Archaeological research in the Saimaa district and in the Karelian Isthmus in 1992–1999
Abstract
The River Vuoksi connects Lake Saimaa and Lake Ladoga. It has been the outlet for the Lake Saimaa water system since the 4th millennium BC, thus from the Early/Middle Neolithic. This water connection has been given central importance when tracing cultural influences between the Karelian Isthmus and South-East Finland. It seems evident that the Karelian Isthmus was also a central passage transmitting impulses to Finland from east and south-east since the Early Holocene. This is one of the central results of the long-term archaeological work in the Lake Saimaa area.
The purpose of this article is to introduce the background of the Saimaa-Ladoga project by presenting the results of the large scale archaeological work made in the Ancient Lake Saimaa area. This is because central methodology, many basic objectives and viewpoints of the Ancient Lake Saimaa project have been transferred only with small changes to the fieldwork in the Karelian Isthmus. In the article, the most important concepts and their meanings are discussed. Also the role of the history of Lake Saimaa as a water basin is briefly discussed, because it is essential when trying to understand the basic assumptions of the Ancient Lake Saimaa project. The research history of the Lake Saimaa area and the questions and results obtained in the project are still in the main role.
The Department of Archaeology at the University of Helsinki has carried out several research projects particularly in the southern part of Lake Saimaa since the early 1990s in co-operation with the National Board of Antiquities and the Savonlinna Provincial Museum. The surveys have increased information and uncovered hundreds of new sites. Surveys and excavations have brought knowledge of sites dating to different prehistoric periods. Excavations at different sites from different periods have been central in receiving knowledge about dwellings and settlement history. In total, the picture of the prehistory in the area has essentially changed as a result of the archaeological activity.
The investigations in the Saimaa area have been important also in developing survey and excavation methods in Finnish archaeology. Research carried out in the Saimaa area is a kind of prelude for the natural step forward to extend studies to the Russian side of the contemporary border.
