Back to Hanko...

... for four hectic days of WWII conflict archaeology.

The "Greif-Division" was in Hanko in August 1944.

Thursday excavating the "Ukrainerlager" area with students from "Ekenäs Gymnasium". In the afternoon Nina and archaeology student Anu Varjo will focus on the documentation of the barracks of the Entlausungsdorf while I will be off interviewing a former member of the "Lotta - Svärd" organisation who worked in the camp in 1943.

German General Falkenhorst and memebers of the Lotta-Svärd orgnisation in Finland. Photo Bundesarchiv.

Friday will include more digging with another group of students. Archaeology student Anu (Helsinki University dpt of Archaeology) will spend the whole day documenting and measuring the barracks of the "Entlausungsdorf" area for her own research project.

Small German medicine bottle "A Nattermann&Cie-Köln- Braunsfeld"

Saturday and Sunday we will be concentrating on excavating as much as possible of the western dump of the main camp. Many local people will be participating in my last community archaeology dig of 2015.

"Deutsches Lager Hanko" 06.10.2015.

More DLH excavation news on thursday 8.10.2015 at 8PM CET!

When we will be digging deep  into the "Entlausungsdorf" area of the camp as well as the western dump!

Anyone can join, please email me at jfarchaeology@gmail.com !

"Deutsches Lager Hanko" 5-6.10.2015 excavation update

Back home again after two days of rather intense digging. First of all sorry that I didn´t update here yesterday but the Wifi in my accomondation was down due to technical failure. Below are a few of our finds from the first days of the dig. Here we go!

Cans!

We started off exactly were we left off a couple of weeks earlier and carefully dug our way down some few centimeters more before stopping for documentation. Naturally a lot of cans but also some objects made of wood and leather and glass. This schnapps glass was especially nice!

Prost!

Among the larger iron cans were a few aluminium ones "Made in Norway". And a few other items such as a small aluminium container for condensed milk (with the label AL-DIN 252).

Can (condensed milk)

 Norwegian "Sardine" can.

The weather was excellent but rather cold (especially in the morning). Due to the closeness to the sea the "Ruska" hasnt set in yet despite the low temperatures during the night.

The "Ukrainerlager area" of "Deutsches Lager Hanko" photographed today (6.10.2015).

As usual we also found lots of bottles. Today the nicest finds were an Austrian beer bottle "Puntigamer"...

... and a German Sek or Champagne bottle!

I would appreciate some help in identifying the brand!!

We are forced to take a break with the excavation tomorrow but from friday to sunday it will be full steam ahead again!! Thanks for watching!

Tomorrow WW2 conflict archaeology Deutsches Lager Hanko (5-11.10.2015).

In the footsteps of German soldiers an WW 2 prisoners of war. This will be the last excavation of the site this season. I will be updating here every day starting tomorrow evening. Stay tuned!

Sovjet prosioners of war outside the former German barracks in Hanko in the autumn of 1944. Photo SA-kuva.

One of the barracks of the camp photographed in 2014.

A great excavation weekend in Raseborg

Rounding up the 2015 dig at the Långåmossarna site. Lots of nice finds from around 4300 BC this time too (large potsherds, large fragments of burnt bone etc.) and some nice features that kept us busy until the last minutes.

Large potsherds of so called Ka I:2 pottery (ca 4300 BC)

The potsherds were collected with the greatest care in order to investigate their stone-age contents through starch analysis. Radiocarbon samples will also be prepared from the charcoal remains on the inside of the potsherds!

Digging a large hearth or a refuse pit.

4.10.2015.

This years excavation was the largest community archaeology dig so far on this site. The total number of participants was around 60 people! I would like to thank each and everyone of the participants for a job well done. 

I would especially like to thank Göran Fagerstedt and my trustworthy archaeology students Jimena, Anu and Max for helping me with the fieldwork.

The excavation was financed by "Svenska Kulturfonden" "Karis musei- och hembygdsförening" and "Sällskapet Natura".

Up for a date with "Lippotena Cervi" (deer fly)

"Lippotena Cervi"'

While fighting off the deer flies we will also be rounding off the excavation of the 4000 B.C stone-age dwelling site at Långåmossarna in Raseborg S Finland on the lookout for lipids and starch on comb ceramic potsherds. See video below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iztPMTMee5I

Working full time, writing my dissertation about the WWII German transition camp and Ukrainian prisoner of war camp in Hanko S. Finland.

The documentation work is almost finished!

Ruins of one of the "Mannschaftsbaracke" in 2014 (thank God I got there in time to document it before it was demolished.)

The fieldwork with local schools has been a success!

Students from Hangö Gymnasium and Hankoniemen lukio dig in (2015)

The finds are overwhelming!

You can look into the research process on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1392847977683622/?fref=ts

or on Academia.edu.fi

https://www.academia.edu/s/1b18c8b704?source=news

Documenting the Telegrafberget site

Today I spent one day documenting the Telegrafberget site were we cleared off vegetation earlier this summer. The light was exeptionally good, resulting in some great photos of this Optical Telegraph station from the Crimean war on Kimitoön SW Finland.

The building remains consist of three separate features (I-III). In the upcoming weeks we will try to get photos of the site from above using a drone.

 Feature I, from SW

  Feature I, from S.

  Feature I, from NE.

Feature I, NE corner.

 Feature II (between features I and III), from E.

  Feature III, SE corner.

 Feature III, from N.

The rain came pouring down over "Deutsches Lager Hanko"

But we managed to do some 6 hours of intense fieldwork despite of the wind and the rain.

Autumn weather in DL Hanko today. Photo Yle.

Many interesting items of both military and civilian nature today although I can only post a few here because of having most of them securely packed down in plastic bags in the fridge (awaiting conservation).

(Me myself and I) documenting the excvation process.Photo by J. Knuuttila.

A few of todays finds! A Gebirgsjäger aluminium tent peg, Ink bottles, a  brass kettle, fork and spoon etc etc..

Todays finds also included several plastic German moisture lenses for the Gasmask (1940) along with beautifully preserved Ink- and (Mouson) perfume bottles...

Along with Ink- and Mouson perfume bottles

 Mouson Haut 0,1 l.

Because of the bad weather we won´t be able to excavate tomorrow but the dig will continue in october. Please join us then!

Over 50 000 vistors mark of JFArchaeology crossed today!

I would like to thank You all for the continuing interest in my work and archaeological research in Finland in general!

Best,

Jan

Pizza time ;)

Deutsches Lager Hanko day two (1.9)

Another great day with a multitude of different fnds illustrating the daily activities of the German WW2 transition camp. The many different types of finds occasionally makes the site very difficult to excavate.

Cans and buckets litter the WW2 dump area.

Among the food cans we found aa awesome  range of personal and other artefacts including many paper items.

A package of "Juno Zigarretten"

The finds included leather items, wine- ink- and other bottles, different types of bakelite items as well as combs, mirror fragments, land pins and luggage tags and even a large candle holder from a Christmas tree.

"Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin"

 Christmas tree candle holder!

Wine bottle coming up :)

The weather report for tomorrow suggests it will be a rainy day. Because of the many paper items in the soil digging in the rain is not an option. 

Surprisingly large amounts  of 70-year old paper stuff has been found during the excavations :)