Late-Holocene relative sea-level changes and palaeoenvironment of the Pre-Viking Age ship burials in Salme, Saaremaa Island, eastern Baltic Sea

Two unique Pre-Viking Age ship burials were found from Salme village, Saaremaa Island, eastern Baltic Sea, containing remains of seven men in the smaller and 34 men in the larger ship. According to the archaeological interpretations, these ships belonged to a viking crew possibly from the Stockholm-Mälaren region, eastern Sweden. Geoarchaeological research was conducted in the area to reconstruct Late-Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) changes and shoreline displacement to provide environmental context to these burials. In this paper we present a Late-Holocene shore displacement curve for the Saaremaa Island and GIS-based palaeogeographic reconstructions for the Salme area. The curve shows an almost linear RSL fall from 5.5 to 0.8 m a.s.l. between 1000 BC and 1300 AD with an average rate of 2 mm/year. A slowdown in regression may be attributed to accelerated sea-level rise after the Little Ice Age and during the industrial period, being consistent with the tide-gauge measurements from the 20th century. Palaeogeographic reconstructions indicate the existence of a strait in the Salme area during the burial of the ships. The eastern part of the strait with water depth up to 2.8 m was about 80–100 m wide. The relatively steep and wind-protected shores in that part of the strait were probably the best places in the area for landing the viking ships. According to sedimentological evidence and diatom data, the narrowing of Salme palaeostrait occurred between 1270 and 1300 AD. Salme I and II ships were buried at 650–770 AD into the sandy-gravelly coastal deposits which had accumulated there in the open coastal zone about 710–450 years earlier. Reconstructions show that the ships were located about 2–2.5 m above coeval sea level and more than 100 m from the coastline. Thus, both ships were probably moved from the shore to the higher ground for burial.

Comparative Analysis of Ports on the Eastern Baltic Sea Coast

Ports are an important part of the global and regional freight supply chain and transport network. As port activities have a significant impact on the economic growth of these countries, it is necessary to constantly analyse and plan port activities, anticipate market changes and improve the ability of ports to withstand the growing general competitive pressure. This article analyses studies conducted by researchers on the topic of seaports, thus, and find that there are no analyses comparing more than two ports. A comparative analysis of the ports on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea was conducted using the analysis of statistical data. The comparative analysis of ports on the eastern Baltic Sea revealed that Klaipeda port is the most diversified port in the eastern Baltic Sea region, given that it does not have any single most important type of cargo. The largest ports in terms of bulk cargo are in Tallinn, Riga and Ventspils. Primorsk is the largest port for liquid cargo and St. Petersburg handles the greatest volumes of cargo of a general type andwhile the distribution of cargo flows in the port of Visotsk is best correlated with the selected parameters, which allows us to state that the infrastructure of this port is used to the maximum.

Considerations of Use-Use Interactions between Macroalgae Cultivation and Other Maritime Sectors: An Eastern Baltic MSP Case Study

With the blue economic sectors growing, marine macroalgae cultivation plays an important role in securing food and energy supplies, as well as better water quality in sustainable ways, whether alone or as part of a cluster solution to mitigate the effects of fish farming. While macroalgae cultivation exists in Europe, it is not that widely distributed yet; with increasing marine activities at sea, Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) needs to ensure social recognition as well as social and spatial representation for such a new marine activity. This comparative case study analysis of MSPs of three eastern Baltic Sea countries explores the levels of support for the development of macroalgae cultivation in MSP and the degree of co-location options for this new and increasingly important sector. It presents new analytical ways of incorporating co-location considerations into the concept of social sustainability. The results of this study support the harmonisation of views on co-location, propose ways of using space to benefit multiple users as well as marine ecosystems, and highlight some of the key social challenges and enablers for this sector.

Scandinavian/Rus’ Captives and Slave Soldiers: an Eastern Perspective

During the Viking Age (c. AD 750–1050), the Rus’, an inclusive group of warrior-merchants of mainly Scandinavian origin – owning and trading slaves – were active in the East (in this case the eastern Baltic region, European Russia, Belarus, the Ukraine, the Black Sea region, Byzantium, the Caucasus, and beyond). There are several written accounts of Rus’ taken captive in the East during the Viking Age, including information about some of them ending up as slaves. This article will examine different fates of Rus’ captives in these areas, on the basis of contemporary Byzantine, Muslim – and to a limited extent – later Old Slavic and Old Norse written accounts. The sources reveal that the captured Scandinavian/Rus’ warriors often were victims of a special type of subjugation: ‘slave soldiery’. This status will be contrasted to other types of militarily subordination to illuminate the relative social standings of such warrior groups in the East.

Noricum Venetians as a Proto-Slavic Element

The article is devoted to the problem of finding the Proto-Slavic homeland. Based on data from historical sources, archeology, philology, anthropology, materials of genetic studies of various populations of Slavs, an attempt made to establish the area of formation of the Proto-Slavs. As one of the fundamental elements in the ethnogenesis of the Proto-Slavs, the bearer of the Pomeranian culture considered, presumably based on the substrate of the Western Balts and, possibly, the Venetes linguistically close to them. Based on a retrospective analysis, work done to summarize information about the Venetes as possible migrants from the Asia Minor peninsula, in connection with which an attempt made to establish the chronology of their resettlement across Europe. The area of formation of the Proto-Slavs considered in the context of the existing trade routes that connected the tribes living in the Vistula basin with the Mediterranean, the Eastern Baltic, the Dnieper basin, Germany and Gaul. It was shown that the expansion of the Velbar culture led to the division of the area of the Proto-Slavs, which resulted in their cultural differentiation. This approach allows us to explain the presence of Proto-Slavs in the polyethnic Przeworsk, Zarubinets and Chernyakhov cultures.