Title: THE EARLY mSTORY OF THE FORTRESS OF KAKISALMI, RUSSIAN KARELIA - ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND RADIOCARBON EVIDENCE
Abstract:Klikisalmi, an early medieval town on the western shore of Lake Ladoga, Russian Karelia, grew up at the eastern end of an important medieval route. Judging from the chronicles it is not clear whether ...Klikisalmi, an early medieval town on the western shore of Lake Ladoga, Russian Karelia, grew up at the eastern end of an important medieval route. Judging from the chronicles it is not clear whether the first fort of Klikisalmi was built in 1294-1295 by the Swedes or already earlier by the local Karelians. The location of the first fort is also debated. Archaeological excavations at the site of the Fortress of Klikisalmi have revealed various kinds of finds, some of them Merovingian and Viking Age artefacts. The wooden structures lying directly on the intact clay bottom are not datable by dendrochronology; the high-preci sion 14C analyses and the application of a curve fitting technique confirm that they date from the mid-13th century. It is concluded that there was Karelian habitation at Klikisalmi before the arrival of the Swedes in AD 1294-1295. Yet, there is no evidence that the wooden struc tures excavated and dated were part of a fort. Tuovi Kankainen, Geological Survey of Finland, FIN-02150 Espoo, Finland. Aleksandr 1. Saksa, Academy of Sciences of Russia, Institute of the History of Material Cul ture, Dvorcovaja nab. 18, 191065 St. Petersburg, Russia. Pirjo Uino, National Board of Antiquities, P.O.Box 913, FIN-OOI01 Helsinki, Finland.Read More
Publication Year: 1995
Publication Date: 1995-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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