systemsand archaeozoological material. The analysis of coinfinds and the Viking Age and Latest Iron Age silverhoards have enabled to see Estonia's position in abroader network of economic contacts.

The investigations that began with the occa-sional fieldwork of the late rgth century have, sincethe rgzos and r93os, produced general conclusionsabout the period and its society. Over the courseof time, these conclusions have undergone consid-erable changes. Since the late r94os, the, idealizedegalitarian model of the period of 'ancient inde-pendence' as a distant predecessor of the nationalstate of the r93os was replaced with the concept offeudalism. In parallel to the relaxation of the politi-cal climate, the latter gradually reduced in the r96osand r97os to the 'formation of feudal relations' andby the end of Soviet rule the concept of the r93oshad generally returned. The opening of contactssince the mid-r99os enables us to observe the lat-est period of Estonian prehistory in the context ofnorthern Europe and in the framework of broaderprocesses of social development.

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