Summary

Archaeology in Kupiškis Valsčius

Gintautas Zabiela

The peculiarities of archaeology in the area of 382 sq. km of the Kupiškis Valsčius are discussed comparing them to the archaeological data form the Sėla region and the rest of the Republic of Lithuania. Because of the specificity of the sources, the confidence levels differ for the data from prehistorical and historical times. The archaeological excavations in the area of Kupiškis had started only in 1970s, mainly the burial grounds of the Early Modern period had been investigated. There is a significant lack of data from the prehistoric period.

The most important archaeological discovery is the Gyvakarai grave dated as the 23rd century BC. Its significance for the knowledge of prehistoric times even crosses the borders of Lithuania. As for investigations important for the history of Kupiškis, the results of excavations done in Drulėnai burial ground and graves of Early Modern period (7 resultative sites) should be noted. However, due to limited scale of investigations done there, they cannot be the benchmarks for Sėla region yet. The basic archaeological sites, such as Kupiškis (Aukštupėnai) mound, Kupiškis Old Town and the manor site in the area had not been investigated enough; thus, this makes large gaps in the knowledge about the archaeology of this area. Due to general low investigation level of archaeological sites in Kupiškis area, it is impossible to speak about the more notable influence of the district archaeology on that of the region or the entire Lithuania, and the archaeological data available do not allow to create more full view of the prehistory of this district. Similar situation is typical of the majority of microregions, such as valsčius (a rural district).