![]() ![]() The peculiarities of cemeteries in the border area between Latvia and Belarus are compared to those of other regions in Latvia, framing the polemical character of the collected material. Several common and different features of cemeteries in Latvia and Belarus are indicated that are determined by the traditional and contemporary culture trends, national identity traits, religious creed specificity, the soviet period and other factors. The present paper maps the methodological positions of European neighbour relations and partnership instrument 2007 - 2013 cross-border cooperation program Latvia - Lithuania - Belarus project ìPopularization of Oral History Centres in the cross-border territory of LV - BY, ID LLB-2-143, studies of cemeteries in the cross-border area between Latvia and Belarus and characterizes their adaptation for the aims and tasks of the given project. ![]() And it also examines the astronomical framework of the burial directions. It suggests that an ancestral tradition was established and maintained through this grave orientation. The paper proposes a hypothesis that burial direction is a form of symbolic communication between the living and the dead as well as among the dead within a certain internment area. The grave orientation in both cemeteries is examined, with a certain amount of criticism, in the light of the chronological and territorial contexts. The present paper seeks to discuss if this spatial organization was intentional, and if so, what significance the focal point possessed and what views of the afterlife and social objectives might lie behind this mortuary treatment. ![]() the alignment of the deceased towards a single focal point near the cemetery. But a closer inspection shows an exceptional feature, i.e. The head appears to generally lie to the west and northwest, which is entirely typical of east Lithuanian barrows. Two east Lithuanian barrow cemeteries, Baliuliai and Peršaukštis Kasčiukai II, which date to the mid-5th century, are distinguished by a specific pattern of burial orientation. ![]()
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