Archaeological Excavations on the Hill Fort of Ērģeme/Härgmäe

Abstract

Joint research by the University of Tartu, the Latvian Academy of Culture, and the University of Latvia at the Ērģeme/Härgmäe hill fort in Latvia clarified its period of use and construction history. Radiocarbon dates point to occupation in the Late Bronze Age, between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE, while the finds indicate intensive use of the hill fort in the 13th and 14th centuries. The hill fort plateau was probably levelled and enlarged in the 13th century, when an earlier cultural layer was mixed into soil moved onto the slope. The finds and written sources point to the importance of Ērģeme/Härgmäe in medieval Livonia and suggest that the hill fort may have remained in use for a time alongside the nearby castle of the Teutonic Order. The identification of the hill fort with Owele or Purke, mentioned in Henry’s Chronicle of Livonia, remains unproven, but the research reveals the site’s multi-phase history and the continuation of local settlement after the Crusades.