Burials at the End of Land - Maritime Burial Cairns and the Land-Use History of South-Western Uusimaa

Authors

• Henrik Jansson Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies University of Helsinki

Keywords:

arhcaeology, maritime areas, landscape, Bronze Age, Iron Age, burial sites, land-use

Abstract

The maritime landscape of Uusimaa has been quite an unknown territory for archaeologists up to recent years. Only the archipelago of Ekenäs in the western part of the area was surveyed extensively before the year 2002. In this article recent research is presented. The focus is on the most maritime area between Hanko in the west and Espoo in the east. The viewpoint is from the sea, meaning that the relationship between the burial cairns and the maritime environment is especially emphasized, but the larger geographical context is not forgotten, either. Another important aspect is the perspective of the landscape. How are the sites located in the landscape and what meanings can be derived from the patterns in the landscape? Questions about the chronology of erecting cairns in the maritime zone will be discussed - when did the phenomenon start, how long did it continue, and when did it end? The main question is: How do the spatial and morphological patterns of the burial sites and stray finds reflect secular land use?