Discovering Local Heritage

While our excavations at Savukoski are proceeding at their own pace and our apartment is getting filled with finds, these weekends between the workdays have also been fairly fruitful. As I'm always eager to discover new things and explore my surroundings, I haven't been able to stay still, and instead I've spent my free days roaming in the nature documenting archaeological and historical sites.

WWII fighting positions on top of a hill.
My interest in documenting local heritage sites awoke already on the very first day, when I took a walk around our neighborhood in Savukoski and noticed that there were a plenty of WWII fortifications that we're not yet added into the online database of Finnish heritage sites. While walking among the collapsed dugouts and trenches, I took out my camera and started to document everything I saw from collapsed dugouts to trenches filled with trash.

As I continued my expeditions deeper into the surrounding forests, I soon realized how much there was still waiting to be documented in between all the fells and bogs, and how such sites were slowly decaying away without anyone noticing. I also realized that it was often the locals, who knew the best about various sites hidden in the woods.

Carving by a Soviet partisan.
After a single post into the Savukoski Facebook group, it soon felt like I had opened the flood gates, as suddenly I got more and more tips about various sites around the municipality ranging from Stone Age trapping pits to houses burnt by Germans during the WWII. One lady even volunteered to show me around various sites on the shores of Seitajärvi and Värriöjärvi lakes, during which I managed to document dozens of previously undocumented sites.

I might write later more on my expeditions and the interesting history of Savukoski, but it's already worth mentioning, that such experiences are once again a great reminder of how important it is for researchers and local communities to work hand in hand. A little bit of local history often makes our work not only more productive, but also much more rewarding.

If you discover an archaeological site, don't hesitate to contact the Finnish Heritage Agency. It might take a while for them to react on new discoveries, but as long as the tip is added onto their to-do list, the site will eventually be documented and included as a part of our cultural heritage.
Location: Savukoski, Suomi

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