The density of charcoal production mounds in Ropaži turned out to be surprising — there are around 4000 of them. However, the story does not end there. In parallel with his archaeological work, he produced charcoal himself using historical methods and also discovered former tar distillation sites that had not previously been studied in Latvia.

I call them pancakes, Uģis laughs, standing on a small mound in the forest near Zaķumuiža, about eight kilometres from Ropaži. A soft, green carpet of moss between tall pines. There are several "pancakes" around us. Round, symmetrical, with a clearly visible ditch around the base.