The Latgalian tribe, part of the Eastern Baltic peoples, formed and consolidated as a distinct ethno-linguistic group on the right bank of Daugava River during the 5 – 6th centuries AD. During the fallowing centuries, Latgalians expanded their territory into the lands inhabited by groups of related Baltic tribes and Baltic Finns, thus becoming the dominant cultural group in Eastern Latvia.
One peculiar phenomenon connected with the Latgalian expansion is the emergence of a rare type of settlement – fortified lake-settlements on artificial platforms were constructed by the Latgallians in the lakes of Vidzeme Upland. Only 10 such sites are known up to now and only two of them have been studied in detail. Nevertheless, their construction has been explained in scholarly literature in context of violent and sudden land-grab by the warlike, migrating Latgalians, especially in context to the Baltic Finns, who are seen as driven northward or destroyed in the process. The Latgalians inhabiting the lake-settlements are portrayed as conquerors settling in unfriendly territory inhabited by vengeful past owners of the land, thus explaining the choice of constructing the fortified lake-settlements.
This paper will aim to challenge this view by analysing three case studies: the lake-settlements of Āraiši and Brici and the natural Cepurīte Island settlement in Lake Indzeris. An approach using GIS environment to interpret both archaeological and palaeoecological data will be used to reconstruct the ancient landscape and settlement patterns, thus illustrating the situation before the arrival of the Latgalians, the nature of the migration processes and the changes that took place with their arrival. The paper will argue for a more source-based, case-to-case approach, highlighting the different nature that the Latgalian arrival took at each of the sites.

First Author: Janis Meinerts

Keywords:
Viking Age
Eastern Baltic
Latgalians
migrations
lake-settlement