«The trace of the roman expedition to the Baltics in search of amber»: the Yakovlevo (Ilischken) cemetery of the Sambian-Natangian culture

The paper presents the results of the investigation relating to the Yakovlevo/ Ilischken cemetery of the Sambian-Natangian culture. This cemetery known since the end of the 19 century because of the find of apugio, which is a type of Roman dagger weapon, is unique for the southeastern Baltic region; archaeologically it has never been examined before. Our study found that the graves in this cemetery are represented by individual cremations roofed with concentric stone structures. The funerary assemblage in the graves includes items imported from the Roman provinces as well as their derivates dating to the middle-end of the 1st - startup of the 2nd centuries AD. The cemetery is located within one of the centers inhabited by the eastern population of the Sambian-Natangian culture which settled along the routes of the transport communications related to amber trade.