Prussia Museum

ENG
Knives-daggers represent one of the most spectacular and highly specialised Migration Period weapon forms
in the south-eastern region of the Baltic Sea Basin : in the territory of modern West Lithuania and in the Kaliningrad
region of Russia (former territory of the Sambian-Natangian culture). Current research project results
show that the old hypotheses about knives-daggers and shoulder straps (baltei Vidgiriai), which until now
were believed to form a functional complex, as well as about the former owners of these artefacts should be
drastically revised (at least in case of the former Sambian-Natangian culture area). It has become possible to
develop a classifi cation of knives-daggers with several major types and their variants; it has been also shown,
that baltei Vidgiriai were used already at the end of the Late Roman Period and thus appear to be older than
the “classical” knives-daggers. Traditional views of the graves with knives-daggers, as per defi nitionem rich
burials of professional warriors with a high social status, found no evidence in the examined archaeological
material. The results testify that knives-daggers were a common weapon of free members of the communities
of the Sambian-Natangian culture.

RU
Ножи-кинжалы – одна из наиболее необычных и узкоспециализированных форм вооружения эпохи
Великого переселения народов в юго-восточной части бассейна Балтийского моря: на территории
современной Западной Литвы и Калининградской обл. РФ (ареал самбийско-натангийской
культуры). Результаты настоящего исследования указывают на то, что получившие в литературе
последних лет распространение гипотезы в отношении ножей-кинжалов и перевязей (baltei Vidgiriai),
предположительно формировавших в древности функциональный комплекс, а также в отношении владельцев этих
артефактов, должны быть кардинально пересмотрены, по крайней мере, для ареала рассматриваемой
культуры. В рамках проекта удалось выделить несколько основных типов ножей-кинжалов и их
варианты; одновременно было показано, что baltei Vidgiriai использовали уже в конце поздней
фазы эпохи Римского влияния и тем самым ранее появления “классических” ножей-кинжалов.
Сложившиеся представления о комплексах с ножами-кинжалами как о per definitionem богатых
погребениях профессиональных воинов аллохтонного этнокультурного происхождения с высоким
социальным статусом не нашли подтверждения в изученном археологическом материале. Результаты
свидетельствуют о том, что ножи-кинжалы были распространенным оружием свободных членов
общин самбийско-натангийской культуры.

In the summer of 1930 in the village of Tułodziad (German: Taulensee) some treasure consisting of silver coins was discovered in the peatland. As it seems, this included 145 coins, eighty of which were in su. ciently good condition to be recognised. Some of the coins – thirty- were part of the Gymnasial Sammlung Osterode, whilst fifty of them were donated to the Prussia-Museum by August Symkowitz from Tułodziad. As many as thirty-three
coins were minted during the times of Ulrich von Jungingen (1407–1410) – 41% of the whole treasure; 29 during the times of Konrad von Jungingen (1393–1407) – 36% of the total number of coins; 19 during the times of Winrich von Kniprode (1351–1382) – 23%. The content of the treasure allows us to assume that the treasure had been hidden in mid July 1410 during the combatrelated to the battle of Grunwald.

Nowhere else but in Königsberg everything went "upside down" in 1945. Prussia once again changed its owner, its language, and its ... population. It became important to the Soviet science  to show its superiority over the German archeologists, drawing special attention to the excavations of hillforts and settlements. In 1946 the first Soviet archaeologist Frida Gurevich leaves Leningrad for Kaliningrad on a "spying" trip: "The only thing I saw arriving at the building of the  Museum of Archaeology, was a heap of ruins ...".

The researchers, taking interest in the archaeology of Eastern Prussia quite frequently not only perform the analysis of the latest studies, but also search for the researching materials, collected prior to WWII in archives of different institutions and museum funds. In terms of the information on the findings in the Klaipėda region the files of Latvian archaeologist Felix Jacobson, stored in Latvian Museum of History in Riga takes a rather important position. The article aims at provision of the data on the information, existing in F. Jacobson’s files, pertaining to the findings in Klaipėda region, with the exception of the materials, related to Andullen, Eglischken, Eglien-Niclau, Stranz-Schlaudern and Oberhof necropolises, since other research are preparing for publication of the materials. The records on the non-published findings are highly important and relevant for cognition of the archaeology materials, found in Klaipėda region until now. Short information on such materials from Barvos and Vėžaičiai necropolises is provided as an example.

«Пруссия» в Калининграде. Когда лопочут пушки и опускается железный занавес - музы замолкают. И в этом смысле, история музея «Пруссия» может быть для нас поучительна.
"Prussia" in Kaliningrad. While the cannons roar, the Muses stay silent. In terms of this "proverb" the history of the museum "Prussia" can be somewhat  enlightening for us.

full title: "Terenowa weryfikacja danych z archiwum Feliksa Jakobsona. Przykład cmentarzyska w Sternwalde na Mazurach. Die Verifizierung der Informationen aus dem Archiv Feliks Jakobsons im Gelände am Beispiel des Gräberfelds Sternwalde in Masuren. Fēliksa Jākobsona arhīva informācijas verifikācija. Šternvaldes kapulauka (Masūru apgabalā) piemērs", T. Nowakiewicz, A. Rzeszotarska-Nowakiewicz [in:]  Archeologiczne dziedzictwo Prus Wschodnich w archiwum Feliksa Jakobsona. Das archäologische Vermächtnis Ostpreußens im Archiv des Feliks Jakobson. Austrumprūsijas arheoloģiskais mantojums Feliksa Jakobsona arhīvā, Aestiorum Hereditas II, Ostbalticum, T. Nowakiewicz ed. , Warszawa 2011, 512-533

В данной статье Пранас Куликаускас повествует о времени своего обучения в Кёнигсбергском университете (1938-1940). Автор увлекательно рассказывает о самом университете,  ходе обучения и своих друзьях и коллегах - студентах и преподователях университета. Среди которых было немало известных восточнопрусских археологов, таких как Б. фон Рихтхофен, Л. Килиан, К. Энгель, В. Лабом, Б. фон цур Мюлен и др.  Немало места уделено описанию лекций, семинаров и конференций, проходимых как в Кёнигсберге так и за его пределами. Автором прекрасно передана атмосфера Кёнигсберга и других областей Восточной и Западной Пруссии накануне Второй Мировой Войны.

Archaeological Archives and Collections of „Prussia” Museum.
Key words: “Prussia” museum, archaeological collections, archival data, artefacts identification
Former “Prussia” museum of Königsberg (Kaliningrad) archaeological collections, their past, different kinds of archival data, their present locations both with a problem of identification for newly discovered artefacts are the main subjects of this investigation. The history of ‘Prussia” museum collections and their destiny are also briefly investigated in this article. Main attention is paid for former archaeological collections of “Prussia” museum, located now in Kaliningrad, Berlin and Olsztyn museums, so far as for vast archival sources accumulated in Berlin, Schleswig, Olsztyn and Kaliningrad museums. Different archival data gathered before 1945 and later on basis of “Prussia” museum collections by European archaeologists is described in a context of a problem of lost and newly found “Prussia” museum artefacts identification and correlation with other sources. Both preferences and lacks of these methods are represented on a basis of analyse of several former “Prussia” museums finds stored today in Kaliningrad museum of history and art.  For appendix several Kaliningrad-“Prussia” museum artefacts, expectedly found by A. Bezzenberger, are analysed in a frames of archival and published data.