Kaliningrad (Russia), Sep 12 (DPA) Russian and German archaeologists believe they may have found traces of human settlement in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad that could lead to the legendary Viking trading centre of Wiskiauten.
The find lies three kilometres south of the coastal resort of Selenogradsk in a field near the Curonian Spit, a narrow strip of sand dune off the coast. The stone structures found almost a metre down are the remains of a well and several houses that date to the 12th century.
"This is still a bit recent, as the Viking era is at least two centuries earlier," said Timo Ibsen, the head of the German team. "But we are on the right track."
Ibsen and his fellow archaeologists from Kaliningrad - Vladimir Kulakov and Konstantin Skvorzov - have been looking for the lost site of Wiskiauten for years.
Wiskiauten is one of the last great archaeological secrets that the Baltic region still has to give up. Despite 160 years of research in the early history of the region, no one knows where the fabled site lies.
All that has been found is a cemetery, which lies on a flat hill called Kaup near the village of Mochovoje. It has been known since 1865, when local archaeologists began retrieving precious funeral items from over 500 graves.
They found silver items, swords, women's jewellery and even remains of costumes, all unmistakably of Scandinavian design.
"There are lots of women's graves, and for this reason we believe that these people from the north were not here on raids," said Kulakov, head of the Baltic expedition of Russia's National Institute of Archaeology.
"Rather, they lived here in a multi-ethnic community alongside Danes, Goths and the local Prussians."
Wiskiauten was a major settlement at the dawn of Baltic culture, similar to sites in the region like Hedeby near Schleswig on the German-Danish border, Ralswiek on the island of Ruegen and the recently discovered Elblag on the Polish coast.
The Viking trading network along the Baltic coast is well researched. Only Wiskiauten is missing.
Three kilometers to the north of the cemetery lies the Curonian lagoon, a large body of fresh water separated from the Baltic by the Curonian Split.
"A thousand years ago the opening to the sea lay in the south of the spit and not to the north as it does today. This strategic position led Wiskiauten to gain in significance," Ibsen said.
In the spring of this year, German geologists investigated how far the lagoon extended to the south during the Viking era.
At the same time, a large geomagnetic survey was underway at the instigation of northern European archaeologists.
For days scientists from Kiel University in northern Germany used a tractor to drag geo-radar machines around the frozen fields surrounding the hilltop graves.
The researchers struck luck almost immediately, finding a Byzantine coin at the first structures. This is evidence of long-distance trade conducted by the Balts.
Work at the dig is coming to an end for this year. The results are to be evaluated at the Archaeological Museum in Gottorf Castle in Schleswig over the months ahead. They can be found at www.wiskiauten.eu. The objects found are housed in Kaliningrad's art history museum.
The research has generated a Wiskiauten cult in the region, with Selenogradsk wanting to turn its early history to the good of the tourist industry.