Built before the 1st millennium BCE, Kaniavėlė hillfort is a dated to the Iron Age, between the 1st millennium BCE and the 1st millennium CE archaeological site. Its ditch that surrounds the village – three sides formed by hills, and the fourth by a flat field – marks the territory of Iron Age Lithuanians, three centuries before they joined into one kingdom. For six meters high around the north side, and two to three meters high around the eastern one, the banks stand as a physical legacy of the society that protected it.
The hillfort's top, 30 metres long by 20 metres wide, is a square summit with a stone base rising three metres above the hill. On the summit's bottom, near the ditch, there are remains of burnt and broken ceramic artifacts. Today, visitors can explore the hillfort through a hiking trail that leads to Dubičiai and further to Varėna. Kaniavėlė hillfort is a testimony to the people who lived here, worked on this land, and defended it for centuries – and to those who still seek to understand their story.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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