A Roman coin found at the Žemosios Panemunės hill fort

The archaeological site of Žemosios Panemunės is a hill fort located on a promontory on the left bank of the Nemunas. The site features a rectangular courtyard measuring 49 by 18 metres, elongated in an east-west direction. At the eastern end of the courtyard is a rampart 3.5 metres high and 21 metres wide, with an outer slope 5 metres high leading down into a ditch 4 metres wide and 1 metre deep. On the western slope of the hill fort, about 4 metres below the courtyard, is a triangular terrace measuring 10 metres long and 10 metres wide.

To the southeast of the hill fort is a settlement investigated in 1997. During this research, archaeologists found a coin of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, along with bronze bracelets, necklace fragments, and fragments of cloth and collars, as well as coarse and smooth ceramics. The hill fort itself dates back to the beginning of the 1st and 2nd millennium.

In 2015, preservation work was carried out on the site. This included the installation of new, durable larch stairs with handrails, paths paved with crushed stone, and larch benches. Larch terrace stairs were also installed, leading to the defensive ditch and the rampart. There is a small resting area in the courtyard which offers a view of the Nemunas valley.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons