Location
State: Latvia
Region: Riga
County: Limbaži
Parish: Katvari
Other references to the location
Between the Aišēni and Ķeizari homesteads
Coordinates
lat=57.5897222222, lon=24.8883333333
57° 35′ 22″ N, 24° 53′ 17″ E
Description
Between Aišēni, Ķeizari and Žvīguri in a wide field, there is a large, possibly the most extensive in Latvia, ancient burial ground with a cairn or heap of stones dating back to the Early Iron Age consisting of seven cairn hillocks scattered in a wide territory. The cairn hillock closest to Aišēni was considered to be a church palce. This cairn as a tree clump is featured by decidious trees and bushes. Around this and other cairns of the ancient burial ground, there are overgrown fields, which used to be agricultured in former times (one can visualize the edge of the field around the perimeter of the described cairn hillock). The hillock is oriented approximately in E – W direction, its W edge has been dug up with ancient big pits; it is possible that there were stones quarried. The most explicit is the E edge of the hillock standing out for about 1.5 m. Both in this part of the edge and in other places, one can see many stones. Along the edge of the hillock occasionally, there are heaps of stones collected from the field laying more loosely.
Narrative
[…] Between the Ķeizari, Aišēni and Žvīguri homesteads, there are several longish ground elevations, which remained uncultivated due to stones. Zelma Bērziņa who is living in the nearby Vairogi homestead narrated that the locals call one of them “the Church Site”. […] Reported by Ē. Mugurēviča June 1964. Stored at the Monument Documentation Centre of the State Inspection for Heritage Protection.Attraction
Unattractive
Availability
Easily accessible; only during the season, one has to cross the cornfields.
Infrastructure, management, facilities
None
Local info
None
Capacity
41 and more
Publicity
Unknown
Legal Status
Private
Comments
According to other news, the Chuch Hill was located by the Žvīguri homestead. Right near the Žvīguri homestead, there is no cairn burial ground, and it is possible that in the recorded information the above-desribed hillock was still meant. It is also possible that the church tradition had not been strong and/or definite, thus the church, according to people’s believes, had been located elsewhere on other hillocks situated in a wide field between the Aišēni, Ķeizari and Žvīguri homesteads. By the Žvīguri homestad, there is a monastery situated. On one of the hillocks nearby the Žvīguri homestead considered to be a church site, there is a fraud cup marked stone, which I did not find. It can be mentioned that there are also other tales related to the ancient cairn burial ground situated between the Aišēni, Ķeizari and Žvīguri and the nearby Lišķi ancient burial ground hill; these tales seem overlaping and merging together.
