Sunday, 20 May 2018

Excavating the neolithic in Helsinki day three

Day three of the trial excavations of the neolithic dwelling site in Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki. A nice amber pendant, a nail shaped tool, lots of neolithic pottery, burnt bone etc.

Baltic amber pendant.

Ka II:2 pottery with the typical rhombic decoration.

The trail excavation revealed a previously unknown area of the dwelling site and we will continue the excavations on this marvelous site next summer. All ages welcome <3 !

 Future archaeologists got to touch the 5500 year old artefacts.

Children excavating the sieved sand.

Janne S. my right hand man at the excavation.

At the end of this day we filled in the trial excavation trench. Next years excavation are will be an extension to this trench.

 Time to take to the showel.

 Trial excavation trench filled up.

Saturday, 19 May 2018

Archaeology from WW2 to the stone-age in one day

Yesterday we finally opened up the first ever WW2 conflict archaeology exhibition in Finland. Please visit Hanko Museum to experience the tragic events in this small coastal town in the southernmost part of Finland, where thousands of German soldiers passed every day on their way to the "Nordfront".
"Durchgangslager Hanko 1942-1944" conflict archaeology exhibition.

Today it was back to the stone-age again. Wonderful finds and the best excavation team! Below are some pictures of the neolithic stone-age finds from this amazing site today!!

Flint knife 1/1

Neolithic pottery 1/1000

Digging it!

Sieving it!


Monday, 14 May 2018

Second visit to "Durchganglager Hangö" 11-13.5.2018

Photographer Japo Knuutilas tireless effort to document the decaying remains of the former German barracks at  Cape Tulliniemi continued last weekend. Below are a few photos from hos fieldtrip in fabulous spring weather. On Saturday May 19th the conflict archaeology exhibition "Durchgangslager Hanko 1942-1944" will open up in Hanko Museum!





Sunday, 6 May 2018

First fieldtrip of the 2018 excavation season!

Today it was time for the first fieldtrip this season in summery weather. We visited two neolithic sites in order to choose which of them is best suitable for a community archaeology dig in mid June 2018.

The stone-age dwelling  site of Vävarsbacka II in Porvoo.

It soon turned out that the first of the sites (Ilola) had been completely destroyed. The other site (Vävarsbacka II) proved to be in a much better state of preservation although it too had suffered by a gravel pit that had eaten away much of the center part of dwelling site. The excavations here start on June 7th.

Comb ceramic potsherd (Ka II:2) from the Vävarsbacka II site

The landowner at Ilola showed us a neolithic arowhead his late father had found in a flower bed near his house in Ilola. Sadly there was no way of telling where the soil in the flower bed was from.

Heart shaped neolithic arrowhead from Ilola.

Saturday, 5 May 2018

Inspecting possible excavation sites in Porvoo

Tomorrow it´s finally time for the first archaeology fieldtrip of 2018.

A neolithic stone axe.

We will visit two neolithic dwelling sites in Porvoo mainly to see which one of them is more suitable for a community archaeology dig. The dig is financed by Porvoon kansalaisopisto and is scheduled for 7.6-15.6.2018.

The stone.age dwelling sites (in red) in the former archipelagoon a LIDAR map.

Thursday, 3 May 2018

The 2018 research season of "Durchgangslager Hanko" has started!

Yesterday on May 2nd 2018 photographer Japo Knuutila ventured on his first documentation trip of 2018. The aim was to document the "Baracke" of the "Entlausungsdorf" area before the leaves break an the area is totally covered in green.






During his visit Japo took both still pictures and videos of the former German barracks area. He will be back to document the area again next week.

"Durchgangslager Hanko 1942-1944"


A Confict Archaeology Exhibition in Hanko Museum 
19.5.2018 - 31.3.2019

Saturday, 21 April 2018

First ever WW2 Conflict Archaeology Exhibition in Hanko Finland 19.5.2018-31.3.2019!

I´m exited to say the least. This exhibition which combines the archaeology and tragic wartime history of the large German WW2 transition camp in Hanko S. Finland will open on May 19th 2018 in Hanko Museum.


Many of the soldiers visiting the camp between 1942 and 1944 were Gebirgsjäger.

The exhibition is be open to vistors until 31.3.2019. This is the first time in Finland when archaeological finds from the Second World War are in the center of an Museum sized exhibition!


The exhibition tells the story of "Gerd" who travelled through the camp in Hanko and was killed on the Eismeerfron in February 1944.


Heer Urlauber in Hanko in 1943.



Wednesday, 18 April 2018

Ilmoittaudu heti ja osallistu toisen maailmansodan aikaisen saksalaisen kauttakulkuleirin arkeologisiin kaivauksiin Hangossa

Ainutlaatuinen mahdollisuus osallistua Hangon kesäyliopiston järjestämiin toisen maailmansodan sota-arkeologisiin kaivauksiin Hangon Tulliniemessä 25.6-13.7.2018. Ilmoittaudu kurssille heti tästä, paikkoja on vielä muutamia jäljellä! https://hangosommaruni.fi/studieprogram/22-ovriga-kurser/arkeologi/66-konfliktarkeologi

Saksalainen soittokunta paraatissa Hangossa 1943.


Kaivauksissa tutkitaan Saksan armeijan vuosina 1942-1944 käyttämän valtavan sotilasleirin raunioita. Kuka tahansa voi osallistua kaivauksiin, aikaisempaa kokemusta sotahistoriasta tai arkeologiasta ei tarvita!

Leiristä löytynyt hyvin säilynyt saksalainen toisen maailmansodan aikainen kolikko.

Kaivaus on jaettu kolmeen eri osaan ja kullekin viikolle otetaan mukaan maksimissaan 15 henkilöä ilmoittautumisjärjestyksessä! Osallistumismaksu on vain 20e/viikko! Mukana voi olla yhden tai kaikki viisi päivää!

Saksalaissotilaan rintamalla tekemä sormus jossa vuosiluku 1944.

Alueelta on aikaisemmin löytynyt tuhansia saksalaissotilaiden jälkeensä jättämiä tai hukkaamia esineitä. Löydetyt esineet ovat osa arkeologi Jan Fastin Helsingin yliopistossa tekemää väitöskirjatyötä ja parhaimmat löydöt pääsevät näytille Hangon Museon näyttelyyn!

Saksalaissotilaita Hangossa 1944.

Wednesday, 21 March 2018

Impressive short film about stone-age life in coastal Norway!!

The preservation circumstances regarding stone-age finds in Norway is much the same as they are in Finland and most part of Sweden. Finds of organic material are scarce. And then of course thre is the land upheaval effect and the changing landscape to consider...

Got to see this shortfilm over Facebook today and I was utterly impressed by it. It sums things up in a very nice way. Enjoy :)


Thursday, 15 March 2018

Wonderful Finnish rock paintings! Photos by Ismo Luukkonen.



I just wanted to stop by and advertise this beautiful webpage by Ismo Luukkonen with pictures of  Finnish rock paintings! Enjoy :)





Monday, 5 March 2018

"Durchgangslager Hanko 1942-1944" exhibition in Hanko S. Finland 19.5.2018-31.3.2019!

During the past months I have been preoccupied with the planning of the upcoming WW2 conflict archaeology exhibition in Hanko s. Finland. The exhibition is scheduled for 19.5.2018-31.3.2019.


The exhibition will give an insight in the daily personal lives of German soldiers in Finland during the Second World War with a focus on the "Urlaubsfahrt" an integral part of he logistics of the German war effort and the role of the large German transition camp situated on Cape Tulliniemi between 1942 and 1944.

German soldiers in Hanko. Photo SA-kuva.

The exhibition shows intriguing unique finds from the conflict archaeology excavations of the camp between 2014-2017 as well as previously unseen period pictures take by German soldiers during the "Urlaubsfahrt"in Hanko as well as the frontlines of the "Nordfront". Photographic art by Jan Kaila and Japo Knuutila from the "Poetic Archaeology" project (2014-2017) add a dramatic artististic dimension to the museum exhibition.

Baracke. Photo Jan Kaila/Japo Knuutila "Poetic Archaeology" project.

The exhibition also shows lots of genuine German soldiers personal Hanko and Finland related items. These items have been gathered from collections and from German veterans families from all around Europe between 2014 and 2018.


Friday, 2 March 2018

Doctoral dissertation about the archaeology and heritage of the Second World War German military presence in Finnish Lapland.

The first doctoral dissertation in the field of WW2 conflict archaeology is a fact. In a couple of hours time archaeologist Oula Seitsonen will defend his doctoral thesis titled "Digging Hitler's Arctic War : Archaeologies and Heritage of the Second World War German military presence in Finnish Lapland" at the University of Helsinki. Opponent professor Paul Mullins, Custos professor Suzie Thomas.





Thursday, 1 March 2018

WW2 conflict archaeology in Hanko 25.6-13.7.2018, secure your spot now!

Now is the time to reserve a spot at this year WW2 conflict archaeology excavations of "Durchgangslager Hangö" in Hanko S. Finland. We speak English, Finnish, Swedish and German at the excavation. The excavation will be on weekdays between June 25th and July 13th 2018.

You can find more information about the excavation here by clicking on the links at the bottom of this page. Please remember that you can also contact Hangö Sommaruni via email kansli@hangosommaruni.fi

Participate in the "Deutsches Rotes Creuz" excavation on excavation week one (25-29.6.2018).

This years excavation will be the last community archaeology excavation of this interesting site. Last autumn we were able to locate three different areas, very rich in German WW2 finds. This years excavation will concentrate on those special areas (we will spend one week researching each area).

During the first excavation week there will be a very special excavation concentrating on the women of the German Red Cross("Deutsches Rotes Kreuz") who worked in the camp from 1942-1944. If you are interested in participating here you should secure your spot on the first excavation week (25-29.6.2018) as soon as possible! Part of week one and weeks two and three will concentrate on the finds left behind by German soldiers.

From the excavations in 2017.

Register and read more about the excavations here. See you in sunny Hanko!


Monday, 19 February 2018

Secure your spot at the archaeological excavation in Porvoo 15-17.6.2018

Due to the massive interest in the upcoming community archaeology excavation in Porvoo "Porvoon Kansalaisopisto" has launched a second leg of the excavation from June 15th to June 17th (Friday-Sunday). The excavation will take place on a 6000-year old dwelling site in Porvoo!

Archaeology for all! No previous knowledge of archaeology is needed.


You can now secure your spot at  the excavation via the link below! Act now, there are only 10 spots left!

Wednesday, 24 January 2018

New dates added to the community archaeology dig in Porvoo!!!

Great news! The upcoming excavation i Porvoo has proven a huge success with some 35 people participating. This means we will be able to add a second leg to the excavation!! I will post more info on the additional dates very soon!

Typical comb ceramic ware from Porvoo (Böle). Photo University of Helsinki.


In the meantime it´s still possible to secure a place at the excavations by contacting Porvoon kansalaisopisto!

Tuesday, 23 January 2018

Upcoming archaeology school visits in spring 2018

This spring I will visit schools in the larger Helsinki region o speak about "Archaeology from the Stone Age to the Second World War". The lectures are in Finnish, Swedish and English.

High school students from Raseborg experiencing "A Day as an Archaeologist in 2016".

Please contact me on jfarchaeology@gmail.com to order more info on the upcoming school visits. I offer several affordable packages including participation in archaeological excavations in may 2018 called "A Day as an Archaeologist"!

Best,

Jan :)

Thursday, 4 January 2018

First archaeology fieldtrip in 2018

Me, archaeologist Janne Soisalo, archaeology student Teemu Väisänen and local history enthusiast Micke Malm ventured on our first fieldtrip of our 2018 field season on the 3.1.2018. We visited several interesting find areas in Raseborg but two places really stood out!

The large gravel pit @ Raseborg Krogarbacken.

Krogarbacken is an area that is situated very close to the iron age and late medieval dwelling sites in Kroggård. The reason for our visit were quartz flakes found nere the summit of Krogarbacken. Sadly this area was very badly damaged and we couldnt confirm th existence of a stone age dwelling site.

Easily discernable mesolithic and early neolithic beach terraces in the east part of the large gravel pit.

A bit dissapointed after the lack of mesolithic finds we ran into an interesting area related to iron smelting in the same area! The finds included iron slag, burnt clay and pitchblack sandy soil full of charcoal.

Janne S and Micke M surveying. Krogarbacken 3.1.2018.

Stormossen 21 m. asl. was the main target of our fieltrip and what a wonderful stone-age dwelling site it was! Lots of quartz flakes and pottery as far as the eye could see. We documented and mapped the area for future research (perhaps in the spring of 2019).

Stormossen, neolithic potsherd.

The Stormossen neolithic dwelling site.

Quartz flakes found by the landowner prior to ur visit!

The new sites were reported to the National Board of Antiquities today. Depending on how the winter continues here in S. Finland even more fieldtrieps might be possible before spring :)

Tuesday, 2 January 2018

The registration for next years community archaeology excavation in Porvoo has started!

The stone-age mysteries Neolithic Porvoo will be revealed during a community archaeology excavation from June 8th - June 10th.2018. No previous knowledge of archaeology is required. We speak Finnish, Swedish and English.

"Kivikaudesta Keskiaikaan-Porvoon Seudun Esihistoriaa" (1985)

This is the first community archaeology excavation in Porvoo in many, many years! Only 14 people per day can participate so please act fast if you whish to participate! Just click on the link below and join us in the adventure!