Finishing up with Tulliniemi, week III

There it finally is – the last excavation week at Tulliniemi. Not only is it the last week of this field season, but also the last week of the six years of field work related to Jan Fast's dissertation. Even though I wasn't there from the very beginning, it has still been almost three long years since I struck my trowel into this familiar soil for the first time. It has been quite a ride, but as my work here is complete, I can leave in good spirits and with many warm memories along the way. However, before we reach that moment, I still want to share a few memories from the week itself!

German brass matchbox cover from our last trench.

After two weeks of excavation on the northern coast of Tulliniemi, it was now time to move a bit inland. Our task was to excavate the site of a canteen run by Lotta Svärd in the easternmost area of the German camp.

Reaching for the mystery box.

The work had already started in the previous week when a small task force had opened a few test pits in the area. While some of them had trash from a more modern era, possibly due to the closeness to the Free Port, one in particular was very intriguing. After layers of German tobacco paper, a few cans and broken glass, our task force hit a jackpot by discovering a metal box. Though our initial hopes on discovering the Ark of the Covenant were soon crushed, the box had an interesting content, as it had protected some newspaper articles that were written both in German and Swedish.

This week, we continued both by extending the test pit into a proper excavation trench and by opening up another area a bit further along the old fence-line. As both areas were rich in find and our manpower lessened over the week, I got to do with some digging as well. Along with my talented colleague Fanny Fagerholm, we finished up the first trench.

While the finds from the site were fairly similar to the ones in the past and could not be linked to the canteen itself, there were some interesting discoveries as well, including a Turku tourist mirror fragment, Mauser cartridge still in its clip and remains of some woolen clothing or a blanket. What was more interesting though, was the excavation trench itself, as the outline left by the original trash dump was so clearly visible in the sandy soil that I couldn't help but to exclaim how beautifully such simple stratigraphy appeared on the carefully dug layers. Sometimes archaeology can really be like art!

After staring at the beautiful trench for a while, it was already time to fill it up and leave Tulliniemi behind for good. However, as our field work ends, the next phase only begins and all the finds will be carefully researched for the following two years. Eventually, all the little pieces will build up a new narrative about the history of Tulliniemi, of which no one has ever heard before.

The site itself will always stay in my memories, but what I will miss the most is our wonderful excavation team. Once again these weeks have proven that a good team makes a good excavation and I will miss the moments we shared both on the field and in the evenings. But who knows, even if the work at Tulliniemi is over, the opportunities for further cooperation are not over! Work continues, as always!

Some of  hundreds of field ration cans organized and counted by Fanny.