Dolomite slab ark from the cemetery of the medieval church in Ikšķile

St Mary's Church or Bishop Meinard’s Cathedral in Ikšķile.

At the end of the 12th century, the mission of spreading the Catholic Christian faith in the pagan part of Eastern Europe began in the lower Daugava. In 1184, the Catholic monk Meinard began building a church in the Livs’ village of Ikšķile. The church was originally built of wood, but in 1185, when stonemasons were brought from Gotland, the stone castle and the stone church of Ikšķile were built, which was completely rebuilt in the early 13th century and incorporated into a single fortification system with the castle.
For his success in spreading the Christian faith, Meinard was appointed as Bishop of Ikšķile in 1188. The centre of the bishopric of Ikšķile or Livonia - the Cathedral - was located in Ikšķile until 1201, when the bishopric was transformed into the Bishopric of Riga and its centre was moved to Riga.

Medieval Christian burial traditions.

In the Middle Ages, Christians who died were buried in churches, either under the floor or in a cemetery surrounding the church. The apse and altar at the eastern end of the church was the most sacred place, where the most important members of the congregation were buried.
According to Christian tradition, the deceased persons were to be buried unburnt, with the head to the west (facing east), without grave goods, in coffins, arks or without them – in simple shrouds.

Stone or brick-walled arks in medieval cemeteries.

The practice of making stone or brick arks was not too popular in Latvia, while it was more common elsewhere in North-Western Europe. They can be referred to as such just conditionally, as they were more often only used as side walls. In North-Western Europe, this practice existed in the 10th-13th centuries, but in Latvia from the end of the 12th century until the 14th century. In the territory of Latvia, this practice came together with the Catholic mission. As elsewhere, in Latvia these arks were initially made of natural materials - stones, but in the decline of the tradition - of bricks. In Latvia, stone arks have so far been found in 2 medieval cemeteries. The oldest of these arks where found in the medieval church cemetery in Ikšķile - 2 dolomite slab arks. The other place where brick wall arks have been found is the medieval cemetery of the Riga Cathedral. Here 9 brick wall arks were found. The stone arks were probably built for members of higher social classes.

Dolomite slab ark in the cemetery of the medieval church in Ikšķile.

This burial site was discovered during archaeological excavations led by historian Rihards Malvess in 1961. It was located in the cemetery of the medieval church about 13 metres south of the outer wall of the apse.
The internal dimensions of the ark are 0.58x1.80x0.40 metres. The side walls of the ark consisted of 7-8 cm thick smooth dolomite slabs. The end walls that were precisely inserted between the side slabs were 14.5 cm thick. The floor was created by cutting a recess in the dolomite layers and inserting 3 slabs into them. A dolomite 'cushion' is placed at the head of the ark. No cover has been found for the ark, but it may have existed, only to have perished during the creation of later burials.
Judging by the accessories found in the ark - fragments of jewellery to be pinned to clothing, including silver objects, and a knife in an ornamented leather scabbard, a relatively wealthy Liv woman was buried here