Vävarsbacka 2019. The registration for next years excavation starts 2.1.2019 at 10.00 am!

Arkeologisk utgrävning av stenåldersboplatsen Vävarsbacka II i Borgå 14.5 och 1-5.6.2019

Anmälan börjar 2.1.2019 kl. 10:00!!

Utgrävning må-sö 1-5.6.2019 kl. 10.00-16.00. 

Sammanlagt 32 lektioner

Arkeologer FM Jan Fast och FM Janne Soisalo

Kursavgift 75,00 € Max 20 studerande.

Kom med och lär dig arkeologisk utgrävningsteknik i praktiken. Vi gör en utgrävning av en fyndrik 5500 år gammal stenåldersboplats i Vävarsbacka i Borgå.

Kursen inleds tisdagen 14.5 kl. 18.00-19.30 med en öppen avgiftsfri föreläsning om stenåldersboplatsen i Vävarsbacka och om arkeologiska fältarbeten. Föreläsningen hålls i Lyceiparkens skola, Biskopsgatan 3-7, ytterdörr A.

Kursen fortsätter sedan med utgrävningar i Vävarsbacka under fem dagars tid, lördag 1.6 - onsdag 5.6 kl. 10.00-16.00. Ingen förhandskunskap om arkeologi krävs och all grävutrustning finns tillhanda på utgrävningsplatsen.

Barn under 14 år kan delta endast i sällskap av en myndig person. Man får mest ut av kursen genom att delta alla dagar, men det är också möjligt att vara med ett färre antal dagar för att få en uppfattning om de arkeologiska fynden och grävningarna. Kursavgiften är 75 euro oberoende av om man är borta någon dag.

Ohjausta voidaan antaa myös suomeksi ja englanniksi, kaikki asiasta kiinnostuneet mukaan!

The teachers can also instruct you in English. Come along!

Mapping the heritage value of the Mannerheim line

PhD Oula Seitsonen has ventured on a new WW2 conflict archaeology project. This time the focus is on the Mannerheim-Line on the Carelian Isthmus. Please read more about the background and motives of the project by clicking on the link below the pictures!

https://www.academia.edu/37651740/Project_overview_Archaeology_of_the_Mannerheim_Line_-_Mapping_the_Heritage_Value_of_Finnish_Second_World_War_Defensive_Line_in_Karelian_Isthmus_Russia_2018-2019_?fbclid=IwAR05bthjWWsF0fyeClewO47D_ghfCACuPiyuC0J1lGbd-9vQZNE-VK18S_0

WW2 Conflict Archaeology Seminar and work with cleaning the finds from the 2014-2018 excavations of "Durchgangslager Hangö"

"Hangö Sommaruniversitet" and JFArchaeology offer a unique experience within the field of WW2 conflict archaeology.

You are invited to help in cleaning and sorting the unique finds from the German WW2 transition camp in Hanko S. Finland and listen to lectures and participate in discussions on different aspects of WW2 conflict archaeology in (different topics every day). The Finnish, Swedish and English.
languages spoken are Finnish, Swedish, English and German. The seminar is free of charge!

Spots are very limited, only 5 people per day can participate. Participants in the excavations from 2015-2018 are prioritized.

The seminar will take place from november 5th to November 11th 2018 (daily from 10-16 hours). The venue is Kaapelitehdas in central Helsinki.

Recommended reading. Books will also be available during the seminar.

Send letters of interest to jfarchaeology@gmail.com as soon as possible and tell us which days you would like to participate!

More info soon!

Articles about the "Hanko 1941" project

Two newspaper articles were published about the new WW2 conflict archaeology project. The article in Västra Nyland is in swedish and the article in Hangon lehti in finnish.

Postcard from the Hanko front after the liberation of Hanko to a Waffenbruder in the Wehrmacht.

https://www.vastranyland.fi/artikel/krigets-mangfald-lyfts-fram/

https://www.hangotidningen.fi/article/sodan-monimuotoisuus-huomion-kohteena/

About the conflict archaeology project "Hanko 1941"

”Hanko 1941”

A new scientific conflict- and community archaeology project in Hanko S. Finland 2019-2025.

The project studies Hanko as a war zone during the Second World War from the viewpoints of modern conflict archaeology and more traditional war- and social history. All work is done within a strict ethical framework and with proper safety and other important issues taken into consideration.

In the frontline trench. Photo SA kuva.

Included in the project are archive work, interviews with Finnish, Scandinavian and Russian war veterans (+ civilians) and archaeological field surveys and excavations (in co-operation with archaeologists, universities and students from the Nordic countries).

Swedish (later KIA) sniper at the Hanko front. Colorized SA-photo.

The main partners in the project are at this point Hanko Museum, Hanko war museum, "Hangö Sommaruniversitet", The Russian Embassy in Finland and "Sotavainajien muiston vaalimisyhdistys ry" (the recovery and search for war dead and missing soldiers).

Fierce fighting took place in the archipelago. Photo SA kuva.

In 2019 we will concentrate on documenting the barracks area of "Svenska Frivilligbataljonen", the remains of General Kabanovs command bunker in central Hanko and the battle of Bengtskär. We will use remote sensing and non destructive documentation methods in order to help preserve this dark WW2 heritage for future generations.

Making WW2 history accessible to the general public in Hanko, S. Finland.

The results of the project will be made public in a publication and  in an exhibition in Hanko in 2026.

If you are interested in participating in this project or have information that you think might be of interest to us, please email us at  jfarchaeology@gmail.com

Surveying Karis (Raseborg) 5-7.10.2018

This was probably the last days of fieldwork done by us in S. Finland. The weather was excellent (again) and the team functioned like clockwork. Everybody enjoyed themselves and that clearly showed up in the results too.

The colours of "Ruska".

We surveyed in two areas, avoiding the traditional approach of just looking at areas were the soil had been disturbed by building activity or forestry.

Surveying in the woods.

The approach made work quite slow and put a strain on the participants "swinging the shovel" but nobody complained. Picking wondeful forest mushrooms made our work even more enjoyable.

Delicious forest mushrooms <3

The results speak for themselves. Although we only spent some nine hours in thefield we managed to inspect and find new prehistoric sites among them one neolithic stone-age site that probably will rank as one of the largest in the region.

 Fragment of a whetstone.

Late neolithic rimsherd.

Late neolithic potsherds of so called Uskela type (Ka III:1)

We hope to be able to make trial excavations here already in the spring of 2019! See you in Karis :)

Saying goodbye to Långåmossarna

Feeling a bit sentimental now. A couple of days ago, 2.10 to be exact, we finished off the excavations of the Långåmossarna early comb ceramic/corded ware culture settlement site in Raseborg SW Finland. My work on this site started in 1992.

Early comb ceramic potsherd photographed "in situ" during a visit to the site in 2009.

All through these many years we have worked together with the local community especially Karis Hembygdsförening. I can´t recall a single bad day. This feeling of gratitude continued until the last minutes of this years excavation. Below some pictures from the happy years gone by.

Now it´s time to write the scientific publication :)

Impressions from the late stone-age/early bronze age dig at Ölmosviken

Winter is closing in on us archaeologists here in Finland but there is still time for some serious fieldwork up here "on the top of the world".

Rescue excavation of the eroding part of the dwelling site at Ölmosviken.

We are now back from a short but very sweet dig of a late neolithic early bronze-age dwelling site area at Kimitoön i SW Finland.

Ölmosviken, settlement site IV.

Unil now this intriguing site was only a spot on a map but after this years trial excavations we are suddenly confronted with a large well preserved, late stone-age settlement.

                                                                            Ölmosviken, settlement site III.

The settlement area covers over 600 meters in length and 30 meters in width comprising of at least 5 different clusters of late stone-age or early bronze age settlements or more likely individual houses. The finds are mostly of stone-age character.

 Stone chisel.

Kiukais culture potsherd in situ.

Burnt seal bones.

Kiukais culture potsherds.

We will continue trial excavations here in late 2019 with a large scale (Scandinavian) excavation planned for 2020.