Lecture "The Custom of Cremating the Dead and the Afterlife in Medieval Lithuania"

Ąžuolynas Library invites you to a lecture on Wednesday, November 25, at 5:30 PM in the Event Hall (K. Donelaičio St. 8, 3rd floor), where we will embark on a journey to explore medieval Lithuania together: we will examine what the burial customs of that time reveal about people's belief in the afterlife and their relationship with death. Ancient Lithuanian burial customs and the view of the afterlife are an intriguing and, to the general public, quite mysterious topic. The burial practices themselves and the concept of the afterlife reflected in these customs reveal interesting details about our ancestors, their perception of the world, and their relationship with death and the deceased. In this lecture, based on archaeological data, we will discuss the custom of cremating the dead that existed in medieval Lithuania and the reflections of the afterlife visible in burial practices. Attention will be focused on the burial of cremated remains prevalent in the 13th–14th centuries (i.e., the period from the formation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Christianization of Lithuania): the burial of cremated remains in the ground, the scattering of bones in collective burial sites, and the burial in water, which raises perhaps the most questions. The lecture "The Custom of Cremating the Dead and the Afterlife in Medieval Lithuania" is organized by Gediminas Petrauskas, a lecturer at the Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology at Klaipėda University and a Doctor of Archaeology. Please be informed that the event will be photographed and/or filmed, and you may appear in event photos or videos that may be published in various media outlets.