Studies into the Balts’ Sacred Places

Description

Up to now, the ancient Balts’ sacred places have typically been described according to the few known written sources, referencing mostly the same few examples of investigated monuments. A non-systematic approach is the main problem that has prevented us from using this valuable base of sources for the investigation of the Balts’ religion and mythology. The aim of this work is therefore to examine various scientific information, to classify the Balts’ sacred places in Lithuania according to type, to point out the main types and groups of sacred places, and moreover, to analyse their religious and historic contexts. The Balts’ sacred places are examined systemically: typologically, according to complex archaeological, historic, ethnologic, linguistic, folkloristic scientific methods and the cartographic analysis of monuments. The results of these examinations are then compared to other data about the Balts and their neighbours the Slavs, Germans and Finno-Ugrians.