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A WILDERNESS RESOURCE AREA?
The Mäkkylä Hoard
The Early and Late Iron Age
0 - AD 1150
The last evidence of prehistoric
settlement in Espoo is an offering or burial find from Frideborg
in Mäkkylä, dated to the Pre-Roman Iron Age (500 BC
- 0) or possibly to the Early Roman Iron Age (0 - AD 200).
Like most parts of the coastal region of Uusimaa Province, Espoo
also lacks archaeological finds from the Early and Late Iron
Age. It has been assumed that the coast remained uninhabited
until the arrival of Swedish colonists in the 12th century. The
coastal regions were probably wilderness resource areas, where
the Tavastians from Häme further to the north hunted, fished
and cultivated crops in outlying swidden plots.
Finds of oval fire-striking stones, associated with sacrifices
in connection with slash and burn farming, are regarded as evidence
of these activities. Striking stones have been recovered as stray
finds in Tapiola, Kauklahti, Oittaa and other parts of Espoo.
Paleobotanical studies carried out at Lake Lojärvi also
point to slash-and-burn farming, with evidence of forest clearance
between the 7th and 10th centuries AD. Local place-names also
suggest influence from Häme. |
