5 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Crusade period grave field and a sword discovered in Finland

A large cemetery from the time of the Crusades was discovered near a medieval stone church in Salo Perttel, a former municipality in Finland.

A landowner in the municipality of Salo was looking over excavation work for the installation of geothermal pipes when he spotted an iron object poking out of a mound of dirt. He pulled it out and found himself holding a nearly complete He was reported to archaeologists from the University of Turku and the Turku Museum Centre.

The find has now led to the discovery of an extensive grave field, not far from the grey granite medieval church of Pertteli.

The sword was discovered with a bent blade, a bar-like straight hilt, and a three-sided oval pommel. The researchers believe that it dates from between AD 1050 and 1150, during the Crusader Era. The sword’s scabbard, additional blade fragments, iron objects, and human remains were also discovered in the soil pile by archaeologists.

One of the most notable finds is a leather belt with thirty square rosette-patterned bronze ornaments. This was found with a buckle, several end and animal head buckles, strap dividers, and parts of the leather still preserved.

This is the first confirmed discovery of a grave field dating to the end of the Iron Age in the Salonjoki river valley, according to the University of Turku.

The Crusader Era in Finland refers to the period when the First Swedish Crusade brought Christianity to Finland. Academics debate whether this crusade actually occurred because there is no supporting archaeological evidence and the earliest written sources date from the late 13th century.

One of the rosette-patterned bronze ornaments that decorated a belt found at the grave site. Image: Juha Ruohonen / Turun yliopisto
One of the rosette-patterned bronze ornaments that decorated a belt found at the grave site. Image: Juha Ruohonen / Turun yliopisto

In this context, it is possible to say that the Crusades were a series of campaigns, traditionally considered to have begun in the 12th century and continued until the end of the 13th century, in which the Swedish Crown and the Catholic Church expanded and strengthened their control over a large part of what is now Finland.

A more detailed examination of the site showed that archaeologists were looking at more than a single grave. Altogether, eight graves were discovered. It is estimated that the site may contain dozens more burial sites, possibly as many as two hundred.

According to a press announcement by the University of Turku, “The observation can be considered very significant from a research point of view, because cremation cemeteries from the time of the Crusades are clearly less known in Finland than cremation cemeteries that preceded them in time. So far, this is also the only confirmed burials dating to the end of the Iron Age from the Salon or Uskelanjoki valley. Also notable, is the fact that the deceased have been buried in the cemetery with Christian customs.”

“The location of the site, in the immediate vicinity of a medieval stone church, can be considered as evidence of a much earlier church organization in the area than previously believed. It has been thought that Pertteli parish was established with the founding of the Uskela chapel in the 15th century,”.

Research on the finds will continue at least until the beginning of 2024. Radiocarbon dating is being carried out on the bone recovered from the site. The belt and a knife sheath are being x-rayed, further studied, and conserved.

University of Turku

Cover Photo: A sword dated to the Crusade period in Finland led archaeologists to identify an extensive medieval cemetery. Image: Riikka Saarinen / Turun Museokeskus

Related Articles

Beer remains that are 9,000 years old have been discovered in China’s unique Hu pots

3 September 2021

3 September 2021

Archaeologists in southeast China have discovered evidence of beer consumption in ceramic vessels at the burial site called Qiaotou. The...

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a stone circle in the Castilly Henge, located in Cornwall, England

20 May 2022

20 May 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed a mysterious stone circle at the center of a prehistoric ritual site near Bodmin in Cornwall, located...

Scientists recreate Stone Age cave lighting

17 June 2021

17 June 2021

For early hunter-gatherer societies that were lucky enough to live near caves, these natural underground homes provided ideal protection from...

World’s Oldest Arrow Poison Discovered in South Africa, Dating Back 7,000 Years

27 January 2025

27 January 2025 1

In a groundbreaking discovery, archaeologists excavating Kruger Cave in South Africa have identified what may be the oldest confirmed multi-component...

Smoke archeology finds evidence Humans visited Nerja Cave for 40,000 Years

26 April 2023

26 April 2023

A new study by a team from the University of Córdoba reveals that Nerja is the European cave with the...

8,500-year-old buildings discovered on Abu Dhabi’s Ghagha island

17 February 2022

17 February 2022

Archaeologists in Abu Dhabi have discovered startling new evidence of the Emirates’ first known structures, which date back more than...

Alexander the Great’s Sacred Purple Tunic Found in a 2,400-year-old Macedonian Tomb?

29 October 2024

29 October 2024

Archaeologists have found a sacred chiton (tunic) in a 2400-year-old royal tomb in the Macedonian city of Vergina in northern...

A 7,500-year-old settlement has been discovered in Turkey’s Domuztepe Mound

11 September 2021

11 September 2021

During the most recent excavations at Domuztepe Mound in the Türkoğlu district of southern Turkey’s Kahramanmaraş province, a settlement and...

The Entire Genome Of 35,000-Year-Old Skull From Romania Sequenced “Peştera Muierii 1”

24 May 2021

24 May 2021

Researchers have successfully sequenced the whole genome from the skull of Peştera Muierii 1, women who lived in today’s Romania...

1.5-Million-year-old Footprints have Revealed the Co-Existence of two Ancient Human Species in Kenya

30 November 2024

30 November 2024

Thanks to a set of preserved footprints on the ancient shores of Lake Turkana in Kenya, researchers have uncovered the...

Archaeological excavations unearthed the first great Iberian city in Contestania and the oldest one

11 May 2024

11 May 2024

Archaeologists from the University of Alicante and the University of Murcia “Damas y Héroes. In the project “Tras la Ilici...

A Mysterious Partially Submerged Structure in Ireland is a Prehistoric Tomb, archaeologist says

25 October 2022

25 October 2022

New research has revealed that a mysterious structure found many years ago on the eastern shore of Cork Harbor in...

Archaeologists discover complete armored 14th-century gauntlet in Switzerland

18 January 2024

18 January 2024

Excavations in Kyburg in the canton of Zürich, northeastern Switzerland have discovered a 14th-century fully preserved gauntlet of armor in...

Scientists reconstruct Late Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean silver trade

11 July 2021

11 July 2021

Scientists have recreated the Eastern Mediterranean silver trade across a time span that includes the conventional dates of the Trojan...

Earliest evidence of forest management discovered at the La Draga Neolithic site in Spain

19 July 2023

19 July 2023

Archaeologists have discovered the earliest evidence of forest management at the La Draga Neolithic site in northeastern Spain. A scientific...