Burial Practices at Lapiņi Curonian Cremation Cemetery, West Latvia, at the Close of the Iron Age and in the Middle Ages (12th–14th/15th Centuries)

Abstract

This article examines cremation cemeteries in west Latvia from the end of the Late Iron Age and the Middle Ages (12th-14th/15th centuries). During this period, cremation graves constituted the dominant burial form in the region. We have selected as a case study Lapiņi cemetery, which reveals additional details relating to cremation cemeteries of west Latvia. The aim of the article is to provide further insights into burials of this kind in the Baltic region, which correspond in time to the Curonian expansion in northwest Latvia, followed by the conquest by the Crusaders and the change of religion and burial practices in present-day Latvia. For a better understanding of the environmental conditions at the time of use of the cemetery, taxonomic analysis has been undertaken of the charcoal used as fuel for cremation, as well as an analysis of pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs from cremation graves. Lapiņi is so far the only Curonian cemetery in present-day Latvia where such analyses have been conducted. This has given us a new understanding of the funeral rituals performed on the burial site, and the formation process of cremation cemeteries.