Vārtāja hillfort
Vārtājas pilskalns, Gavieze
Mound is one of the largest in South Kurzeme, built on the right bank of the Vārtajas river - with several ramparts, ditches and terraces. There is a spring on the flat side of the hill (approx. 5000m2), and the remains of wartime trenches on the top.
Archaeological excavations carried out in 1963 show the settlement of the mound and the old town (500 m around the mound) in the 5th - 13th centuries. Remains of dwellings, ceramic fragments, stone foundations of furnaces with clay superstructures, wooden stakes and bronze small items were found here.
Mound rises on the right bank of the ancient valley of Vārtāja and is a clump covered with trees. The name "Vārtāja" is derived from the ancient Baltic language, where varra means water.
The mound with the castle is mentioned in the chapter of Deitleps Anpeke's "Renia Chronicles" (1853) about the Battle of Durbes (1260).
Article - from the Gavieze antiquities repository, author - A. Kāle