Several thousand years before Christ, a new type of settlement appeared in Lithuania—a higher hill surrounded by fences, ditches and ramparts. These are our magnificent hillforts, of which we have more than 900, the largest density among all countries of the Baltic region. Hillforts were built beginning in the Bronze Age, when early Lithuanians began to feel the need to protect their property. Our ancestors created such fortified settlements and continued to use them for two and a half thousand years, up until the Middle Ages. Not only the top of the hillfort, but also its system of fortifications and a settlement at its foot were important. Fences protected not only valuable metal objects, but also wooden barns for domestic animals, and pots containing food supplies.

Let us continue to the first floor of the exhibition, which will take us to the period after Christ—the Iron Age.