Corded ware pottery! Ruskiasuo day two :)

Today we dug into layer two and made testpits in the surrounding area in order to determine the total extent of the early comb ceramic dwelling site.

Ecvavating layer two!

As expected we found many more large potsherds attributable to the early comb ceramic settlement. The approximate shoreline could be fixed to around 24-25 m. asl.

More early comb ceramic ware.

During the last hectic hour of this days excavation  we also found a rimsherd of a different type of pot. Namely one from the corded ware culture (ca 2550 BC)! At this stage of ocupation the dwelling site was situated by a small lake.

Corded ware!

We finished off the day by filling up trial excavation area two and sieved the remainening buckets of sandy soil. Tomorrow is the final day of this short first trial excavation of the site. 

At the sieve.

Ruskiasuo 5000 BC. The beauty of early comb ceramic potsherds

Finally, after 31 years of waiting we started  trial excavating this wonderful early comb ceramic site in Kouvola SE Finland. I have to admit I was a bit anxious last night as we hadn´t done any trial pits  before the arrival of our team of 20 prticipants. Luckily the firs early comb ceramic potsherds were found almost immediately... pheeww <3 .

The first early comb ceramic potsherds from the trial excavation.

Prior to the excavation we looked closely at maps of the area. Archaeologist Simo Vanhatalo was kind enough to email us a very exact map of the area surrounding the dwelling site which helped a lot! Archaeology student Teemu Väsisänen made a map that showed the surroundings at the time of the end of the settlement. It is easy to see why the site was chosen, well protected from the winds from the open sea to the south.

The settlement site ca 4800 BC marked with a red star. 

Once again our team deserves a big thanks. The excavation  got avery good start despite very warm weather, hoards of moskitoes and very tough roots (especially covering trial excavation area II). 

Excavating layer one of excavation area I.

During the day we managed to find a previous unknown settlement site in the vicinity of Ruskiasuo. Based on the surface finds this stone-age dwelling site is from approximately the same time period as the site we are currently excavating.

Potsherd from the newly found dwelling site situated north of the Ruskiasuo site.

We will continue our research tomorrow so please be back for more pictures of finds and impressions from this excavation <3

Excavating the neolithic stone-age at Vävarsbacka II. The last day

This was the last day of this years excavation of the Vävarsbacka II site in Porvoo. The weather was fabulous with a temperature of +28 degrees C!!

Archaeologist Janne Soisalo bagging the last excavation finds of 2019.

We finally found a rimsherd to the asbestos tempered clay vessel along with a big fragment of the same vessel with a very well preserved carbonized crust. From this we will get a representative C14 analysis!

The rimsherd!

The rest of the finds were mainly Ka III:1 potsherds along with quartz flakes and a small slate chisel!

The last major finds from the 2019 dig.

After both excavation areas were dug to the lowermost (clay) layer we filled the pits and  put back the surface turf. In a couple of months time no one will notice we ever dug here.

A big thanks to everyone who participated, the landowner and of course  Borgå Medborgarinstitut who arranged and financed the excavation. We will most certainly be back next year <3 :)

Jan and Janne

Excavating the neolithic stone-age at Vävarsbacka II. Day 4/5

A thunderstorm struck Helsinki and Porvoo last night. For some reason the amount of rain at Vävarsbacka had been far less than we feared and the work got off to a good start.

Cleaning excavation area one before documentation.

We cleaned and documented excavation level 3 before digging into layer four. We found some very nice potsherds from the  comb ceramic period but on a general level far fever than in the previos days. This is actually good news as the excavation ends tomorrow and we still need time to fill in the excavation area and tudy up the surroundings.

 Middle and late comb ceramic potsherds.

Very few structures have been found during the digs at Vävarsbacka but at least these stones in the lowermost corner of excavation area II might be part of a hearth of some sort. We will excavate this area next year.

Stone structure in excavation area II.

Layer four contained what seems to be the last bigger potsherds of this years excavation. In the bottom of one of the dark refuse pits we found a small triangular whetstone.

Potsherds and small whetstone from the last excavation layer.

Excavating the neolithic stone-age at Vävarsbacka II. Day 3/5

This was a very beautiful summers day. Nice finds too (again) and the many, very large Ka II:2 potsherds found throughout the day raised the spirit even higher.

Large comb ceramic potsherds on a "tray".

Even by my standards this was an amazing day!! We were very happy to welcome an elderly local couple to the dig. Age is no obstacle when it comes to the <3 of archaeology.

MA, archaeologist Janne Soisalo instructing the 80+ couple who participated today <3

As during the day before the finds were plentiful in both excavation areas. Asbestos tempered ware was found only in excavation area II along with potsherds attributable to Ka III.

Excavating layer two of excavation area II.

Rimsherd of a very young variant of late comb ceramic pottery (Ka III)

We also found acouple of stone artefacts. Two complete whetstones and at least two flint artefacts.

Small triangular whetstone.

As the temperature gradually rose throughout the day, summery sunhats were brought out :)

Summer hats :)

It´s hard to estimate the total number of finds at this stage but they must be in their thousands. We are happy that they are not as fragmented as last year. Several of the potsherds contain remains of carbonized food which will be interesting to analyze during the forthcoming winter.

Excavating the neolithic stone-age at Vävarsbacka II. Day 2/5

The second excavation day started with a cloudy sky and a few rainshowers. This made our work a little more difficult because of the wet soil sticking to and clogging up the the sieves. 

At the sieve.

After about one PM the weather cleared and we were able to pick up pace with the excavation again :). We managed to get excavation layer one finished on both excavation areas and found some very nice finds while doing so.

Digging the sandy soil of Vävarsbacka II.

During the day we uncovered more finds of asbestos tempered ware, comb ceramic ware, corded ware, quartz and flint flakes, a couple of fragmants of stone axes and burnt bone of at least seal.

Typical comb ceramic ware (rimsherd)

Corded ware (rimsherd)

More asbestos tempered ware!

Before continuing into excavation layer two the excavation areas were mapped and photographed. Of special interest were three postholes at a regular distance from each other. The potholes coud indicate that a building of some sort once stood on the site.

Cleaning the area before documentation.

The possible postholes marked with yellow pegs.

After documentation the excavation continued on both excavation areas. Numerous finds from both areas indicate that excavation day three (tomorrow) will probably be a very exciting one!

The excavation continues.

The excavation continues again tomorrow @ 10 am :)