The Paalkiai hillfort was built approximately 1000-1500 years ago at the confluence of an unnamed stream with the Neris. It is believed that a castle-fortification of one of the Balt tribal communities stood here. To build the hillfort, our ancestors skillfully used a high cape on the Neris bank, which was protected from enemies by the waters of the Neris River, the steep slopes of its valley up to 30 m., and on the other side – a steep moat carved out by an unnamed tributary. Over the years, when the tribe abandoned the fortifications, the hillfort became overgrown with forest, the site shrank to 6 m in length and 12 in width, but two defensive ramparts and ditches remained. It was the remains of these fortifications that prompted park employees Ida Stankevičiūtė in 2005 to suggest that these could be the remains of a hillfort. Thus, Lithuania's cultural heritage was replenished with another discovered object. The mound has not yet been studied by archaeologists, so we only have so much data about its history... We have much more knowledge in general about Lithuanian mounds. We have close to a thousand of them! The first mounds appeared on the territory of present-day Lithuania about 3,000 years ago. At first, they were just fortified settlements - to protect their property, the community would surround the top of the chosen hill with several rows of fences, fill in the ramparts, and dig ditches. Over the centuries, the mounds became important defensive points, bulwarks in the fight against the attacks of the Teutonic Knights. Powerful wooden castles were built, and the residences of local rulers were established. The era of mounds ended in the 15th century - with the defeat of the Teutonic Order in the Battle of Grunwald. Lithuania and Europe welcomed the new era with abandoned mounds, which have since become of interest as a legacy of antiquity. And it doesn't stop today - after all, we have about a thousand mounds in our country, and their density is one of the highest (if not the highest) in Europe.
Translated by Google •
In the know? Log-in to add a tip for other adventurers!