New Sites, New Methods The 14th Finnish-Russian Archaeological Symposium ABSTRACTS Wednesday 19 November, 2014 9.00 Keynote lecture A. N. Kirpichnikov (St. Petersburg), Pirjo Uino (Helsinki) & E. N. Nosov (St. Petersburg) Finnish-Russian scientific cooperation in the field of archaeology. The results of the traversed path 1969 2014 In 2014 was 45 years since in 1969 was based mixed working group of the Finnish-Russian scientific cooperation in the field of archeology. As a result, in 1976 in Leningrad was the first Soviet-Russian Symposium on archaeology. Then was the beginning of direct contacts between scientists of the two neighboring countries. It answered indigenous development needs of science and humanitarian ties between Finland and Russia. Russian and Finnish scientists have joined in the work by decision of the General historical problems such as the study of the cultures of the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, the history of Slavic and Finnish tribes, their craft, trade, population, international relations. The working group has been active in the organization of joint workshops and all kinds of joint projects. Since 1976, symposia were held every 2-3 years alternately in Finland and Russia. They involved not only scientists parties have agreed, and the Baltic republics of the USSR, Ukraine, Scandinavia and other countries. To date, published 13 volumes of reports, the content of which is characterized by versatility and novelty of the research results of almost all issues involved. The value of these publications has both local and pan-european importance. This can be assessed as an outstanding contribution to the study of world history, archeology and culture. As a result of negotiations the parties agreed to revive itself as a mixed working group on archaeology and fundamental scientific practice regular convocations of the international symposia with the production of a variety of problems of historical and archaeological knowledge. The results of the work done can be optimistic about the future. Gained valuable experience of working together that allows you to continue to develop unique in the history of our Nations scientific community. And here is the result, in 2014 will gather next Symposium on archaeology. Thus, the tradition of scientific meetings and collaboration not only saved, but will be multiplied.
10.00 12.00 Session 1 New Sites and Methods in the research of the Mesolithic and the Neolithic Hannu Takala (Lahti) & M. M. Shahnovich (Petrozavodsk) New Mesolithic sites from Lake Ladoga district The Lahti and Petrozavodsk museums completed in 2008-2012 a survey and test-excavation project north and north-east from Lake Ladoga. The aim of the project was to collect finds and datings for basic research concerning Mesolithic settlement and colonization processes. After the first fieldworks the area of former Finnish parishes Salmi, Impilahti and Harlu were selected for closer studies. The research concentrated on river valleys and Ancient Lake Ladoga/Ancylus-Lake shoredistrict. Altogether 19 new sites were discovered during the project and five of these were excavated. The oldest site was found in Harlu, Hetuoja and according to C14-dating, it is ca. 9700 years old. Four sites were excavated in Impilahti Koirinoja, but these are either multi-period or purely Neolithic sites two of these are dated by C14-method. Lithic material will be analysed from all the sites and shore displacement chronology will be re-evaluated. The aims of the research as well as results, datings and their meaning for the settlement history of southern Finland and Lake Ladoga district will be presented at the seminar. Kerkko Nordqvist & Teemu Mökkönen (Oulu) The use of mineral raw materials in the Lake Saimaa area during the Neolithic The use and working of mineral raw materials changes with the onset of the Neolithic it is a well-known fact that, for example, polished stone tools became much more common and that the variation in the selection of raw materials widens. What this means in practice, nevertheless, remains fairly vaguely described, as the references are usually based on overall impressions and estimations, not quantitative data. In this paper the aim is to present such data about the variation of mineral raw materials of 18 Neolithic sites from the Ancient Lake Saimaa catchment (eastern Finland). The studied sites cover the whole Neolithic from the late 6th until the late 3rd millennium BC. The focus will not be in presenting the subject matter through natural scientific analyses (the analysis of raw materials is based on ocular identification) or from the viewpoint of lithic technology. Rather, the aim is to consider how changes in the selection of raw materials resonate with other changes in material culture and transformations in the human environment relationship during the Neolithic. The focus will mainly be in chipped lithics, but also other (non-clay) mineral raw materials recovered at the sites will be briefly discussed.
V. M. Lozovskiy & O. V. Lozovskaya (St. Petersburg) Wood as raw material in the Mesolithic-Neolithic of Eastern Europe: from wooden implements to the reconstruction of paleo-landscape Artifacts made from wood and plant fibers are extremely rare on the Stone Age sites. In the forest zone of Eastern Europe they preserved only in wet conditions of some bogs. In the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods wooden tools and implements along with wooden constructions played very important role in everyday activity and substantial system. First, it is bow, boat, ski, fishery constructions and dwellings, pots and axes handles. Such findings were discovered on the territory of Russia, Baltic countries, Finland and in the countries of Northern Europe. The analysis of the ancient wooden tool-kit allow to reconstruct not only types of tools and technological traditions ways of wood working but also the structure of ancient woods, vegetation, distribution and conditions of different types of forest. On the basis of 270 samples with wood definitions for the site Zamostje 2 (Upper Volga region) we trace specific approach to the wood choice for different functional group of tools and fishery constructions. All these data seriously changed our previous reconstructions about forest structure in Atlantic period. Elisabeth Holmqvist (Helsinki) Recent research in archaeometric artefact studies This talk focuses on recent developments and research methods in archaeological materials science, which deals with geochemical characterisation, raw material identification, provenancing and technological aspects of archaeological artefacts, e.g., ceramics, metals and glass. Current methodologies, their application and potential will be discussed and demonstrated in light of recent case studies. Archaeometric artefact studies have lately become more non-invasive. Therefore, analytical methods that allow elemental analysis with no or very limited sample removal, e.g., portable XRF or ICP-MS, are increasingly favoured. Over the recent years, materials science methods have also been employed in Finnish archaeology, especially in projects concentrating on provenance and technology of ceramic and metal finds. This talk provides an overview on some of these case studies and the variety of methodologies available (e.g., pxrf, SEM-EDS, PIXE) at the University of Helsinki for this kind of research.
13.00 15.00 Session 2 New Sites and Methods in the research of the Neolithic and Early Metal Age V. M. Lozovskiy & O. V. Lozovskaya (St. Petersburg) New investigations on the Stone Age peat-bog sites in Central Russia Investigations of Stone Age peat-bog settlements in Eastern Europe represent a great scientific interest due to the excellent preservation of organic materials. Excavations of sites Sarnate, Zvidze (Latvia), Šventoji (Lithuania), Purkajasuo (Finland), Okhta 1, Veretje 1 (Russia) are among the best samples of such researches. New investigations in 2010-2013 on the peat-bog site Zamostje 2 (Sergiev Posad district, Moscow region) have a special interest due to the discovery of specific fishery zone of the settlement dated to the late Mesolithic early Neolithic periods. Several constructions made from wood were found on this particular part of the settlement: among them two fish-traps from wooden splinters bound by tapes made from rush, mobile fish-fences made also from wooden splinters and 150 wooden piles. These finds along with artifact made from wood, bone, antler, pine bark (fish-hooks, harpoons, floats, fish-net knots, paddles etc) allow us to reconstruct that fishery was basic economic activity on this site. This statement supports by the huge number finds of fish bones and fish scales found in cultural layers of the site. The same kind of fishery constructions were found on the sites Sarnate, Šventoji, Purkajasuo, Okhta 1. The other finds from these sites support our suggestion that the main economic activity on the Stone Age settlements was fishery. V. Ya. Shumkin, A. I. Murashkin, E. M. Kolpakov & T. N. Sapelko (St. Petersburg) Cultural and environmental factors of initial settling of Russian Lapland With all the significant progress of the archaeological study of Fennoscandian past, there are still many unsolved questions. Moreover, the issues that have been clarified as a result of the newest study were added with new problems. Most actual tasks are the following: 1) time and direction of initial settling of the region; 2) interaction of local populations and their neighbors; 3) effect of raw material for the assemblages characteristics and their changes; 4) economy and lifestyle and their changes in time and space. Preliminary results of the excavation of two Mesolithic sites with blade assemblages will presented (works of Kola archeological expedition IHMC in 2014). Jarkko Saipio (Helsinki) Ritual adaptation on the western edge of the Seima-Turbino phenomenon Seima-Turbino transcultural phenomenon is defined by certain bronze and stone artefact types whose distribution covers a huge area from western Mongolia to northern Scandinavia. The phenomenon is currently dated at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE. The westernmost outreach of Seima-Turbino technology is indicated by sporadic bronze artefact and mould finds
in Finland, Sweden and Norway. Curiously, north-western Russia is totally devoid of Seima- Turbino artefact finds within 1000 km of the Fennoscandian find cluster. Most of the Fennoscandian finds are stray finds from contexts indicating ritual activities connected with water. No Seima-Turbino artefacts have been found from burial contexts in Fennoscandia. It seems that the ritual meanings of artefacts produced by Seima-Turbino technology were created in Bronze Age Fennoscandia through a process rooted in local Stone Age ritual practises. This paper examines possible reasons for the distinctively Stone Age way Seima- Turbino artefacts were treated in Fennoscandia. M. A. Yushkova (St. Petersburg) New group of sites of the 1 st to 7 th centuries AD in the south-west of Leningrad Oblast During recent years, a new group of archaeological sites has been discovered on the Izhora Plateau (southwestern region of Leningrad Oblast, Russia). The majority of them belongs to the culture of tarands (graves with stone fences) dating from the Roman period. At two of these burial grounds Kerstovo 1 and Malli, regular excavations have been conducted which revealed burials inside stone fences. Other cemeteries and archaeological sites are known through stray finds and also through three hoards. Totally 14 sites of this type have been registered which mostly are concentrated in the western part of the Izhora Plateau. The overwhelming majority of materials of the culture of graves with stone fences are dated to the early Roman period and the beginning of the late-roman period covering the chronological range from the 1 st to the 3 rd centuries AD. From the same chronological span, the excavated funerary structures are dating a chain of four fenced graves at the burial ground of Malli. The grave goods are represented by numerous bronze ornaments (brooches, rings, bracelets, temple rings, etc.), tools (knives, choppers, needles, razors), iron weaponry (spear heads) and pottery. The funerary rite of cremation outside the graves predominates. At the cemetery of Kerstovo 1, remains of at least 38 humans have been discovered, at the burial ground of Malli there were buried not less than 93 individuals. The sites under consideration represent a local variant of the culture of graves with stone fences which has the closest parallels among the sites of northeastern Estonia. One of the cemeteries excavated, namely Malli, yielded in addition unique materials of the subsequent period the third quarter of the 1 st millennium AD (the Merovingian epoch). Here, numerous belt buckles, weaponry (parts of shields), bronze ornaments (pins, pendants, fine chains, etc.), glass beads and objects of everyday use (iron razors and pincers, spindle-whorls made from bone epiphyses, pottery) were unearthed. This assemblage of finds from the third quarter of the 1 st millennium AD is a unique one belonging to none of the known cultural groups though its closest parallels can be found among the cultural groups of the same period in Estonia (sites of the Proosa type and those of the Ehmja type).
The sites here enumerated allow us to study the culture of the Baltic-Finnish population of northwestern Russia throughout a long period from the early Roman times until the Middle Ages. 15.30 16.30 Session 3 New materials and interpretations in the North Petri Halinen (Helsinki) The Sámi Society of northern Fennoscandia during the end of Iron Age and Medieval period: an archaeological approach The archaeological features of rectangular fire places their distribution, dates, contacts. The paper discusses on what conditions the societies were emerged (livelihood, environment) and how they can be observed archaeologically. The Russian-Finnish point of view is the relevance of the border in observing contacts and the distribution of ancient monuments. E. M. Kolpakov, V. Ya. Shumkin & A. I. Murashkin (St. Petersburg) Early Metal Age Dwellings in Eastern Lapland (investigations of Kola archeological expedition IHMC in 2004 2014) Early Metal Age was extremely important, interesting period which determined the subsequent development of the population history of Lapland. At this time hundreds settlements with numerous semi-subterranean dwellings appeared along the sea coast. We have some evidences of the distribution of culture of marine mammal hunters in the region, among them are faunal remains, toggling harpoon heads among the hunter equipment, marine mammal hunting scenes in rock art. Given the abundance of natural resources in the region and the relatively high level of development of material culture, we can regard this adaptation model as very successful. The need to combine large stable groups for effective marine hunting leads to impressive size depth dwellings.
Thursday 20 November 9.30 11.30 Session 4 New Sites and Methods in Late Iron Age and Medieval studies N. V. Khvoshchinskaya (St. Petersburg) Modern views on the formation of Vod' tribe on the territory of North-West of Novgorod Land The Slavs who came in the middle of the first millennium A.D. To the territory of Peipus and Ilmen lakes basins from more southern and southwestern regions of Europe met there two Finno-Ugric tribes Chud' or Ests of Russian chronicles and Vod'. The language of Vod' was relatively close to the north dialect of Estonian language. Beginning from the XIX-th century the scholars tried to clear up the borders of the region where Vod' lived. Many of them thought that this tribe settled vast territories on the northwest of Russia. Such conclusions were based on the fact that the so called Vodskaja Pyatina of Novgorod the Great (administrative division) of the XVth-XVIth centuries was located on the same vast territory. S. V. Bel skiy (St. Petersburg) New archaeological sites of Middle Ages on Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia In 2010 14, the Ladoga s archaeological expedition of Peter the Great museum of World Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) RAS (St-Petersburg, Russia) in co-operation with University of Turku (Turku, Finland) realized archaeological investigations on the Karelian isthmus and Ladoga Karelia. These works would have been unrealizable without the financial support of the both Russian and Finnish organisations. The attention was focused to the north-western region of the Ladoga lake shore (mainly municipalities of Hiitola-Kurkijoki-Lumivaara) but also to the territory of the Karelian isthmus (mainly municipalities of Kirvu, Antrea, Koivisto, Heinjoki, Muolaa, Sakkola, Pyhӓjӓrvi, Kaukola). The special attention was paid to the archaeological sites on Kilpola island in the north-western region of the Ladoga lake shore. The numerous archaeological sites were newly discovered. Besides the field excavations of the cemeteries had been done (Pihlajanmӓki, Sӓnkinmӓki, Hannukainen on the Kilpola island; Ristiniemi at Kylӓlahti; Lapinlahti (Kurkijoki); Sakkolanhovi (Sakkola); Montrua (Pyhӓjӓrvi). Also the places of the stray finds were examined. The kalmasaaret type of the sites were discovered on the Karelian isthmus for the first time (in municipalities of Koivisto, Antrea, Heinjoki, Metsӓpirtti). Summing up, the amount of the newly discovered archaeological materials is comparable with the amount of the sources which
were known earlier. These new materials are essentially adds or even changes the knowledge about different aspects of the culture of the Mediaeval Korela Ville Laakso (Turku) The later stages of Karelian Culture Crusade Period (c. AD 1050 1300) is the best-known of the prehistoric periods of the Käkisalmi and Viipuri areas of Karelia. The period is vividly manifested in the archaeological record in the form of the famous Karelian Culture but the visibility of the end of the period has been blurred by the cessation of the furnished burial custom. Even the juncture of the end of the period and the beginning of the Middle Ages has been defined on the basis of written sources (3 rd Crusade, peace treaty of AD 1323) not on the basis of archaeological materials. The Medieval Period of the area (c. 1300 1500) has for long remained archaeologically poorly visible. Materials from some recent field works and key sites reflect clear continuity from the Crusade Period (cemeteries, settlements, hill forts, ceramics) especially in Käkisalmi Karelia. In Viipuri Karelia, changes during the Middle Ages seem to have been more drastic, but even there several elements of continuity can be discerned. The major political and religious changes that are strongly present in the medieval written sources are not as clearly visible in archaeological material. In Käkisalmi Karelia, bigger changes took place as late as the 17 th century. Juha Ruohonen (Turku) Cross on the Hill? Early Medieval Church of Ristimäki in Ravattula in Kaarina On Ristimäki (lit. Cross Hill) in Kaarina parish and Ravattula village in Southwest Finland, remains of an early medieval church were found in 2013. The church has been dated to the late 12th century early 13th century, to the end of the Finnish Crusade period and to the Early Middle Ages. The church is so far the oldest in Finland and also the only one dating from the period before the establishment of Finnish parish system. Ristimäki is exceptionally well preserved archaeological complex: the site comprises a church remains, a churchyard that served as burial ground even before the church was built, and a fence remains surrounding the churchyard.
12.30 14.30 Session 5 New Sites and Methods in the research of historical times Saksa A. I. (St. Petersburg) (presentation in Finnish) The early stages of the history of Vyborg (the results of archaeological research 1998 2012) Over the past fifteen years Vyborg archaeological expedition IHMC studied 560 square meters of the medieval town within the stone walls of the city in 1470-ies. As a result, cultural layers of XV-XVIII centuries, up to 3.5 m deep, were discovered as well as horizons of well-preserved wooden housing with a variety of artefacts. Thus, well-known from excavations of the medieval towns of the Baltic Sea coast of Lübeck and Hamburg to Turku, Riga and Tallinn material culture and external relations of the Middle Ages and Modern Times got its eastern stretch. We denote the advantage of Vyborg which has well preserved cultural layers that were destroyed by later buildings in other cities of the Baltic coast. Vyborg, therefore, demonstrates the development of urban culture in the region over time, which is not reflected in the archaeological material of other cities. St. Petersburg is not an ancient town. Up until recently, 1700 was considered as the arbitrary boundary limiting archaeological studies. During last years, in the whole World, the interest for archaeology of the new period has increased. The specifics of this branch of our science is in the possibility to employ a vast number of graphic materials and other documentary sources, which fact in no way disparages the significance of traditional archaeological methods of excavation and analysis of the finds. N. F. Solov yova & V. A. Lapshin (St. Petersburg) Archaeological investigation of St. Petersburg by the Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS Archaeological heritage of Petersburg is variegated in terms of chronology and typology. Chronologically, two blocks are distinguishable pre-peter period (from Neolithic to 1703) and Petersburgian period (1703 1917). Sites of the first block allow us to investigate the prehistory of the town, i.e. archaeological traces and cultural landscapes of the pre-peter time from the Neolithic to the Swedish period. Archaeological sources are of key importance for this subject and sometimes the only ones. Studies of objects of the second block yield us an archaeological overview of the problems of historical topography, history of the town building and architecture of Petersburg in the 18 th to the 20 th century. Archaeological evidence provides essential gains in precision and particulars for the dynamics of the town-building evolution which is partly known through cartographical and iconographical materials and numerous written sources.
Due to town-planning specifics of Petersburg, all the archaeological objects of the city can be divided into two groups: the first is the archaeological component of the dense urban layout and palace and park ensembles; the second group includes peripheral sites situated within historical landscapes (camp-sites, settlements, burial, industrial and defensive embankments). Exposure of the cultural layer of Petersburg of the 18 th century took place in 1952. Since the second half of the 1990s, archaeologists started regular investigations of the cultural deposits and city s lost objects. During recent years, specialists from the Institute for the History of Material Culture (IIMK) RAS succeeded in realization of a series of large-scale archaeological excavations. These have yielded us precious information on the presence, distribution and character of the prehistoric layer within the city s area and on the tragic and heroic fate of the first builders of Petersburg. These investigations also have resulted in more precise historical evidence about the urban planning. After an organisational stage, archaeology of St. Petersburg now enjoys a period of rise. Päivi Maaranen (Helsinki) Metal detecting as archaeological activity: some notes concerning development of a hobby and consequences of increasing public interest in Finland This paper discusses of metal detecting as a hobby and results of its increase from an archaeological perspective with support of statistics gathered by the National Board of Antiquities. In Finland, the use of a metal detector is usually allowed without a separate permit. However, metal detecting is regulated by various laws and acts. Laws that need to be especially observed when using a metal detector include the Antiquities Act (195/1963), the Lost Articles Act (778/1988), the Criminal Code (1889/39), the Nature Conservation Act (20/1996) and public right of access. Metal detecting itself has been an increasing hobby in recent years. Many individuals own metal detectors and use them more or less frequently. Earlier, most detectorists appeared to be mainly interested in present sites like public parks, beaches or sites of the Second World War. Lately the interest has oriented to detect metals from forests and countryside too. Internet connects detectorists even from different countries and allows discussing of the subject and comparing finds worldwide. In addition, detectors can be bought cheaply and easily, and many metal detector finds during last two years has been widely published in the Finnish media too. In due to this, not only Finnish detectorists but also individuals abroad are interested in options to find metal from Finland. Increase of the hobby has different kind of consequences of which some are welcome but some other not. Positive consequences are discovery of new archaeological sites and even new types
of sites as well as interesting and unique artefacts. In addition, increase of awareness of the archaeological cultural heritage in general is a good effect. In some extent these positive effects cause trouble too because tasks of the archaeologists have extended. There are needs for new ways to guide detectorists and maintain contact to them. In addition, tasks of inspecting the suspected archaeological sites as well as handling metal finds with problems of conservation are challenges too. Real negative consequences relate to disturbance of archaeological sites and their surroundings. Lately the number of the sites violated by detectorists seems to be increasing and the questions of looting and black archaeology emerge too. 15.00 16.00 Session 6 News in the fields of theory and research history Marko Marila (Helsinki) How Old Things Give Rise to New Ideas A mass of facts is before us. We go through them. We examine them. We find them a confused snarl, an impenetrable jungle. We are unable to hold them in our minds. We endeavor to set them down upon paper; but they seem so multiplex intricate that we can neither satisfy ourselves that what we have set down represents the facts, nor can we get any clear idea of what it is that we have set down. But suddenly, while we are poring over our digest of the facts and are endeavoring to set them into order, it occurs to us that if we were to assume something to be true that we do not know to be true, these facts would arrange themselves luminously. That is abduction. This is how, according to philosopher and scientist Charles Peirce (1839 1914), all new ideas are born. But it is also an apt definition of what archaeologists do. What is characteristic of the epistemology of archaeology is that from identifying unexpected finds on an excavation to writing about the past, archaeological knowledge and practice are intimately intertwined. The way we do things is predetermined by the things we can imagine. The archaeological record itself is a highly fragmentary mess and in order to come up with satisfactory generalizations or explanatory hypotheses for the mass of facts encountered archaeologists will often have to rely on their intuition and guessing powers. In this paper, I explore the relationship between such explanatory hypotheses (archaeological knowledge) and the material record (archaeological data) from an abductivist perspective. Exploring how new ideas emerge in archaeology as a result of observing surprising facts my main theses are that 1) archaeological hypotheses and generalizations are fundamentally abductive, and 2) theory is an instance of practice.
Timo Salminen (Helsinki) M. A. Castrén s archaeological research in Russia and Siberia, preliminary results of an ongoing publication project The Finnish researcher Matthias Alexander Castrén travelled in three separate occasions in Russia to collect linguistic, ethnographic, folkloristic and archaeological material. On the short summer trip to Russian Karelia in 1839, archaeology still occupied only a minor position but later, during the expeditions of 1842 1844 and 1845 1849 its importance grew significantly. In 1842, Castrén collected information about archaeological remains in northern Russia, especially Holmogor, and tried to connect it with the linguistic and folkloristic data he had at his disposal. In 1845 1849 the instructions, given by the Russian Academy of Sciences and Letters to Castrén, explicitly made one of his goals to excavate graves in Siberia. Thus, Castrén made excavations both in the Yenisei valley and around Irkutsk in 1847 1848. During the ongoing publication project Manuscripta Castreniana, some previously unknown archaeological notes by Castrén have been found. Also a more detailed image of his research and documentation methods has been obtained. THE POSTERS D. V. Gerasimov (St. Petersburg), Kerkko Nordqvist (Oulu) & Oula Seitsonen (Helsinki) Multilayered Stone Age sites in the Karelian Isthmus: Chronological control, hiatuses and attachment to a place The last 10 15 years have witnessed a serious rise in the archaeology of Karelian Isthmus. Already the pre-war studies showed that multiperiod sites, typically situated on fields and with mixed stratigraphy, were fairly ordinary in the area. Recent fieldwork since the turn of 2000s has revealed yet another group of locations, deeply stratified multilayer sites. These sites are settlements with several subsequent occupational phases more or less clearly separated by transgression layers. They therefore deviate from the majority of previously known sites with mixed contexts and provide unique opportunity to study closed contexts with perfect temporal control. The most imposing of such sites are the stratified Kunnianiemi (Komsomolskoe 3) site in Pyhäjärvi (Plodovoe), the Telkkälä Silino site in Muolaa (Pravdino), and Ohta 1 at the mouth of River Ohta in St. Petersburg, but also other sites like Ozernoe 3 in Heinjoki (Veshchevo) are known. Multilayer sites have been found and studied in the field campaigns by Kunstkamera, Russian Academy of Sciences and IIMK/RAN (St. Petersburg, Russia), University of Helsinki (Finland) and City Museum of Lahti (Finland). This poster presents briefly the key sites, their chronology, and archaeological material.
Oula Seitsonen (Helsinki), Kerkko Nordqvist (Oulu) & D. V. Gerasimov (St. Petersburg) Prehistoric habitation and chronology in the eastern Karelian Isthmus: Lake Pyhäjärvi Ozero Otradnoe -project 2005 2008 Lake Pyhäjärvi Ozero Otradnoe -project developed as a continuation of research projects conducted by IIMK/RAN, MAE/RAN and University of Helsinki in 1999 2005 in Kaukola (Sevastyanovo) and Räisälä (Melnikovo) areas along the River Vuoksi watercourse. Pyhäjärvi is directly neighbouring this intensively studied region on its southern side, but practically no archaeological research had been conducted in the large area stretching from the northern branch of River Vuoksi to the Lake Ladoga. An idea developed to see what kind of image of Stone Age can be obtained by applying modern fieldwork methodology from the beginning vis-à-vis the neighbouring region studied for over 100 years. Another aim was to simply collect more material about the human habitation of Karelian Isthmus. In targeted intensive surveys in 2005 2008 altogether 50 new Stone Age and Early Metal Period sites were located. Of these, six localities were test-excavated in 2006, and more extensive excavations carried out at the multi-layered Kunnianiemi (Komsomolskoe 3) site in 2006 and 2007, revealing nearly three meters deep stratified archaeological deposits with sealed cultural contexts. In this poster the main results of project s fieldwork will be summarized. Aivar Kriiska (Tartu), D. V. Gerasimov (St. Petersburg), Kerkko Nordqvist (Oulu), S. N. Lisitsyn (St. Petersburg), Sarita Sandell (Helsinki) & M. A. Kholkina (St. Petersburg) Stone Age research in Narva-Luga Klint Bay area (2005 2014) The first Stone Age sites were found in the area of Narva-Luga Klint Bay, located on the border of Estonia and Russia by the Eastern Gulf of Finland, already in the 1930s. In the 1950s and 1960s large-scale excavations were carried out on the Estonian side of the border, and intensive research has been going on in this region from the 1990s until the present day. However, on the Russian side archaeological studies came to a halt almost immediately after they started, and it was not until 2005 that archaeological research of this area began in earnest. Since then research has been conducted annually by an international crew of archaeologists and natural scientists. The research has consisted of modern archaeological surveys as well as geological and palaeoecological mapping and sampling. As a result, over 20 Neolithic settlement sites have been located, in addition which a large amount of natural scientific data has been collected from the area. In this poster, the main archaeological results of the studies made between 2005 and 2014 will be presented. A.I. Murashkin, E. M. Kolpakov, V. Ja. Shumkin & V. I. Khartanovich (St. Petersburg) Kola Oleny island cemetery as unique burial site in European Arctic Kola Oleny island cemetery is the main source for the study of physical and cultural anthropology of the early metal period population of the Kola Peninsula and Northern
Fennoscandia at all. Burial goods is exceptionally rich and contains numerous items of bone, antler, stone, ceramics, bronze. There are differences between male and female burials in grave goods. There are some evidences of distant contacts of local population with the South and West Scandinavia. Among them are ceramic of Vardoy type, the chemical composition of bronze items, some categories of bone tools. Anthropological data, including analysis of paleodnk, suggests that the genesis of the ancient population of the north of the Kola Peninsula was attended by people from more eastern areas: media very specific physical type associated with "Ural" anthropological community. E. Yu. Girya (St. Petersburg), E. M. Kolpakov (St. Petersburg) & A. Yu. Tarasov (Petrozavodsk) Traceologycal study of Karelia and Kola Peninsula petroglyphs (how and by means of what masterpieces of petroglyphic art were created) Arguments on petroglyphs manufacturing techniques usually are speculative or based on limited personal experience. During field works and laboratory analysis of plaster copies of petroglyphs fragments the following types of processing traces are allocated: 1) traces of continuous knocking-out with rather smooth macro relief (without expressive separated holes); 2) traces of continuous knocking-out consisting of small separated subroundish holes of relatively equal sizes; 3) traces of continuous knocking-out consisting of big separated subroundish holes of relatively equal sizes; 4) traces of continuous knocking-out consisting of small and big separated holes of extended proportions and relatively equal sizes (traces of work with a tool like chisel). Clearness of certain lines and silhouettes contours of all petroglyphs, undoubtedly, testify the use of the intermediary tool (punch-like tool). Internal, filling of the big silhouette images executed by continuous knockout, could be made by means of a direct percussion. The most part of the images represents traces of the dense and/or rarefied knocking-out with rather accurately being seen relatively equal sizes and identical form holes. Traces of such type represent special value for the traceologycal research.