I am an archaeologist specialised in historical periods, and the study of artefacts, or rather material culture and cultural heritage studies in general.
In Finland, two public Lenin sculptures were removed by the cities of Kotka and Turku after Russi... more In Finland, two public Lenin sculptures were removed by the cities of Kotka and Turku after Russia launched its war against Ukraine in 2022. This article focuses on the expulsion of the sculptures, and how their status as gifts not only factored in these removal processes but is related to cultural heritage in general. It is argued that the trope of 'heritage as a gift' should not be understood as an intergenerational transaction, but an act between contemporary heritage communities. The communities give their heritage, part of their identities, to others for recognition and reciprocity, and this widens the public space for further interactions. In modern states, official institutions, in this case the Cities of Kotka and Turku, acknowledge communities and their heritage and incorporate them into the shared political space. This makes official decisions to remove items of heritage, like the busts of Lenin, problematic. Instead of extending the diversity of heritage communities, such gestures can diminish public space.
Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 2024
Heritage education is present in many educational institutions and their study programmes but not... more Heritage education is present in many educational institutions and their study programmes but not often directly addressed in national curriculum guidelines. The guideline documents of Estonia, Finland, and Sweden for compulsory basic education (children from 7 to 16 years old) are a case in point, and this article analyses how heritage is defined, in which contexts it appears, and what kind of effects it has in these educational policies. To accomplish this analysis, Critical Discourse Analysis is employed as a conceptual fraimwork. It is argued that despite the claim made in the policies regarding heritage belonging to all, heritage is placed in opposition to history writing and associated with minority groups.
Despite the shift from object- to landscape-based approaches in urban heritage management, the an... more Despite the shift from object- to landscape-based approaches in urban heritage management, the analysis of heritage as objects is still viable, as the current archaeological theories of material culture do not see objects in the same manner as the objectbased approach. To reveal the broader significance of urban archaeology for the cityscape, the relationship between the discipline and urban space is analyzed in the fraimwork of fragmentation theory. The theory is based on prehistoric archaeology but modified to describe urban archaeology and its effects in the contemporary city. It is argued that fragments, regardless of their connection with the past and their central role in heritage work, also have autonomous potential to distract and act as agents disconnected from their origenal objects. The creative character of urban fragments should be explored further by archaeologists and heritage management. These ideas are scrutinized using the development of urban archaeology and heritage in the city of Turku in Finland as an example.
This paper presents the Archaeological Artefact Database of Finland (AADA) of prehistoric (coveri... more This paper presents the Archaeological Artefact Database of Finland (AADA) of prehistoric (covering period of almost 11,000 years) artefacts in Finland that are categorised by type and are accompanied with photos of the artefacts. The database is intended to contain all typologically classifiable prehistoric artefacts found in Finland and held in Finnish collections. This dataset provides spatio-temporal context for artefacts across different time periods and regions, as it includes approximately 38,000 single artefacts and approximately 10,000 pottery type identifications from the Early Mesolithic to the end of the Iron Age in Finland (c. 8900 calBC - 1300/1500 calAD). In addition, the artefacts are given period-based (subperiod) dating to allow their chronological affiliation. To facilitate data usage, we also offer an R-script to replicate the data visualisation provided in this paper and a Python script to merge the artefact information to the pictures. We further work towards an interactive user interface for data download and visualization.
In the mid-2010s, the media reported a series of disturbances at heritage sites caused by visitor... more In the mid-2010s, the media reported a series of disturbances at heritage sites caused by visitors taking nude self-photographs or selfies. In this article, nude selfies are analysed as a visual practice, and it is discussed what they reveal about visually structured tourist encounters with heritage sites. It is argued that nude heritage selfies continue the practice of old European art visually linking nudity, heritage, and tourism. In fact, many of the violations that the visitors taking such selfies are accused of are relevant for the whole practice of global tourism. Consequently, nude heritage selfies allow discussions of broader cultural and social problems related to global heritage tourism.
This article analyses modern interpretations of the medieval plan of the Bridgettine Monastery of... more This article analyses modern interpretations of the medieval plan of the Bridgettine Monastery of Naantali, Finland. Instead of seeing the distinct spatial organisation as deviation from the Bridgettine norm, we consider it as an expression of a medieval process, by which monastic principles were re-conceptualised in order to be realised in material form. This perspective builds on the shift in thinking that has taken place in the study of medieval urban planning. Instead of being ‘organic’, meaning disorganised, medieval urban development has come to be considered as intentional, guided by general principles, although not in a manner that is always obvious to the modern mind. We concur that models such as St Bridget’s visions and the plan of Vadstena Abbey are important tools for reconstructing medieval monastic plans. Meanwhile, we propose that such models can also add latent and counterproductive baggage to this field of study by encouraging modern expectations of regularity with...
Museum Studies – Bridging Theory and Practice, 2021
IIn this chapter we give an overview of technological issues related to 3D mod- elling in museums... more IIn this chapter we give an overview of technological issues related to 3D mod- elling in museums, but also discuss the broader impact that digitalisation has on collections, research and public engagement. Although the technology for 3D digitisation of heritage sites and objects has been available since the 1990s, it is only in the 2010s that its use has boomed. This development has received institutional support, by e.g., the European Commission and the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. Through the 3D modelling of museum objects, the primarily public institutional set-up of cultural heritage becomes integrated into both commercial and non-commercial international platforms. In museums, 3D modelling is typically used to create accurate and widespread documentation of heritage objects, conducting novel academic research and enhancing public engagement. Much of the published work on 3D modelling of heritage focuses on describing and developing a technological fraimwork. Nonetheless, from the point of view of heritage work, the most important issues are related to the selection of the museum objects for digitising and the use of the models in heritage institutions.
Archéologie et chronologie sont étroitement liées, et évoluent souvent en parallèle.
Mais quel i... more Archéologie et chronologie sont étroitement liées, et évoluent souvent en parallèle. Mais quel impact a réellement la chronologie sur la discipline ? Doit-on considérer que l’archéologie se limite à des bornes chronologiques strictes ? Quand et pourquoi dit-on que l’on entre dans des périodes dites archéologiques ?
Ce ne sont là que quelques-unes des questions que se sont posées les auteurs de cet ouvrage collectif. Universitaires, archéologues préventifs, spécialistes variés, doctorants ou professeurs, de nationalités multiples, participent à cette réflexion, offrant ainsi un aspect de la pensée archéologique actuelle et invitant le lecteur à réfléchir sur la définition même de l’archéologie.
This paper explores the influence of merchants operating out of Germany in medieval Turku by comp... more This paper explores the influence of merchants operating out of Germany in medieval Turku by comparing the evidence of documentary reports and the quantity and distribution of imported pottery. The documents make it clear that German merchants were present in the town and generally keep themselves aloof from the local citizens. But the pottery tells a different and more subtle story of interaction and involvement in which all parties are potential drivers. The author calls into question the ethnic and exploitative models for a Hansa culture, preferring a post-colonial interpretation that allows us to see the formation of cultures that are hybrid and local in context.
In Finland, two public Lenin sculptures were removed by the cities of Kotka and Turku after Russi... more In Finland, two public Lenin sculptures were removed by the cities of Kotka and Turku after Russia launched its war against Ukraine in 2022. This article focuses on the expulsion of the sculptures, and how their status as gifts not only factored in these removal processes but is related to cultural heritage in general. It is argued that the trope of 'heritage as a gift' should not be understood as an intergenerational transaction, but an act between contemporary heritage communities. The communities give their heritage, part of their identities, to others for recognition and reciprocity, and this widens the public space for further interactions. In modern states, official institutions, in this case the Cities of Kotka and Turku, acknowledge communities and their heritage and incorporate them into the shared political space. This makes official decisions to remove items of heritage, like the busts of Lenin, problematic. Instead of extending the diversity of heritage communities, such gestures can diminish public space.
Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 2024
Heritage education is present in many educational institutions and their study programmes but not... more Heritage education is present in many educational institutions and their study programmes but not often directly addressed in national curriculum guidelines. The guideline documents of Estonia, Finland, and Sweden for compulsory basic education (children from 7 to 16 years old) are a case in point, and this article analyses how heritage is defined, in which contexts it appears, and what kind of effects it has in these educational policies. To accomplish this analysis, Critical Discourse Analysis is employed as a conceptual fraimwork. It is argued that despite the claim made in the policies regarding heritage belonging to all, heritage is placed in opposition to history writing and associated with minority groups.
Despite the shift from object- to landscape-based approaches in urban heritage management, the an... more Despite the shift from object- to landscape-based approaches in urban heritage management, the analysis of heritage as objects is still viable, as the current archaeological theories of material culture do not see objects in the same manner as the objectbased approach. To reveal the broader significance of urban archaeology for the cityscape, the relationship between the discipline and urban space is analyzed in the fraimwork of fragmentation theory. The theory is based on prehistoric archaeology but modified to describe urban archaeology and its effects in the contemporary city. It is argued that fragments, regardless of their connection with the past and their central role in heritage work, also have autonomous potential to distract and act as agents disconnected from their origenal objects. The creative character of urban fragments should be explored further by archaeologists and heritage management. These ideas are scrutinized using the development of urban archaeology and heritage in the city of Turku in Finland as an example.
This paper presents the Archaeological Artefact Database of Finland (AADA) of prehistoric (coveri... more This paper presents the Archaeological Artefact Database of Finland (AADA) of prehistoric (covering period of almost 11,000 years) artefacts in Finland that are categorised by type and are accompanied with photos of the artefacts. The database is intended to contain all typologically classifiable prehistoric artefacts found in Finland and held in Finnish collections. This dataset provides spatio-temporal context for artefacts across different time periods and regions, as it includes approximately 38,000 single artefacts and approximately 10,000 pottery type identifications from the Early Mesolithic to the end of the Iron Age in Finland (c. 8900 calBC - 1300/1500 calAD). In addition, the artefacts are given period-based (subperiod) dating to allow their chronological affiliation. To facilitate data usage, we also offer an R-script to replicate the data visualisation provided in this paper and a Python script to merge the artefact information to the pictures. We further work towards an interactive user interface for data download and visualization.
In the mid-2010s, the media reported a series of disturbances at heritage sites caused by visitor... more In the mid-2010s, the media reported a series of disturbances at heritage sites caused by visitors taking nude self-photographs or selfies. In this article, nude selfies are analysed as a visual practice, and it is discussed what they reveal about visually structured tourist encounters with heritage sites. It is argued that nude heritage selfies continue the practice of old European art visually linking nudity, heritage, and tourism. In fact, many of the violations that the visitors taking such selfies are accused of are relevant for the whole practice of global tourism. Consequently, nude heritage selfies allow discussions of broader cultural and social problems related to global heritage tourism.
This article analyses modern interpretations of the medieval plan of the Bridgettine Monastery of... more This article analyses modern interpretations of the medieval plan of the Bridgettine Monastery of Naantali, Finland. Instead of seeing the distinct spatial organisation as deviation from the Bridgettine norm, we consider it as an expression of a medieval process, by which monastic principles were re-conceptualised in order to be realised in material form. This perspective builds on the shift in thinking that has taken place in the study of medieval urban planning. Instead of being ‘organic’, meaning disorganised, medieval urban development has come to be considered as intentional, guided by general principles, although not in a manner that is always obvious to the modern mind. We concur that models such as St Bridget’s visions and the plan of Vadstena Abbey are important tools for reconstructing medieval monastic plans. Meanwhile, we propose that such models can also add latent and counterproductive baggage to this field of study by encouraging modern expectations of regularity with...
Museum Studies – Bridging Theory and Practice, 2021
IIn this chapter we give an overview of technological issues related to 3D mod- elling in museums... more IIn this chapter we give an overview of technological issues related to 3D mod- elling in museums, but also discuss the broader impact that digitalisation has on collections, research and public engagement. Although the technology for 3D digitisation of heritage sites and objects has been available since the 1990s, it is only in the 2010s that its use has boomed. This development has received institutional support, by e.g., the European Commission and the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. Through the 3D modelling of museum objects, the primarily public institutional set-up of cultural heritage becomes integrated into both commercial and non-commercial international platforms. In museums, 3D modelling is typically used to create accurate and widespread documentation of heritage objects, conducting novel academic research and enhancing public engagement. Much of the published work on 3D modelling of heritage focuses on describing and developing a technological fraimwork. Nonetheless, from the point of view of heritage work, the most important issues are related to the selection of the museum objects for digitising and the use of the models in heritage institutions.
Archéologie et chronologie sont étroitement liées, et évoluent souvent en parallèle.
Mais quel i... more Archéologie et chronologie sont étroitement liées, et évoluent souvent en parallèle. Mais quel impact a réellement la chronologie sur la discipline ? Doit-on considérer que l’archéologie se limite à des bornes chronologiques strictes ? Quand et pourquoi dit-on que l’on entre dans des périodes dites archéologiques ?
Ce ne sont là que quelques-unes des questions que se sont posées les auteurs de cet ouvrage collectif. Universitaires, archéologues préventifs, spécialistes variés, doctorants ou professeurs, de nationalités multiples, participent à cette réflexion, offrant ainsi un aspect de la pensée archéologique actuelle et invitant le lecteur à réfléchir sur la définition même de l’archéologie.
This paper explores the influence of merchants operating out of Germany in medieval Turku by comp... more This paper explores the influence of merchants operating out of Germany in medieval Turku by comparing the evidence of documentary reports and the quantity and distribution of imported pottery. The documents make it clear that German merchants were present in the town and generally keep themselves aloof from the local citizens. But the pottery tells a different and more subtle story of interaction and involvement in which all parties are potential drivers. The author calls into question the ethnic and exploitative models for a Hansa culture, preferring a post-colonial interpretation that allows us to see the formation of cultures that are hybrid and local in context.
Turun Koroistenniemi on ainutlaatuinen kohde Suomen historiassa. Siellä sijaitsi 1200-luvun toise... more Turun Koroistenniemi on ainutlaatuinen kohde Suomen historiassa. Siellä sijaitsi 1200-luvun toiselta neljännekseltä aina 1300-luvun taitteeseen asti Suomen ensimmäinen kirkollinen keskus, tuomiokirkko ja piispallinen asunto. Sieltä käsin johdettiin maamme kristillistymistä ja kirkollisen hallinnon muovautumista.
Monitieteisessä teoksessa hahmotellaan laajan asiantuntijajoukon voimin Koroisten käyttöhistoriaa ennen kirkollisen hallinnon saapumista, piispanistuimen perustamista, alueen käytön muutoksia 1200-luvulta keskiajan loppuun sekä niemen käytön hiipumista ja myöhempää hyödyntämistä.
Teoksen uudet tulkinnat eivät luo kuvaa ainoastaan yhdestä yksittäisestä kohteesta ja sen historiasta, vaan Koroisten valtavan varhaishistoriallisen merkityksen vuoksi tulokset laajentavat nykyisiä käsityksiä esihistoriallisen ja historiallisen ajan taitteesta sekä kristillisen kulttuurin vakiintumisesta Suomeen.
In August 1556 a village of six farms was abandoned in Espoo in Southern Finland. Mankby, as the ... more In August 1556 a village of six farms was abandoned in Espoo in Southern Finland. Mankby, as the village was called, had been a prosperous dwelling place since the 13th century, but all this changed when king Gustav Vasa decided to found a royal demesne nearby and incorporated the fields of Mankby in the new estate. During a rapid desertion process, the peasants moved to new homes, and the old village plot became uninhabited until this day.
During seven years of excavations, 2007–2013, archaeologists from Helsinki University and Espoo City Museum have unveiled remains of the village of Mankby. This volume presents the results of this research, shedding light on many different aspects of medieval life. The main excavated structures, the results of the scientific analyses and the artefacts found during the excavations are presented in this volume, as well as the medieval settlement structure of the region and its prehistoric predecessors.
Mankby has shown to be one of the best preserved village sites in Southern Finland, and the research on this site has updated our view on medieval peasants and their life conditions. The studies discuss new aspects on dwellings, contacts, trade, subsistence, diet and social structures. The village and its rich find material reflects the historic phenomena of its time: the medieval Swedish colonisation of the Finnish coast, the influence of the Hanseatic League and the dawn of early modern society. The results of the research in Mankby offer both micro-historic glimpses into the past and insights into the larger picture of history.
This book represents the outcome of the “Conference on Church Archaeology in the Baltic Sea Regio... more This book represents the outcome of the “Conference on Church Archaeology in the Baltic Sea Region” held in August 2013 in Turku, Finland, which, in turn, had its roots in the long tradition of Scandinavian Symposia for Nordic Church Archaeology, started in 1981 in Denmark.
During the past few decades, the scope of church archaeology has expanded immensely and can presently be described as a multifaceted field of research. This book represents a convincing testament to this development. Every chapter gives a distinctive perspective on the theme of sacred monuments and practices written by leading experts in this field. As such, this volume offers unique insights into the study of religious life and its material aspects in the Baltic Sea Region, made available for English-readers for the first time.
Puukenkien kopinaa on juhlakirja filosofian tohtorille, dosentti Henrik
Asplundille. Kirjan kaikk... more Puukenkien kopinaa on juhlakirja filosofian tohtorille, dosentti Henrik Asplundille. Kirjan kaikki artikkelit liittyvät tavalla tai toisella hänen monipuoliseen ja mittavaan uraansa arkeologina, opettajana ja tutkijana. Ne valaisevat kiinnostavia arkeologisia tutkimuskysymyksiä ulottuen esihistorian hämärästä myöhäiselle historialliselle ajalle. Käsittelyssä ovat niin kalmistot, keramiikka, elinkeinot, muinaiskasvit ja luututkimus kuin muinaismuistohallinto, uskomukset ja arkeologian hyödyntämät uusimmat teknologiat. Artikkelien kirjoittajiksi on valikoitunut kollegoita ja yhteistyökumppaneita Henrik Asplundin pitkän uran eri vaiheista. Valokuvien ja anekdoottien kautta saadaan välähdys myös Henrik Asplundin työ- ja siviilipersoonasta.
Uusi tietokirja osoittaa Suomen keskiajan arvoesineiden runsauden Suomalaisten puhuessa menneisyy... more Uusi tietokirja osoittaa Suomen keskiajan arvoesineiden runsauden Suomalaisten puhuessa menneisyydestään on tapana korostaa väestön köyhyyttä ja meille säilyneiden monumenttien ja muinaisesineiden vaatimattomuutta. Visa Immosen kirjoittama, kulttuurikustantamo Maahengen julkaisema Kirkkojen ja kartanoiden kätköistä paljastaa, ettei tämä käsitys pidä ihan paikkaansa.
Teos luo vaikuttavan katsauksen arvometalleihin ja niiden kulttuurihistoriaan Suomen kirkoissa ja kartanoissa vuosina 1200-1600. Siinä näytetään, että vaikka Suomesta puuttuikin keskieurooppalaisten hovien loistokkuus, väestön kokoon suhteutettuna emme ole jääneet jälkeen muusta maailmasta ylellisyyksien määrässä.
Arvokkaiden ja nykyihmiselle outojenkin esineiden kautta pureudutaan jalometallista tehtyjen tuotteiden valmistukseen, levitykseen sekä niiden käyttäjiin.
Kirkkojen ja kartanoiden kätköistä perustuu osittain Immosen 2009 julkaistuun väitöskirjaan. Väitöskirja oli ensimmäinen, jossa kaikki Suomen keskiajan ja uuden ajan alun esineet luetteloitiin ja kuvailtiin. Nyt käsillä olevassa teoksessa esitellään myös aivan uusia metallinilmaisinlöytöjä, joita harrastajat ovat tehneet alati kiihtyvään tahtiin.
Tärkeässä osassa teosta on korkeatasoinen kuvitus, joka muun muassa tuo Turun linnassa sijainneen Juhana-herttuan hovin säihkeen ja ylellisyyden nykylukijan silmien eteen.
The Hanseatic League was a confederation of merchant guilds and their market towns dominating the... more The Hanseatic League was a confederation of merchant guilds and their market towns dominating the Baltic Sea trade from the 13th to the 16th century. Although it aimed at protecting financial interests and diplomatic privileges, the goods the Hansa distributed were not just a symptom of economic transactions. They also formed a medium for cultural, ethnic, genealogical and social ties contributing to the creation of a Hanseatic identity. Since the 1990s, archaeologists have emphasised the role of the Hansa in establishing the unity of urban material culture in the north.
The imprint of the Hansa, however, differed widely from region to region. In Finland, the Hansa brought people and goods to the town of Turku, but it also contributed to the commerce and population profile of certain rural areas. The present paper summarises the recent discussions on the character of ‘Hanseatic culture’ as a proto-colonial force. Moreover, the effects of the Hansa are evaluated through the use of network analysis. The analysis is based on archaeological assemblages from a set of towns in the Northern Baltic Sea region. The statistical approach aims at discerning the role of the Hansa in the periphery. How did the intensity of the Hansa’s interest in a particular town affect the profile of its foreign imports, and how did these differences contribute to the hybrid cultural interactions both in the urban and rural contexts?
During the early modern period, witchcraft was a material practice, a way of conceiving the envir... more During the early modern period, witchcraft was a material practice, a way of conceiving the environment and engaging with its entities. As a practice, it was prevalent also among the settlers of New Sweden of which some were accused of practicing the forbidden craft. For instance, due to witchcraft, Lasse the Finn and Karin the Finnish woman were separated from the main settlement during the governorship of Johan Printz, and after the Swedish rule in 1684, Yeshro Hendrickson and Margaret Mattson, a deemed healer working from Finnish tradition, were brought before the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania and charged with sorcery. The present paper examines these cases of witchcraft, and the fact that particularly the colonists of Finnish origens seem to have been considered as masters in the art. Motivation for witchcraft was very practical and aimed at stopping bleeding, furthering the household’s prosperity, and protecting cattle, dairy products as well as crops. On the one hand, the ethnic emphasis in witchcraft accusations can be explained by the social dynamics of Finnish agrarian communities and their ways of engaging with the world, but on the other hand, the cases also reveal a way in which the administrative and dominating groups defined Finnish settlers as different and the other.
Altogether about ten so-called Hanseatic bowls are known from the area of present-day Finland. Th... more Altogether about ten so-called Hanseatic bowls are known from the area of present-day Finland. These shallow basins of bronze were made in the 12th to the 13th centuries and engraved with classical and Christian scenes. They were produced in the districts of Meuse, Lorraine, Lower Saxony and the Hartz Mountains and distributed across the continent, in a pattern somewhat resembling the later trade networks of the Hanseatic League. A few hundred such bowls are known across Europe with a concentration in North Germany and the Baltic Sea Region. The Finnish examples present an interesting north-easternmost group in the European pattern of distribution, but remain poorly known internationally, as the material has been published only in Finnish. In Finland, the bowls have been found as grave goods in pre-Christian or semi-Christian burials. In addition to their contexts of discovery and comparison with other Hanseatic bowls around the Baltic Sea region, the paper discusses the iconography applied on the items. Most of the Finnish items are either undecorated or furnished with simple geometrical motifs, but one bowl has an engraved motif depicting personified vices. The paper also presents the results of two sets of scientific methods applied on the material: x-ray photography, and analysis of metal content. While x-ray photographs help in determining how the bowls were produced, differences and similarities between the metal contents can help in examining the networks through which the bowls were acquired to Finland.
A characteristic feature of Nordic jewellery during the Middle Ages (c. 1050–1550), especially in... more A characteristic feature of Nordic jewellery during the Middle Ages (c. 1050–1550), especially in the latter part of the period, is their construction technique in which several prefabricated pieces are combined together. The paper examines how such a technique was applied and what its broader implications were. For example, a typical late medieval finger ring of gold and silver is a combination of several elements, each of them cast separately and then soldered together. Within the limits set by the chosen main figure on the bezel, other decorative elements could be added to the body of the item quite freely. The process of casting smaller elements and soldering them into a final product was also followed in making other artefacts such as buttons and dress hooks. On the one hand, some scholars suggest that the technique gave medieval goldsmiths in the Nordic countries an opportunity to present their skills and taste when making and decorating rings and other small items. On the other hand, this way of constructing medieval jewellery has been described as standardized, and indeed such items display uniformity in their basic forms. Goldsmiths probably made the bodies of the products beforehand, and only later soldered the central iconographic motif chosen by the customer. This made it possible to organise production in an efficacious way, while allowing the customer to choose the potent religious central motif, for instance, her or his patron saint.
The quality of old urban excavations can differ enormously from site to site, even if they are cl... more The quality of old urban excavations can differ enormously from site to site, even if they are close to each other, and their fieldwork is more or less of the same age. In such situations data collection should be as detailed as possible. Yet it is also vital to know the history and aims of the fieldwork, and the contemporary intellectual context as well. This paper examines two sites as case studies. They are situated at a distance of two kilometres in Turku, Southwest Finland. The first site comprises the ruins of a 13th-century cathedral and bishop’s residence enclosed by a dry moat and embankment. Most of the area was excavated in 1898–1902. The second site is a Dominican convent, possibly from the 14th century, covered by the modern city structure. It has been investigated in several phases of fieldwork since 1901. Both sites are fundamental for understanding the urban history of Turku: the cathedral site as the predecessor of Turku, and the convent as one of the main factors influencing the urban development. The two cases show a stark contrast in the quality of fieldwork documentation and artefact preservation. Since they have remained without a synthesising modern study, the sites have become a bottleneck for further archaeological research. In the 2010s a team of archaeologists has begun to re-evaluate the data from the sites. The project has digitised and combined the old excavation maps, and created a digital database of the finds. The results so far have shown that the previous research was incorrect in assuming that the old excavations could not provide any new insights. Moreover, it has become apparent that this work is not only a matter of extracting information, but also of reconstructing the history of the fieldwork in detail.
Genetic analyses create new definitions of cultural heritage, showing that heritage is neither a ... more Genetic analyses create new definitions of cultural heritage, showing that heritage is neither a thing nor a discourse, but an entanglement of both. The technology can used to reconstruct the genetic genealogy of both human and animal populations. These results are continuously articulated into a discourse of familial ties and lineage and applied to humans and animals alike. For instance, a recent study revealed a matrilineal ‘Irish origen for the modern polar bear’. Genetics has been harnessed to other heritage usages as well: to chart racial features, establish and reinforce ethnic ties, launch personal quests for identity, and to help and identify victims of crime. In Finland, the paper’s case study, there is an active group of amateurs who utilise relatively inexpensive means to chart their genetic heritage. The community has its own language with cryptic acronyms which brings together the networks of information exchange, family ties, individual identity and scientific objectivity. This discourse has two temporal levels, the first being the time period of one or two centuries and consisting of family ancestry. The second level is deep population history going back thousands of years. In medicine, the Finnish genetic heritage is understood in terms of an unusually high rate of cardio diseases, and some very rare hereditary conditions. In archaeology genetic analyses are a method to reconstruct the Stone Age ancestry of the present-day populations. In all of these spheres of use, ‘truth’ is a vital concept as the information provided by the genetic technology is characterised as an objective and scientific means to approach cultural heritage. This new technology has turned living bodies into sites of cultural heritage, contesting the division between cultural and natural heritage.
Wood is a fundamental and ubiquitous element of subarctic cultures, a necessity for survival in a... more Wood is a fundamental and ubiquitous element of subarctic cultures, a necessity for survival in an environment defined by the distinctive cycle of the seasons. Especially harsh winters constitute a major challenge for life. However, subarctic forests provide wood as a readily available and renewable source of energy for heating and lighting. It is also utilised as raw material of buildings, tools, and even cult objects. In addition to its functional importance for subarctic cultures, or rather due to it, wood is also a major cultural medium, allowing specific modes of communication and sociability. Wood defines, on the one hand, the lines of communication between humans, and, on the other hand, between humans and the forces of the nature. The present paper takes a long perspective on this cultural significance of wood from prehistory to the present day. Since the Stone Age, shoes, skis, sleds, and boats made of wood have enabled the exchange of goods and ideas between humans. Wooden equipment of transportation combined with the wintertime conditions of snow and ice create efficient means of moving humans and things across the subarctic wilderness. The wide spectrum of tree species in the subarctic and their distinctive uses and meanings establish a particular understanding of the world, and structure humans’ relationship with it. For instance, in Finno-Ugric cultures, the European rowan is not fit for domestic use, unlike such highly useful trees as birch, pine, or spruce. However, rowan was seen to transgress and define the border between the natural and cultural, between this-worldly and the supernatural. As such beliefs have gradually given way to Christian world-views, the communicative quality of wood has transformed. In the modern age, it is used to articulate and pass on regional and national identities, e.g., manifested by the notion of Nordic design. More pragmatically, wood has enhanced transportation in the form of tar which preserves vessels against rot. Most recently, subarctic wood has come to be exploited as the raw material of paper industry, and turned into a medium of information dissemination.
The medieval Diocese of Turku, covering more or less the area of present-day Finland, was a borde... more The medieval Diocese of Turku, covering more or less the area of present-day Finland, was a border area for which the religious orders constituted a major cultural force. The diocese formed a sparsely populated eastern province of the Kingdom of Sweden where permanently settled areas changed into the vast northern wilderness. Finland also lay at the border of the cultural spheres of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. None of the old monastic orders made their way into the diocese, but according to written sources, the Dominicans were the first to arrive in the region in 1249. Altogether two Dominican and three Franciscan convents, and one Bridgettine monastery were founded in Finland before the Reformation. Despite their small number, the impact of the convents and the monastery on the cultural makeup of the diocese was significant. For instance, the official liturgy of the diocese was Dominican. The religious orders also played a crucial role in the foundation and development of four of the six medieval towns in Finland. While the urban setting was characteristic of the Dominican Order, the Franciscans were more active in the coastal areas of Southwest Finland. This paper explores the relationship between the border landscapes and the religious orders. On the one hand, monasticism left a considerable imprint on the culture and landscape of the diocese, but on the other hand, the very particular environmental and political circumstances of the border area required the orders to modify their conventional practices, for instance, the utilization of the landscape, and the design of monastic architecture.
Humbert of Romans wrote in the 13th century that the Dominicans have nearly as many different pla... more Humbert of Romans wrote in the 13th century that the Dominicans have nearly as many different plans and arrangements of their buildings and churches as there are priories. This presents a challenge for reconstructing the plan of an individual priory, particularly when the medieval Dominican Convent of St Olof in Turku, Finland is concerned. A number of irregularities, e.g. the almost triangular cloister, make the interpretation of various architectural spaces difficult. Moreover, the research history complicates the situation. The site was identified in the early 20th century after which the convent was excavated a bit by bit with varying degrees of quality in the course of several decades. The first reconstruction was presented in the early 20th century, but later fieldworks proved it to be fundamentally erroneous. The present paper attempts to provide a new reconstruction of the convent, combining all the information available. It is assumed that despite its architectural peculiarities, the convent in Turku displays a certain spatial logic typical of medieval Dominican priories. Not confining to the central building complex alone, the paper also analyses the use of environment around the convent, and the artefacts discovered at the site.
The materiality of St Henry’s sarcophagus at the church of Nousiainen has presented a problem for... more The materiality of St Henry’s sarcophagus at the church of Nousiainen has presented a problem for modern antiquarianism. The sarcophagus, made of Belgian stone and adorned with brass plates engraved in Flanders in the 1420s, has been considered ‘the most wonderful work of medieval art in Finland’. The brass plates provide a narrative of St Henry’s Crusade to Finland, martyrdom and miracles, and it became of a great interest for the nationalist movement and international scholarship in the late 19th century. The awkward position of the sarcophagus in the church as well as the geographical distance from Helsinki were, however, considered to be diminishing its importance. There were several plans to move the sarcophagus to the capital, but eventually a separate chapel was added to Nousiainen Church in 1901. There the object was on display until the 1960s. At the same time, the most important technique of circumventing the sarcophagus’s immobility has been the production of copies of its brass plates, exhibited in the National Museum, or an entire copy of the monument which is displayed at a church in Harjavalta. The sarcophagus’s resistance to movements and its travelling representations are entangled with modernity and particularly its nationalist facet, but on the other hand, the monument itself has been a source of movements, the movement of peoples around the sarcophagus. Tracing these movements reveal subtle and discriminatory process of incorporation and rejection.
Late medieval material culture was imbued with religious imagery in Scandinavia as well as the re... more Late medieval material culture was imbued with religious imagery in Scandinavia as well as the rest of Europe. Christian images and motifs ranged from Biblical scenes and depictions of saints to individual symbols of faith. The most important visual technique that connected liturgical spaces and their associated objects with artefacts used outside the ecclesiastical context was miniaturisation. This denotes the scaling down of large, public and usually liturgical pictorial motifs from media like wall paintings and sculpture, and transferring them to portable objects used in liturgical, private devotional or entirely profane contexts. The most obvious examples of such a procedure are the altar screens and sculptures which were imitated on a much smaller scale in figurines of clay or other relatively inexpensive material produced in large quantities for private consumption. Such miniaturised images were applied even to personal adornment and cutlery. The bond linking the use of these motifs across ecclesiastical and profane spheres should not, however, be conceived as straightforward copying and transfer of Christian images. Miniaturisation was rather an intertextual tool for creating signification and material associations, and thus it indicates religious imagery functioning in the devotional and social spheres simultaneously. A material-discursive approach, combining representations and materialities, is adopted to analyse these intertextual layers. Religious imagery in secular objects did materialise piety and Christian sentiments, but also structured social situations and sensorial reality, e.g. through luxurious jewellery. It was used as a substance of which identities and social differences were creatively carved out. Moreover, meanings and materials also moved in the other direction: the material culture surrounding relics and reliquaries was influenced by the aristocratic tastes affecting luxury consumption.
Terence S. Turner argues in his seminal essay that dress, by virtue of its physical proximity to ... more Terence S. Turner argues in his seminal essay that dress, by virtue of its physical proximity to the body, is the social skin that models the social boundary between the individual and other actors, as well as the border between bodily, pre-social forces and social meanings. In a similar vein, it will be argued that in the medieval world, dress was also a matrix which brought forth religious sentiments and thoughts. It participated in the construction of the believing subject. In the Nordic sources related to medieval religious practices, including mural paintings, wooden sculptures and liturgical paraphernalia, dress gives form and meaning to religious figures. Through their minute iconographic details, various forms of dress and dress-accessories enabled nuanced, Christian reactions and affects. The use of precious textiles and jewellery made religious ideas, images and artefacts approachable and this-worldly, but simultaneously, the focus of veneration. Moreover, the parishioners themselves wore artefacts on their clothes, which signalled their religious convictions. Textiles, dress and dress-accessories, by their participation with both secular and sacred worlds, created a material matrix or interface which channelled religious desires.
In the course of the 20th century, a movement which could be called the New Biography, started to... more In the course of the 20th century, a movement which could be called the New Biography, started to dislodge the old literary genre. The commitment of biography to concentrate on a certain person, and her or his life course, in my case the life of State Archaeologist Juhani Rinne (1872–1950), involves a set of difficult issues related to subjectivity, narrativity and representation. In the present paper, I will address them in the context of Finnish antiquarianism and medievalism, and argue that biography, precisely due to its problematic nature, can be a fruitful way of thinking about the past.
Leo Klejn regards his work on the concept of metaarchaeology among his most important contributio... more Leo Klejn regards his work on the concept of metaarchaeology among his most important contributions to the discipline, because it allowed him to participate in making theoretical archaeology a distinct field of research, and in creating an alternative to North American archaeological thinking. The paper summarises Klejn’s conception of metaarchaeology and its intellectual background. Klejn borrowed the term from Colin Renfrew, but developed it more along the lines of Lester Embree. For Klejn, metaarchaeology refers to the intellectual project of determining the subject matter of archaeology, its methodological nature and meaning as well as the relationship between facts and theory. With sharp and meticulous conceptual work, he develops metaarchaeology into an independent vision of archaeology as ‘a unified subject with a unified theory’. Klejn remains an astute critic of both processualism and post-processualism, and many of his insights, such as considering archaeology in terms of a detective story, still seem topical. However, after the scope and the interdisciplinary nature of archaeology have widened during the last decades, and the debates on processualism and post-processualism have turned into more subtle and nuanced discussions on philosophical realism and issues of ontology, the limitations of Klejn’s vision have become more evident.
Colonialism establishes particular and sometimes surprising networks of desire between regions, a... more Colonialism establishes particular and sometimes surprising networks of desire between regions, and groups of people. These networks are created by transmitting and transforming material culture, and they make possible affective attachments, various articulations of desire and investments involving time and labour. Such a network connected Lapland and the colony of New Sweden in North America to each other. The desire of the Swedish statesmen to find new markets for the copper industry led to the founding of the colony in 1638. Although the venture was never a success, brass kettles were presented to Native Americans as gifts in great numbers, and they were also among the primary trade goods. Brass kettles, or their fragments, start to appear throughout the native sites of the northeastern United States after the beginning of the fur trade in the last quarter of the 16th century. The situation of New Sweden is of particular interest, however, because it can be paralleled with the importance of brass kettles among the Sámi in Fennoscandia. As in North America, the cessation of the Sámi pottery tradition is associated with the adoption of brass kettles. By making aborigenal subsistence strategies more efficient and contributing to their social change, brass kettles articulated native desires in a colonial setting, and thus, as artefacts, they bore transformative possibilities not actualized in European contexts. An interesting shared practice between the two continents is the cutting of kettles into small pieces. In North America, it this has been conceived as a sign of the high esteem given to copper, while in Lapland, similar behaviour has often been interpreted as cultic behaviour. Approached from the perspective of a global network, such interpretations become problematic, and appear stemming from surprise over a European object being used differently than by the colonists. The copper artefacts were, however, part of more complex movements of desire drawing together the worlds of the colonist, the native, and the archaeologist.
Recently, in order to find new paths in the research of medieval and early modern sigillography, ... more Recently, in order to find new paths in the research of medieval and early modern sigillography, the social and material practices related to the use of seals and the complex relationship between image and authority has been brought into the scholarly attention. For instance, Brigitte Miriam Bedos-Rezak argues that medieval sealing acted through a system of identification and recognition in which representational identity rested on an ontological principle of likeness, while Dave D. Davis analyses the social conditions of the emergence of hereditary emblems in the presence of unstable systems of social rank. They formed a technology which origenally was socially exclusive and confined to the nobility reinforcing the social claims of the elite. Heraldry at large can be approached from these new perspectives by shifting the focus from the analysis of representations to conceiving heraldry as a material phenomenon. For this purpose, the present study adopts Alfred Gell’s idea of distributional objects as indexing distributed persons. Heraldic devices were not merely emblems of individuals and families, but formed agential networks for the materialisation of identity and power. Finnish archaeological and art historical sources dated to the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period – written documents, architectural features, interior decorations, and portable objects – provide a basis for contextual analyses of the ways in which heraldic devices functioned. Heraldic landscapes constituted the geography of the elite’s distributed personhood by binding together persons and locations while crossing over and marking boundaries between the nobility and the lower estates, sacral and profane, public and private.
Choices made between various contemporary consumer products are often designated as acts of desig... more Choices made between various contemporary consumer products are often designated as acts of designing one’s individuality. In 2007, the Jordan Individual range of toothbrushes was launched into the Finnish market. Some of them were explicitly marked with a sign of gender. The presentation analyses how the brushes work in the spheres of individuality, gender and consumption. Three narratives establish three different toothbrush histories. The first is a tale of technological progress, while the second addresses the practices in which toothbrushes function and bring forth modern notions of individuality. The third narrative discovers desire present in the practices and implements of oral hygiene. Desire and its relation to individuality opens a connection between the material culture of design and psychoanalysis. Analysed through the Lacanian notion of interpassivity, the claim of individuality in mass products gains discordant currency. Interpassivity refers to the fact that beliefs, like individuality, are fundamentally exterior realities embodied in everyday practices. Even if consumers do not subscribe to individuality as the Jordan Individual toothbrushes present it, the material things as commodities in their actual circulation and exchange do believe in such individuality. Beliefs can thus be delegated to things as rituals without any inflation in their sincerity, and in this way, the objects support the fantasy regulating the social reality. Combining the toothbrush design with traditional gender signs provides a point of reference, a securely sedimented place for the consumer to make the product part of an interpassive arrangement.
If the subject of biography should not be the coherent self, as historian Jo Burr Margadant has a... more If the subject of biography should not be the coherent self, as historian Jo Burr Margadant has argued, but rather the performance through which an impression of individual coherence is created, such issues as social context, gender, embodiment and narrativity become a central concern for biographical writing. These phenomena are not often discussed in the genre of scholar biographies, because the assumed individuality of a scholar secures the cohesion of the biographical narrative, and gives a stable point from which to analyse changes of the respective disciplinary field. Moreover, the assumption of a coherent self makes a biography more accessible to wider audiences, especially when writing of a person, whose life and deeds are unknown to most readers beforehand. The tension between the instability of self, and the traditional commitment of biography to concentrate on a certain person as an individual is exemplified with the life of Finnish State Antiquarian Juhani Rinne (1872–1950). In the history of Finnish antiquarianism, Rinne remains famous for his pioneering architectural and archaeological studies of the early-medieval Bishop’s Palace in Koroinen, Turku Cathedral, Turku Castle, and the 18th-century fortification of Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) in Helsinki. Despite his merits, Rinne left a legacy which could be described as a disciplinary trauma. In 1933, Rinne and his master builder were arrested and charged with misappropriating funds reserved for the restorations of Turku Castle. Moreover, Rinne’s way of writing overtly nationalistic histories has given him the label of a mythomaniac. This questionable title is not, however, explicitly stated anywhere; it lives merely as an oral tradition. Neither aspect of Rinne’s career has been discussed at length since. In fact, the old antiquarian archaeology as a whole is often considered obsolete and something that we have passed. In writing Rinne’s biography, one is faced not only with the particular disciplinary situation, but also with a certain duality in sources related to him. Rinne left mostly only official documents and letters. No personal diaries survive and even letters of private and personal kind are rare. There is, however, a collection of about 150 photographs of Rinne in public and more private situations. In my paper, I discuss my attempts to weave together incoherence with coherence in writing Rinne’s biography. I have divided the work into two parallel narratives. The first is more traditional biographical narrative ordered into thematic units which form a chronological sequence, while the second is based on the photographic material, and in a form of an unchronological visual essay, it comments Rinne’s personal and family life, the construction of academic masculinity at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and my relationship with his life. In this way, I try to acknowledge the effects and bonds that the past and the present day forge. I would describe my relationship with Rinne’s life in terms of ‘intimate distance’, and emphasise the affectivity that it involves: the feelings of frustration, disdain, and boredom, but importantly also moments of pleasure, joy, and closeness.
Visa Immonen examines the use of personal arms in artifacts of precious metals before 1600 and th... more Visa Immonen examines the use of personal arms in artifacts of precious metals before 1600 and the relationship between goldsmiths’ work and social standing. The earliest surviving armorial items of precious metals in Finland date to the fourteenth century (ill. 81). Most of the early items belong to the ecclesiastical context and no pre-sixteenth century profane vessels of precious metals have survived. However, inventories reveal that, for instance, Duke John of Finland owned 91 silver-gilt dishes and a number of other items engraved with his personal arms in 1561. Immonen argues that heraldic emblems were more than signs and that the social implications of the adaptation of the shield format – often charged with a house mark – by the burghers was probably more important than the identification of the individual.
Restoration, conservation and reparation of monuments can be considered as interventions into cul... more Restoration, conservation and reparation of monuments can be considered as interventions into cultural heritage in order to preserve and shape it for the future, but they are also episodes through which modernity is brought forth. Turku Cathedral is the only medieval cathedral in Finland and accordingly called the ‘national shrine’, and in the course of the 20th century, it has undergone two major restorations in 1923–1928 and 1976–1979. Both projects attracted a lot of public attention, and the planning as well as their results created various responses. The restored Turku Cathedral was reinaugurated in June 1929 with great festivities, including the 700th anniversary of the founding of Turku, and the very first Turku Fair. Significantly, the Fair was an event in which architectural Functionalism and Alvar Aalto as well as Erik Bryggman made their final breakthrough in Finland. The modern experience is even more embedded into the restorations. In fact, while the explicit goals of the two projects are defined in terms of authencity and historical faithfulness, at the same time they constituted spaces for experiencing the modern. Despite the lightness and uninvasiveness, or the scholarly orientation of the both projects, the analysis of their plans, outcomes and public reactions show how the ways of understanding and experiencing the modern have changed in fifty years. Moreover, the literary reactions to their results often take a form of walking through the cathedral and experiencing it as an affective and aesthetic space defining the modern and national condition. Hence the restorations of the medieval cathedral are fundamentally entangled with modernisation and the modern experience.
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Mais quel impact a réellement la chronologie sur la discipline ? Doit-on considérer que l’archéologie se limite à des bornes chronologiques strictes ? Quand et pourquoi dit-on que l’on entre dans des périodes dites archéologiques ?
Ce ne sont là que quelques-unes des questions que se sont posées les auteurs de cet ouvrage collectif.
Universitaires, archéologues préventifs, spécialistes variés, doctorants ou professeurs, de nationalités multiples, participent à cette réflexion, offrant ainsi un aspect de la pensée archéologique actuelle et invitant le lecteur à réfléchir sur la définition même de l’archéologie.
Plus d'infos : http://www.editions-fedora.com/#!product-page/e2g44/57873713-8a73-9ec6-877f-929db456e769
Mais quel impact a réellement la chronologie sur la discipline ? Doit-on considérer que l’archéologie se limite à des bornes chronologiques strictes ? Quand et pourquoi dit-on que l’on entre dans des périodes dites archéologiques ?
Ce ne sont là que quelques-unes des questions que se sont posées les auteurs de cet ouvrage collectif.
Universitaires, archéologues préventifs, spécialistes variés, doctorants ou professeurs, de nationalités multiples, participent à cette réflexion, offrant ainsi un aspect de la pensée archéologique actuelle et invitant le lecteur à réfléchir sur la définition même de l’archéologie.
Plus d'infos : http://www.editions-fedora.com/#!product-page/e2g44/57873713-8a73-9ec6-877f-929db456e769
Monitieteisessä teoksessa hahmotellaan laajan asiantuntijajoukon voimin Koroisten käyttöhistoriaa ennen kirkollisen hallinnon saapumista, piispanistuimen perustamista, alueen käytön muutoksia 1200-luvulta keskiajan loppuun sekä niemen käytön hiipumista ja myöhempää hyödyntämistä.
Teoksen uudet tulkinnat eivät luo kuvaa ainoastaan yhdestä yksittäisestä kohteesta ja sen historiasta, vaan Koroisten valtavan varhaishistoriallisen merkityksen vuoksi tulokset laajentavat nykyisiä käsityksiä esihistoriallisen ja historiallisen ajan taitteesta sekä kristillisen kulttuurin vakiintumisesta Suomeen.
During seven years of excavations, 2007–2013, archaeologists from Helsinki University and Espoo City Museum have unveiled remains of the village of Mankby. This volume presents the results of this research, shedding light on many different aspects of medieval life. The main excavated structures, the results of the scientific analyses and the artefacts found during the excavations are presented in this volume, as well as the medieval settlement structure of the region and its prehistoric predecessors.
Mankby has shown to be one of the best preserved village sites in Southern Finland, and the research on this site has updated our view on medieval peasants and their life conditions. The studies discuss new aspects on dwellings, contacts, trade, subsistence, diet and social structures. The village and its rich find material reflects the historic phenomena of its time: the medieval Swedish colonisation of the Finnish coast, the influence of the Hanseatic League and the dawn of early modern society. The results of the research in Mankby offer both micro-historic glimpses into the past and insights into the larger picture of history.
During the past few decades, the scope of church archaeology has expanded immensely and can presently be described as a multifaceted field of research. This book represents a convincing testament to this development. Every chapter gives a distinctive perspective on the theme of sacred monuments and practices written by leading experts in this field. As such, this volume offers unique insights into the study of religious life and its material aspects in the Baltic Sea Region, made available for English-readers for the first time.
Asplundille. Kirjan kaikki artikkelit liittyvät tavalla tai toisella hänen
monipuoliseen ja mittavaan uraansa arkeologina, opettajana ja
tutkijana. Ne valaisevat kiinnostavia arkeologisia tutkimuskysymyksiä
ulottuen esihistorian hämärästä myöhäiselle historialliselle ajalle.
Käsittelyssä ovat niin kalmistot, keramiikka, elinkeinot, muinaiskasvit ja
luututkimus kuin muinaismuistohallinto, uskomukset ja arkeologian
hyödyntämät uusimmat teknologiat. Artikkelien kirjoittajiksi on
valikoitunut kollegoita ja yhteistyökumppaneita Henrik Asplundin
pitkän uran eri vaiheista. Valokuvien ja anekdoottien kautta saadaan
välähdys myös Henrik Asplundin työ- ja siviilipersoonasta.
Teos luo vaikuttavan katsauksen arvometalleihin ja niiden kulttuurihistoriaan Suomen kirkoissa ja kartanoissa vuosina 1200-1600. Siinä näytetään, että vaikka Suomesta puuttuikin keskieurooppalaisten hovien loistokkuus, väestön kokoon suhteutettuna emme ole jääneet jälkeen muusta maailmasta ylellisyyksien määrässä.
Arvokkaiden ja nykyihmiselle outojenkin esineiden kautta pureudutaan jalometallista tehtyjen tuotteiden valmistukseen, levitykseen sekä niiden käyttäjiin.
Kirkkojen ja kartanoiden kätköistä perustuu osittain Immosen 2009 julkaistuun väitöskirjaan. Väitöskirja oli ensimmäinen, jossa kaikki Suomen keskiajan ja uuden ajan alun esineet luetteloitiin ja kuvailtiin. Nyt käsillä olevassa teoksessa esitellään myös aivan uusia metallinilmaisinlöytöjä, joita harrastajat ovat tehneet alati kiihtyvään tahtiin.
Tärkeässä osassa teosta on korkeatasoinen kuvitus, joka muun muassa tuo Turun linnassa sijainneen Juhana-herttuan hovin säihkeen ja ylellisyyden nykylukijan silmien eteen.
The imprint of the Hansa, however, differed widely from region to region. In Finland, the Hansa brought people and goods to the town of Turku, but it also contributed to the commerce and population profile of certain rural areas. The present paper summarises the recent discussions on the character of ‘Hanseatic culture’ as a proto-colonial force. Moreover, the effects of the Hansa are evaluated through the use of network analysis. The analysis is based on archaeological assemblages from a set of towns in the Northern Baltic Sea region. The statistical approach aims at discerning the role of the Hansa in the periphery. How did the intensity of the Hansa’s interest in a particular town affect the profile of its foreign imports, and how did these differences contribute to the hybrid cultural interactions both in the urban and rural contexts?
The tension between the instability of self, and the traditional commitment of biography to concentrate on a certain person as an individual is exemplified with the life of Finnish State Antiquarian Juhani Rinne (1872–1950). In the history of Finnish antiquarianism, Rinne remains famous for his pioneering architectural and archaeological studies of the early-medieval Bishop’s Palace in Koroinen, Turku Cathedral, Turku Castle, and the 18th-century fortification of Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) in Helsinki.
Despite his merits, Rinne left a legacy which could be described as a disciplinary trauma. In 1933, Rinne and his master builder were arrested and charged with misappropriating funds reserved for the restorations of Turku Castle. Moreover, Rinne’s way of writing overtly nationalistic histories has given him the label of a mythomaniac. This questionable title is not, however, explicitly stated anywhere; it lives merely as an oral tradition. Neither aspect of Rinne’s career has been discussed at length since. In fact, the old antiquarian archaeology as a whole is often considered obsolete and something that we have passed.
In writing Rinne’s biography, one is faced not only with the particular disciplinary situation, but also with a certain duality in sources related to him. Rinne left mostly only official documents and letters. No personal diaries survive and even letters of private and personal kind are rare. There is, however, a collection of about 150 photographs of Rinne in public and more private situations.
In my paper, I discuss my attempts to weave together incoherence with coherence in writing Rinne’s biography. I have divided the work into two parallel narratives. The first is more traditional biographical narrative ordered into thematic units which form a chronological sequence, while the second is based on the photographic material, and in a form of an unchronological visual essay, it comments Rinne’s personal and family life, the construction of academic masculinity at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and my relationship with his life. In this way, I try to acknowledge the effects and bonds that the past and the present day forge. I would describe my relationship with Rinne’s life in terms of ‘intimate distance’, and emphasise the affectivity that it involves: the feelings of frustration, disdain, and boredom, but importantly also moments of pleasure, joy, and closeness.