JFA toisen maailmansodan arkeologiaa 2021

 Toisen maailmansodan sota-arkeologiaa - WW2 battlefield archaeology

1.  Hanko 1941 projekti huhtikuu 2021        

Sotavainajaprojekti yhteistyössä Sotavainajien muiston vaalimisyhdistys ry:n ja Venäjän suurlähetystön kanssa.  Poikkitieteellinen tutkimusryhmä, ei ilmoittautumista!                                                                                           

 

2. Hanko 1941 ja "Durchgangslager Hanko 1942-1944" projektit 5.5. - 9.5.2021 (ke-su)

Hangon toisen maailmansodan sota-arkeologiaa m.m. Kabanovin bunkkeri.

Järj. Hangö Sommaruni. Ilmoittautuminen ei vielä alkanut.

 

3. Hanko 1941 projekti 10.5. - 13.5.2021 (ma-to)

Sotavainajaprojekti yhteistyössä Sotavainajien muiston vaalimisyhdistys ry:n ja Venäjän suurlähetystön kanssa. Poikkitieteellinen tutkimusryhmä, ei ilmoittautumista!

 

4. Hanko 1941 ja "Durchgangslager Hanko 1942-1944" projektit 12.7-16.7.2021 (ma-pe)

Hangon maarintama.

Järj. Hangö Sommaruni yhteistyössä Hangon rintamamuseon kanssa. Ilmoittautuminen ei vielä alkanut.

 

5.  Hanko 1941 ja "Durchgangslager Hanko 1942-1944" projektit 19.7-23.7.2021 (ma-pe)

Hangon maarintaman taistelupaikka-arkeologiaa.

Järj. Hangö Sommaruni yhteistyössä Hangon rintamamuseon kanssa. Ilmoittautuminen ei vielä alkanut.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/364312290705639

https://www.hanko1941.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1392847977683622

 

 

JFA kivikauden arkeologiaa harrastajille v. 2021

Kivikauden arkeologiaa - Archaeology of the Stone Age 

1. Espoo, Monikko 20. - 23.5.2021 (to-su)

Kaivaus on loppuunvarattu.

Järj. Leppävaara seura            

 

2. Raasepori, Malmkulla 27. - 30.5.2021 (to-su)

Ilmoittautuminen ei vielä alkanut.

Järj. Karis Hembygdsförening ja Sällskapet Natura.

                                                                                   

3. Porvoo, Vävarsbacka 2. - 6.6.2021 (ke-su)

Kaivaus on loppuunvarattu mutta voit ilmoittautua varasijoille.

Järj. Borgå Medborgarinstitut.

 

4. Kirkkonummi, Kolsarby 9.6. - 13.6.2021 (ke-su)

Ilmoittautuminen käynnissä muutamia paikkoja vielä jäljellä!

Järj. Kyrkslätts Medborgarinstitut.

 

5. Turku, Jäkärlä 16.6. - 20.6.2021 (ke-su)

Kaivaus on loppuunvarattu mutta voit ilmoittautua varasijoille.

Järj. Åbo svenska arbetarinstitut.

 

6. Espoo, Kläppkärr 28.6 - 3.7.2021 (ma-la)

Kaivaus on loppuuvarattu mutta voit ilmoittautua varasijoille.

Järj. Esbo Arbetarinstitut.

 

7. Vantaa, Jokiniemi 7. - 11.7.2021 (ke-su)

Kaivaus on loppuunvarattu mutta voit ilmoittautua varasijoille.

Järj. Helsingin seudun kesäyliopisto.

 

8. Ahvenanmaa 26.7. - 30.7.2021 (ma-pe)

Puhelinilmoittautuminen käynnissä (puh. 531 620).

Järj. Medis (Ålands Medborgarinstitut)                                                                             

 

9. Kemiönsaari, Ölmosviken 9.8 – 17.8.2021

Ennakkoilmoittautumisia otetaan vastaan.

jfarchaeology@gmail.com

Ei osallistumismaksua! Tutkimusrahoitus/väitöskirjatutkimus.

 

10. Kouvola Ruskiasuo 21.8.-22.8. ja 27.8.-29.8.2021 

(koululaiskaivaus 23-26.8.2021)

Ilmoittautuminen alkaa elokuussa 2021! Koululaiskaivaus vain Elimäen koulujen oppilaille.

Järj. Kouvolan kansalaisopisto ja projektirahoitus.

 

11. Lohja Kittiskoski E  4.9.-5.9 ja 18.9-19.9.2021 

(koululaiskaivaus 6.9. – 10.9.2021 ja 13.9 – 17.9.2021)

Ilmoittautuminen alkaa huhtikuussa. Koululaiskaivaus vain Lohjan seudun koulujen oppilaille.

Järj. Hiiden opisto ja projektirahoitus.

Practicing our social media skills prior to the 2021 field season

In my younger years in the late 1970´s and way before I knew anything about archaeology I was a punkrocker. So a couple of days ago I got an idea for a new logo that would resonate my past ;)

JFArchaeology will be conducting many community archaeology excavations during the upcoming (2021) field season. Next year we will be trying out several new approaches when communicating our research over social media and winter is a good time to practise these skills.

One thing I´m very interested in is getting pictures of finds as they come out of the ground and live videos fom the digs distributed over the internet. Let´s hope we get funding for this during the upcoming months. 

If you have similar interests or would like to help us out with this please contact us via email at jan.fast@helsinki.fi.

Vantaan Jokiniemen kivikautisen asuinpaikan kaivaus varattiin täyteen ennätysajassa!

 

Varasijoille voi ilmoittautua ainakin vielä tämän viikonlopun ajan.

Ilmoittautuminen Vantaan Jokiniemen v. 2021 arkeologiselle kaivaukselle alkaa huomenna 1.12.2020 klo 8.00!

Vantaalla sijaitsee yksi Uudenmaan hienoimmista ja runsaslöytöisimmistä kivikautisista asuinpaikoista. Aikaisemmissa kaivauksissa alueelta on löytynyt useita ainutlaatuisia ihmiskasvoisia 5500 vuotta vanhoja savi-idoleita. 

Kaivauksen järjestää Helsingin Seudun Kesäyliopisto.

Ilmoittaudu täällä!

Fresh pictures from the newly found stone-age dwelling site in Espoo!

Today both archaeologist Janne Soisalo and the finder had an opportunity to visit the newly found stone-age dwelling site in Leppävaara Espoo (S. Finland). During the early comb ceramic period the dwelling site was situated on a small level cape close to the seashore. Due to the land uplift the area were the finds where located is now approximately 25-30 m:s above sea level. The area was also suitable for habitation during the corded ware culture.

The sea level 7000 years ago. The approximate location of the newly found dwelling site is marked in red. Map by courtesy of Espoo City Museum.

Sadly the site has been badly damaged by a ski track but we remain cautiously optimistic that at least the uppermost part of it might still contain some information about when people used  the site.

Panoramic picture of the scarred site. Photo Jemina Rajamäki 19.11.2020.

In order to asssess the status of this intriguing site a trial excavation of the site will be arranged in August 2021. Registration to this will begin shortly.

Wiew towards North (the site is to the right). Photo Jemina Rajamäki 19.11.2020.

                            Wiew towards the south (the site is to the left). Photo Jemina Rajamäki 19.11.2020.

Previously unknown stone-age dwelling site found in Leppävaara, Espoo S. Finland!

In the midst of the November darkness a bright ray of light in the form of a discovery of a previously unknown stone-age dwelling site in Leppävaara Espoo  part of the larger Helsinki region!

Leppävaara is a suburb in Espoo or actually more like the second centre of the town. It´s quite amazing that despite the very large scale construction work in the area signs of the 6000 year old stone age settlements in the area are still to be found in 2020.

The previously unknown stone age site was found by "Jemppa" Rajamäki. A very gifted amateur archaeologist who has participated in community archaeology excavations with me and MA Janne Soisalo for a couple of years already.

Jemppa knows what she´s doing so she just photographed the quarts flake finds in situ and immediately reported them to us. JFArchaeology will make a trial excavation of the new site with financial support from the local community in 2021. Stay tuned for more pictures tomorrow.

Jokiniemi 2021 excavation. Registration starts December 1st 2020!

Christmas came early in 2020! 

Now it´s official, the registration to the 2021 excavation of the Jokiniemi neolithic dwelling site starts in just a little under one months time!

Because of the special nature of the site the number of participants has been limited to 20 persons/week! Please read more about the excavation by clicking on the link below! 

If you have questions in English or Swedish please email us at jfarchaeology@gmail.com.

https://kesayliopistopalvelut.fi/helsinginseutu/course.php?l=fi&t=2136

Jokiniemi 2021 - More info on how, where and when to register tomorrow!

Act fast and don´t miss out on this exciting neolithic stone age excavation only 15 km:s from Helsinki City Center next summer!! The maximum  number of participants is limited to 20 participants/week!

The 2021 excavation of this remarkable site is organized by Helsinki Summer University.

JFArchaeology community archaeology excavations in 2021 - Yhteisöarkeologisia kaivauksia kenttätyökaudella 2021

The planning of next years community archaeology excavations are well under way and we are happy to announce the dates for the 2021 digs. Keep on checking out this site for regular updates and information about when and how to register!

Please send a letter of interest to jfarchaeology@gmail.com if you want more information of the 2021 excavation season in English, German or Swedish. 

Stay safe and see you soon!

Jan Fast and Janne Soisalo

WW2 battlefield Archaeology - Toisen maailmansodan sota-arkeologiaa 

Järj. Hangö Sommaruni ja Hangon Rintamamuseo yhteistyössä sotavainajien muiston vaalimisyhdistys ry:n ja Venäjän suurlähetystön kanssa. Osassa tutkimuksia projektirahoitus.

-  Hanko 1941 projekti  huhtikuu 2021         

Sotavainajaprojekti.  Tutkimusryhmä, ei ilmoittautumista!                                                                                            

- Hanko 1941 projekti 5.5. - 9.5.2021 (la-to)

Kenraali Kabanovin korsun kaivaus. Ilmoittautuminen on alkanut.

Järj. Hangö Sommaruni

https://hangosommaruni.fi/studieprogram/22-kurser/ovriga-kurser/arkeologi/66-konfliktarkeologi

   

- Hanko 1941 projekti 10.5. - 13.5.2021 (ma-to)

Sotavainajaprojekti. Tutkimusryhmä, ei ilmoittautumista!

- Hanko 1941 projekti  19.7-23.7.2020 (ma-pe)

Hangon maarintama. Ilmoittautuminen on alkanut.

Järj. Hangö Sommaruni

https://hangosommaruni.fi/studieprogram/22-kurser/ovriga-kurser/arkeologi/66-konfliktarkeologi

-  Hanko 1941 projekti 26.7-30.7.2020 (ma-pe)

Hangon maarintama. Ilmoittautuminen on alkanut.

Järj. Hangö Sommaruni

https://hangosommaruni.fi/studieprogram/22-kurser/ovriga-kurser/arkeologi/66-konfliktarkeologi

https://www.facebook.com/groups/364312290705639

https://www.hanko1941.com/

Historical Archaeology - Historiallisen ajan arkeologiaa 

- Tampere Vuores 17-19.5.2021

Projektirahoitus.

Taideprojekti/Pedagoginen koululaiskaivaus yhteistyössä Vuoreksen koulun kanssa.

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/1162157773969283                                                                                                                  

Archaeology of the Stone Age - Kivikauden arkeologiaa

- Leppävaara, Monikko 20. - 23.5.2021 (to-su)

Ilmoittautuminen ei vielä alkanut.

Järj. Leppävaara seura             

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1045122789289308

- Raasepori, Malmkulla 27. - 30.5.2021 (to-su)

Ilmoittautuminen ei vielä alkanut.

Järj. Karis Hembygdsförening ja Sällskapet Natura.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/471340030090292                                                                                                                   

- Porvoo, Vävarsbacka 2. - 6.6.2021 (ke-su)

Ilmoittautuminen alkaa 7.1.2021!

Järj. Borgå Medborgarinstitut. 

https://www.opistopalvelut.fi/porvoo/course.php?l=fi&h=da796dcc49ab9fc5ac26db17e02a9e33&t=10260                                                                                                               

https://www.facebook.com/groups/181135582548602

- Kirkkonummi, Kolsarby 9.6. - 13.6.2021 (ke-su)

HUOM! Ilmoittautuminen käynnissä muutamia paikkoja vielä jäljellä!

Järj. Kyrkslätts Medborgarinstitut.

https://opistopalvelut.fi/kirkkonummi/course.php?l=fi&t=8619

https://www.facebook.com/groups/417803072513731

- Turku, Jäkärlä 16.6. - 20.6.2021 (to-su)

Kaivaus on loppuuvarattu mutta voit ilmoittautua varasijoille.

Järj. Åbo svenska arbetarinstitut.

https://opistopalvelut.fi/abo/course.php?l=sv&t=2948

https://opistopalvelut.fi/abo/course.php?l=sv&t=2947

- Espoo, Kläppkärr 28.6 - 3.7.2021 (ma-la)

Kaivaus on loppuuvarattu mutta voit ilmoittautua varasijoille.

Järj. Esbo Arbetarinstitut.

https://ilmonet.fi/course/EA210178

https://www.facebook.com/groups/365330554322395

- Vantaa, Jokiniemi 7. - 11.7.2021 (ke-su)

Kaivaus on loppuuvarattu mutta voit ilmoittautua varasijoille.

Järj. Helsingin seudun kesäyliopisto. 

https://kesayliopistopalvelut.fi/helsinginseutu/course.php?l=fi&t=2136

https://www.kesayliopistohki.fi/kurssit/kategoria/avoimet-yleisotilaisuudet-fi/luennot-ja-luentosarjat-fi-02301/?show=future

https://www.facebook.com/Jokiniemi2021

- Ahvenanmaa 26.7. - 30.7.2021 (ma-pe)

Suunnitteluvaiheessa.

Järj. Medis                                                                             

https://www.mariehamn.ax/daghem-skola/medis/

                                                     

- Kemiönsaari, Ölmosviken 9.8 – 17.8.2021

Ilmoittautuminen ei vielä alkanut.

Tutkimusrahoitus/Väitöskirjtutkimus.

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/238168100362325                                                                                     

- Kouvola Ruskiasuo 21.8.-29.8.2020

Ilmoittautuminen ei vielä alkanut.

Järj. Kouvolan kansalaisopisto ja projektirahoitus.

Kouvolan kansalaisopiston harrastajille suunnattu kaivaus 21.-22.8.2021 ja 28.-29.8.2021

Koululaiskaivaus 23.8.-27.8.2021    

https://www.facebook.com/groups/618469168576047

                                             

  

- Lohja Kittiskoski E

Ilmoittautuminen ei vielä alkanut.

Järj. Hiiden opisto ja projektirahoitus.

Hiiden opiston harrastajille suunnattu kaivaus 4. - 5.9.2021 ja 11.9. - 12.9.2021 (la-su)

Koululaiskaivaus 6.9. – 10.9.2021

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2551305408222635

A forgotten grave of a German "Kriegsmarine" soldier in the archipelago?

Today an article was published in the local newspaper about the repatriation/reburial of the seven KIA Soviet soldiers discovered near the defensive positions of the 3rd battery of 204th air-defence and artillery division in Hanko Tvärminne. The article produced an interesting phone call from a local elderly man.

"Minensucher-Kriegsabzeichen" found by a local on the Hanko front in the area were the German the German war ship "Brummer" was anchored.

According to him the bodies of seven German soldiers drifted ashore in the archipelago SE of Hanko in the summer of 1941 or 1942. Six of the soldiers were buried on a larger island close to the mainland and the seventh one on a small skerry further out to sea.

A low depression in the ground marks the place of a war grave on the Hanko Front.

The graves of the six soldiers were opened and the bodies moved from the temporary grave site in the summer of 1952 and transported to the nearby town of Ekenäs but the remains are said to have been buried in the churchyard in Pojo. According to the informant the seventh soldiers grave was for some reason left untouched and the soldiers mortal remains are still on the small skerry.

"Sterbebild" with picture of a "Kriegsmarine" soldier killed in the Gulf of Finland.

The story is one of several gathered and investigated in the course of the "Hanko 1941" project. Even though many of the stories can´t be verified as such,  careful archive, cartographic and photographic studies can often offer more information that in due time forms the basis for scientific conflict archaeology fieldwork.

In the rocky soil of the archipelago cairns sometime mark WW2 grave sites.

If you have any knowledge of war graves on the Hanko peninsula please contact us. Every soldier despite of Nationality deserves a name and a decent grave.

 

Reburial ceremony of 7 Soviet soldiers

Today we attended the reburial ceremony of 7 KIA Soviet soldiers that our team found and excavated between 2018 and 2019.  The ceremony was attended by approximately 50+ people and we were welcomed by the Russian ambassador H.E. Mr Pavel Kuznetsov and Deputy Military, Naval and Air Force Attaché Colonel Ivan Gorbachev. Several representatives  from the Embassy of the Russian Federation , the Embassy of Kazakhstan and Belorus attended the impressive and at the same time solemn procession.

The first speaches were held by Governor Pavel Kuznetsov and Mr Pertti Suominen (Sotavainajien muiston vaalimiyhdistys ry) after which I had the opportunity to voice a few words on the benefits of scientific repatriation of war dead and the growing general interest in conflict archaeology in Finland.

When the official ceremony had ended  Ms Zhanna Sartbayeva, the Governor of Kazakhstan initiated a personal and very pleasing discussion with me about the benefits of scientific repatriation of war dead. Ms Sartbayeva showed a very honest appreciation of our work which I of course appreciated very much.

In the afternoon our excavation team gathered at the Hanko Front Museum where I gave a lecture about upcoming battlefield archaeology work in the Hanko and Raseborg archipelago in 2021.

In 1940 and/or 1941 seven very young Soviet soldiers arrived in Hanko S. Finland only to die a year later in the defense of "Gangut" the Soviet naval base in Hanko. When their comerades were evacuated in the late months of 1941 their graves were left without attendance for 78 years. Today they were finally reunited with the other fallen Soviet soldiers of the Hanko front.

For these seven young men the war is finally over. Seven red roses adore their 78 year long (temporary) reconstructed resting place in 2020.

War dead, battlegrounds and more...

02.09.2020 Wednesday (day three).Today we visited one of several scenes of the ferocious battles that raged in the Hanko archipelago in the summer and autumn of 1941. The main reason for our fieldtrip was to gain as much information about the island in question before the large scale battlefield archaeology fieldwork scheduled on the group of islands in 2021.

First off was the site of a grave marker with the text "39 Soviet seamen, died in 1941". The cross could mark a grave somewhere in the vicinity or it could be a cross raised in memory of the fallen. I will return to this mystery in upcoming blog posts.

Next we visited the areas of intense battle on the island all of which will be carefully documented and mapped next spring. This was both exciting and very tragic at the same time as traces of the battle could be observed everywhere despite the 79 years that had passed since the battle took place. It was quite shocking to think about the horrors that took place in this beautiful setting.

The third assignement was to try to locate the traces of an aircraft crash site from 1941. Areas of debris was documented and plotted on a map. We will see what can be done here in 2021 in co-operation with the Finnish Aviation Museum.

The Hanko 1941 team would like to thank the landowner for his co-operation in documenting the WW2 remains. A big thanks to the crew from the Finnish Television (MTV 3) for the professional interviews and filming of our hard work today.

Seven days of excavating the WW2 battlefields of the Hanko front

31.8.2020 Monday (day one). After introductionary lections at the Hanko Front Museum our small but efficient team of nine opened up a couple of trial excavation areas in close proximity of the frontline trenches, shelters and other constructions in the area around the museum.

BA Jaakko Ervasti supervising the trial excavation near one of the WW2 shelters in the area. Photo Jan Fast.

 The main goal is to make preparations for the large scale excavations in 2021 and of course the conflict archaeology excavation day with local schools on September 19th 2019.

BA Fanny Fagerholm (Hanko 1941 team member) supervising the trial excavation. Photo Jan Fast.

As many interesting and also tragic events occurred in this particular area we wish to concentrate on the areas providing the most infomation and finds that illustrate the events that took place here in the summer, autumn and winter of 1941.

Hanko 1941 team members opening up a fresh trial excavation area. Photo Jan Fast.

The task is not an easy one as much has happened here since the war and the undisturbed spots are hard to find and often buried deep underneath the topsoil.

Trial excavation area prior to excavation. Photo Jan Fast

It is during times like these I feel very grateful indeed to have two very skilled archaeology students in my team. BA Fanny Fagerholm from the University of Uppsala and BA Jaakko Ervasti from the University of Oulu.

9mm sub machine gun bullet. Photo Jan Fast

 

Check out the latest news fom the Hanko front!

Daily updates with pictures of finds from the scientific WW2 Battlefield Archaeology excavations in Hanko here!

https://www.hanko1941.com/

WW2 Battlefield Archaeology in Hanko 13 - 24.7.2020. Daily updates!

This years scientific battlefield archaeology research of the lesser known 1941 Hanko front (S. Finland) will concentrate on the first early months of  "Operation Barbarossa" where Finnish troops and soldiers from twelve (!) different nationalities fought against Soviet forces on the Hanko peninsula, in the southernmost part of Finland.

Then...

So far we have only been starting out but tomorrow we will finally dig in to the very rare time capsules of this battle that include burnt down frontline shelters and tunnels dug by Finnish troops under the main roads in the area.

... and now.

Finds are of course plentiful but this season we are mostly trying to find those real hotspots where individual soldiers war experiences can be verified by archaeological finds.

Tomorrow we will start excavating one such site, a small 2x2 m. burnt down shelter from the autumn in 1941. As it now seems a complete array of finds left behind by the four soldiers who left the shelter in September 1941 expecting to return in a couple of hours are still buried (79 years later) underneath the charred remains.

A WW2 conflict archaeology closed find in Hanko S. Finland.

Rain

Rain is a real nuisance during archaeological fieldwork. Because of the very fine soil (mostly composed of sand and silt) at the Jokiniemi site and the continuous rain we were forced to cancel  todays excavation.

A rainy day.

But no worries we will still be able to spread the word about this amazing site. Instead of helping out at the dig archaeologist MA Teemu Väisänen speaks about excavation finds at Science Centre Heureka today. During the presentation visitors will be able to ask questions about the finds and archaeology in general.

Teemu Väisänen giving his presentation @ Heureka 11.7.2020.

Tomorrow we will finish this years excavation, carefully fill in the excavation areas and restore the general research area to its "pre excavation" state. 

After this me and Teemu will travel to Hanko for two intense weeks of WW2 Battlefield Archaeology of the Hanko Front (1941). More about that excavation here in the weeks to come.