Funeral rite in the context of Structural integrity and failure

The Western Baltic culture (Lithuanian: Vakarų baltų kultūra; Polish: Kultura zachodniobałtyjska also known as krąg zachodniobałtyjski (West Baltic circle), Russian: Западнобалтская культура, romanized: Zapadnobaltskaya kul'tura) was the westernmost branch of the Balts, representing a distinct archaeological culture of the Bronze Age and Iron Age, along the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. It is a zone of several small archaeological cultures that were ethnically Baltic and had similar cultural features (e.g. similar monuments or some features of the funeral rite). They included tribes such as the Old Prussians, Galindians, Yotvingians (or Sudovians) and Skalvians, in addition to the little-known Pomeranian Balts or Western Balts proper, in the area now known as Pomerania.

In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress; from Ancient Greek ἀναχωρέω (anakhōréō) 'I withdraw, retire') is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. Anchorites are frequently considered to be a type of hermit, but unlike hermits, they were required to take a vow of stability of place, opting for permanent enclosure in cells often attached to churches. Also unlike hermits, anchorites were subject to a religious rite of consecration that closely resembled the funeral rite, following which they would be considered dead to the world and a type of living saint. Anchorites had a certain autonomy, as they did not answer to any ecclesiastical authority apart from bishops.

The anchoritic life is one of the earliest forms of Christian monasticism. In Catholicism and Evangelical Lutheranism, heremitic life is one of the forms of consecrated life. In medieval England, the earliest recorded anchorites lived in the 11th century. Their highest number—around 200 anchorites—was recorded in the 13th century.