Summary

Juodupë is the land of ancient Selonians (an attempt of regional prehistory)

Gintautas Zabiela

Regional prehistory can develop in three directions: distinguishing regional specificity, revealing formation of a region and its historical development, and displaying the region as multifunctional phenomenon. The prehistory of Juodupë area can be analysed in two former mentioned. Three main stages can be distinguished: from the 1st millennium B.C. to the beginning of the 1st millennium A.D. (culture of stroked pottery), the 3rd–6th centuries (North East Lithuanian barrow culture) and the New Ages (from the 16th c. to the first half of the 17th c.)

There are 12 mounds known from the first stage including Stupeli mound and a settlement at its base, as well as a non-fortified settlement in the Lake Krigânu island, which were most thoroughly investigated in order to reveal the processes of this period. Studies of these both sites resulted in collection of rich archaeological material indicating a varying type of inhabitation of the area, the development of which had intensified at the start of the 2nd millennium and grew into a local centre–the Stupeli mound. In the 16th century this region was divided by a state borderline, which created new realities in further development of the area.