Asote
Asotes pilskalns · Asote Hillfort Latvia · Asote Daugava · Asothen (German)
Late Iron Age Baltic 10th–13th c Livonian Crusade horizon·Latgallian–Semigallian Baltic (Daugava chain, Henry 1208)·🇱🇻 Jēkabpils Municipality, Aknīste Parish, Asote hill on Daugava left bank near Gostiņi 10 km west Jēkabpils (Latgale–Semigallia border Central Latvia), Latvia
About
About Asote
Asote — Latgallian–Semigallian hillfort (Late Iron Age 10th–13th c, Livonian Crusade destruction 1208/1215) on Daugava left bank near Gostiņi 10 km west Jēkabpils, Central Latvia. Elongated plateau 80×40 m 30 m above Daugava, timber-earth rampart 4 m high with 2 ditches, lower bailey 2 ha, 10th–12th c Curonian–Latgallian jewellery, 1208 Henry of Livonia burning. Excavated E. Šnore 1949–63: post-built houses, Latgallian pottery, 13th c Livonian reuse? Central Latvian Daugava toll hillfort between Daugmale and Koknese. Part of Daugava hillfort chain Daugmale–Asote–Koknese.
Why it mattersDaugava Latgallian chain link — 10th–13th c toll hillfort burned 1208 Henry
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Double ditch — Semigallian or Latgallian signature?
Theories
- 01Daugava chain toll Daugmale–Koknese
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.10th c Latgallian–Semigallian foundation; 1208 burned
- Period
- Late Iron Age Baltic 10th–13th c Livonian Crusade horizon
- Culture
- Latgallian–Semigallian Baltic (Daugava chain, Henry 1208)
- Builders
- Latgallian–Semigallian Daugava hillfort builders
- Purpose
- Daugava toll hillfort 30 m above left bank controlling Jēkabpils–Gostiņi ford
- Abandoned
- 1208/1215 Henry of Livonia destruction
- Rediscovered
- Excavated E. Šnore 1949–63 Daugava left bank
- Excavation
- Excavated
10th c
Latgallian–Semigallian hillfort 30 m Daugava founded
1208 CE
Henry of Livonia burns Asote Daugava toll
1949–63
Šnore excavates 4 m rampart and bailey
On the ground
Structures & features
56.4500° N · 25.8800° E · 90 m · 3 mapped features
Plateau 80×40 m 30 m
plateauElongated plateau 80×40 m 30 m above Daugava left bank Gostiņi
56.4505° N · 25.8805° EDouble-Ditch Rampart 4 m
rampartTimber-earth rampart 4 m high with 2 Daugava-facing ditches burned 1208
56.4495° N · 25.8790° ELower Bailey 2 ha
baileyLower bailey 2 ha Latgallian pottery and jewellery below plateau
56.4510° N · 25.8820° E