The Late Roman Period Baitai Cemetery as a Source for Interpreting Cultural Processes in the Baltic Region

This book has a long prehistory. It began in 1989 when the author undertook her first excavations at Baitai cemetery. The analysis and publication of the material goes some way to make up for the damage done by the archaeologist who destroys the burials (s)he investigates. Studying the grave sets of an unknown deceased person is a way of restoring their individuality and revealing some of the characteristics of the local community, in order to compensate for the anonymity by which burials are numbered. The main aim of this book is to show the place of the Baitai community in the Late Roman Period against the background of the culture of the entire West Balt area and the cultural heritage of the various Baltic Sea regions. If the numbers of the Baitai graves are remembered and cited in the future as examples of particular units of grave goods that reflect the local traditions in the Lithuanian coastland and illustrate the impact of inter-regional communication, then perhaps the inevitable damage done by the archaeologist may be compensated for by her efforts to revive the people of Baitai almost 1,600 years later.