Archaeologia Baltica

This article returns to the question of whether Christianity in Europe in the High Middle Ages necessarily precluded the cremation of corpses. The question is addressed focusing on the Livs, a West Finno-Ugric society, who lived in the east Baltic region, before they adopted Christianity and during the early period of Christianisation. The authors combine archaeological expertise with interpretations of historical sources to explore the late cremations of the Livs and, in particular, to analyse two female cremations from the cemetery at Ogresgala Čabas, located near the mouth of the River Daugava. Cremations dominated in the initial phase of Daugava Liv culture in the lower reaches of the Daugava in the second half of the tenth century before they were replaced by inhumations by the middle of the 11th century, especially in female graves. The article deals with the late cremations of the Livs from the late 11th to the 13th century, when they became very rare and took on a different form. Taking into account references to the practice of cremation in exceptional cases of deaths in foreign lands in written sources about the Livs, the article agrees with researchers who believe that not all cremated corpses should be immediately and unconditionally associated with paganism.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the reaping rituality of Ukrainians to demonstrate its close relationship with Old Slavonic ones, and partly with Indo-European mental constants, which has a pre-Christian basis. Thus, memorial motifs (honouring of the dead ancestors for their assistance to living descendants of reach yield) extremely clearly occurs in the reaping rituality.

Usually, monumentsepigraphs keep a lot of personal and social information about a buried person.This general information may help to better understand the community orresidents of a specific area. This is especially true in the case of Klaipėda region and itsnative population. The results of analysis of survived epigraphs of old Evangelico-Lutherancemeteries in Klaipėdaregion are presented in this article. The research was done using socialstatistical methods, which are usually used to characterize social community.The obtained results allow modeling the stratification organization of formerpopulation.

The article deals with the diversity of herbaceous and ligneous ornamental plant species and their distribution in the old cemeteries of Klaipėda Region. Studies were carried out in 40 cemeteries of Šilutė district, during the vegetation period in 2012. The cemeteries differed in their area, the intensity of their use, and care. In the majority of cases, one to ten species of ornamental plants were found. The largest diversity of ornamental plant species (over 20) were found in the currently used and cared for cemeteries in Mantvydai I and Kukorai. The total number of ornamental plants species established in the cemeteries was under 60. Among the ligneous plants, the common lilacs (Syringa vulgaris L.) and thuja (Thuja occidentalis L.) prevailed. Among the herbaceous ornamental plants, several species and varieties of plantain lily (Hosta L.), common columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris L.), and lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis L.) prevailed.

The article focuses on the state of the old cemeteries in Klaipėda Region and their place in the system of the local culture heritage. All that shall be revealed by actualizing the issue as an outcome of World War 2, when the Region lost almost all local population who were substituted for by settlers with the culture and religion alien to the land. The historical-confessional characteristics of legal evolution of the old cemeteries of the region are discussed by disclosing the transfer of their legal-administrative subordination from church to municipal jurisdiction. General characteristics and problems of the relationship of the new settlers with the old heritage are discussed. The value of the cemeteries in terms of heritage protection is emphasized.