The Druskininkėliai hillfort, also known as Saltoniškė, is an archaeological site located in the Lazdijai district, east of Druskininkėliai. The site consists of a hillfort and a settlement, which is protected as a state monument. It can be reached via a 300-meter stretch from a nearby homestead after turning off a local road.
The hillfort is built on a separate hill without fortifications and features an oval clearing measuring 22 by 14 metres, which rises up to 1 metre in the middle. On the southern slope, there is a terrace 10 metres wide that slopes southward and sits 1.5 metres lower than the clearing. The surrounding slopes rise between 10 and 11 metres high and are covered with pines. The site is characterized by its numerous banks and ditches.
Archaeological investigations conducted by the Institute of History in 1954 and 1962 identified that the site dates back to the 1st millennium. At the base of the hillfort, several items were found, including coarse pots, spindle whorls, and flint. Additionally, a settlement located on a 0.4-hectare plot at the southern foot of the hillfort yielded both smooth and coarse ceramics. The entire protected territory covers an area of 13,400 square metres.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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