THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL THOUGHT IN LATVIA DURING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE RIVER DAUGAVA HYDROPOWER PLANTS

Abstract

The construction of the Daugava River Hydropower Plants (HPPs) and cor- responding impact on archaeological monuments directly showed the importance of landscape. It is a manifest example how identity of whole nation relies on sym- bols. It needs to be asked what is left when the landscape – formed, shaped and developed through hundreds and thousands of years – has been brutally destroyed. During the 1960s archaeologists worked mostly in two regions – Pļaviņas and Riga HPP submerging zones [Loze, Cimermanis 1969: 2–3]. That was really huge and planned research. For archaeologists it was clear that the collected material would keep the story of the life in ancient villages, hillforts and castles as well as peoples living, who had lived there, alive, when all of it would be under the water. Besides the negative aspects, research that went on for many years has shaped and formed archaeological science as well as the development of archaeological thought. The goal of this paper is to examine what pros and cons these works have left and how to evaluate them in today’s context.