This was a great experience and learning opportunity to participate i the stone age digs in my own village. Lead by archaeologists Jan Fast and Janne Soisalo the team uncovered once again new treasures and new knowledge from the smooth sands of the Nuolipuisto ( Swedish: Pilparken) park. This is incredibly important for the people of Pitäjänmäki – Sockenbacka who learn new things about their past.
The digs were hosted by Pitäjänmäki-seura, the local community association that I am president of, and co-sponsored by the amateur archaeologists’ association ANGO.
This site at the Nuolipuisto park with its children’s playground houses the richest stone age finds of the Finnish capital. In June 2019 professional and amateur archaeologists together with villagers from here were unearthing loads of ceramics as well as other items. They believe that this used to be a small island where people went for fishing and trading and maybe even lived. The land which was pushed down by the inland ice has of course risen considerably over this time and today the site is a small sandy hill.
We had a lot of fun as well, such as when the small kids from the next door playground came over and messed up both the digging tools and the neat stacks of sand. To do the digs like this is really a superb way for creating an interest for archaeology among small and big, and an understanding of how much it tells about our ancestry.
We are not Rome or Athens but our first villagers lived, cooked and traded here more than 5,000 years ago 😊
