Turku, Jäkärlä - The fifth excavation season

The Jäkärlä Culture (ca 6 000 BP) was an interesting but relatively short period that lasted only a couple of hundred years time. The stone-age dwelling site in Jäkärlä were archaeological research started already in 1907 still keeps giving.

Turku Jäkärlä photos from excavations of the stone-age dwelling site in 1907 and 2025.

Between June and 9th and 13th the site was once again excavated as part of a community archaeology field school organised by Åbo Svenska Arbetarinstitut. Some 20 persons partcipated in the dig, this time in rather poor weather conditions. Dispite the rainy weather the mood of the team remained almost cheerful throughout the excavation. 

Digging into the stone-age despite the rain in 2025.

This years work centered on a house foundation from the Jäkärlä Culture, the only one of its kind so far. It was discovered during excavations in 2021 and has been excavated in segments ever since. This year marked the end of the research of this important structure when we uncovered the northwestern corner of the house. The finds from the excavation were varied and plentiful consisting of rather large potsherds of Jäkärlä ware, stone tools and fragments as well as porfyrite and quartz flakes and a small amount of burnt bone. 

A few of the finds from this years excavation (potsherds and stone tools).

The results of the painstaking research will be published in 2027. Next year we will investigate another area in Jäkärlä with finds from the Jäkärlä culture and the Corded Ware culture. See you then!