Apbedīšanas tradīcijas Latvijas ziemeļaustrumu pierobežā dzelzs laikmeta beigās un viduslaiku sākumā.

In the late Iron Age and early medieval period, a variety of funerary practices existed near the north-eastern border of Latvia. The stone cist graves characteristic of the Baltic Finns in the previous period were replaced by flat burial grounds of the Latgallians in the late Iron Age, but sand barrows appeared in the 11^th century, and remained as a burial practice until the 14^th century. The sand barrows are common along the whole north-eastern border of Latvia. Only the mound of sand on top differentiates the sand barrow from a flat grave. In the 13^th-14^th centuries, the dead were also buried in "zhalniki" - a grave surrounded by a circular stone construction. Zhalniki are no different from flat graves and sand barrows with regard to grave goods. There have been few excavations along the north-eastern border of Latvia, which has resulted in a lack of information and different interpretations of the burial practices in this area. In 2019, archaeological excavations were carried out at the Logini sand barrow burial ground in Vilaka municipality. The excavations have provided new information about burial practices in sand barrows. Previous literature suggests that usually there was one, or rarely, two people buried in a sand barrow. At Logini, however, more people were buried in a single grave, and burials were also found between the sand barrows. It is possible that some people were buried without a mound, which might be interpreted either as differences in social status in the community, or a gradual shift to flat graves, brought about by increasing demand for compliance with the Christian burial tradition. It is difficult to interpret the findings with confidence, since none of the sand barrow burial grounds has been fully excavated, unlike flat grave burial grounds. Moreover, most excavations of the 19^th century were only concerned with the central part of the sand barrows, leaving the space between them unstudied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]