NAUKŠĒNI JĒČI STONE: NEW DATA ON CYLINDRICAL HOLLOW STONES

Cylindrical hollow stones are stones with artificially carved grooves and cylindrical upper part of the stone. On the top of the stones a cylindrical hollow has been cut. Stone height 0.45–1.0 m, diameter 0.74–1.5 m, hollow diameter 0.20–0.61 m, depth 0.05–0.22 m. In Latvia there are currently 11 such stones reported. According to archaeological finds, the sacred use of cylindrical hollow stones in Lithuania dates back to the 15th–18th/19th centuries. On September 20, 2022 archaeological research was conducted at the cylindrical hollow stone at Naukšēni Jēči. It turned out that the stone with its widened, rough-hewn base was placed on ancient arable land. No stoneworking has taken place in its current location. The research did not give any evidence of any sacredness of the Jēči hollow stone. It could be considered that the stone was moved and carefully placed in the field in its current location in recent times, however, this does little to explain the stone’s former meaning. Without ruling out the sacred nature of the Jēči hollow stone, other needs for making and placing such a stone should also be discussed.