Search

The Finnish population is a unique example of a genetic isolate affected by a recent founder event. Previous studies have suggested that the ancestors of Finnic-speaking Finns and Estonians reached the circum-Baltic region by the 1(st) millennium BC. However, high linguistic similarity points to a more recent split of their languages. To study genetic connectedness between Finns and Estonians directly, we first assessed the efficacy of imputation of low-coverage ancient genomes by sequencing a medieval Estonian genome to high depth (23×) and evaluated the performance of its down-sampled replicas. We find that ancient genomes imputed from >0.1× coverage can be reliably used in principal-component analyses without projection. By searching for long shared allele intervals (LSAIs; similar to identity-by-descent segments) in unphased data for >143,000 present-day Estonians, 99 Finns, and 14 imputed ancient genomes from Estonia, we find unexpectedly high levels of individual connectedness between Estonians and Finns for the last eight centuries in contrast to their clear differentiation by allele frequencies. High levels of sharing of these segments between Estonians and Finns predate the demographic expansion and late settlement process of Finland. One plausible source of this extensive sharing is the 8(th)–10(th) centuries AD migration event from North Estonia to Finland that has been proposed to explain uniquely shared linguistic features between the Finnish language and the northern dialect of Estonian and shared Christianity-related loanwords from Slavic. These results suggest that LSAI detection provides a computationally tractable way to detect fine-scale structure in large cohorts.

This paper promotes the application of geoarchaeology—joint studies using historical, archaeological and heritage approaches—to the conservation and management practice of castles and landscapes in the context of ‘castlescapes’. Using case studies from recent research on medieval castles in frontier regions of the eastern Baltic and Spain, it demonstrates how geoarchaeology can create synergies between on-site and off-site environments and between cultural and natural heritage and draw valuable information from soils and sediments about the changing form and function of spaces within castles, and about the links between these spaces and activities in their hinterlands. Geoarchaeological approaches can also illuminate the diachronic biographies that hide from visitors in the buried archaeology of castles, which to most visitors would be blank cavasses, but which can provide snap-shots of castle life in the context of a wider landscape. Castles are commonly publicly recognised as being important historical monuments, but from a heritage perspective they are often presented in isolation from their associated historical territories, and often (especially in frontier regions) appropriated within modern politics, which has influenced both heritage management decisions and research frameworks.

Syphilis is a globally re-emerging disease, which has marked European history with a devastating epidemic at the end of the 15th century. Together with non-venereal treponemal diseases, like bejel and yaws, which are found today in subtropical and tropical regions, it currently poses a substantial health threat worldwide. The origins and spread of treponemal diseases remain unresolved, including syphilis’ potential introduction into Europe from the Americas. Here, we present the first genetic data from archaeological human remains reflecting a high diversity of Treponema pallidum in early modern Europe. Our study demonstrates that a variety of strains related to both venereal syphilis and yaws-causing T. pallidum subspecies were already present in Northern Europe in the early modern period. We also discovered a previously unknown T. pallidum lineage recovered as a sister group to yaws- and bejel-causing lineages. These findings imply a more complex pattern of geographical distribution and etiology of early treponemal epidemics than previously understood., Current Biology, 30 (19), ISSN:0960-9822, ISSN:1879-0445

SummarySexually transmitted (venereal) syphilis marked European history with a devastating epidemic at the end of the 15thcentury, and is currently re-emerging globally. Together with non-venereal treponemal diseases, like bejel and yaws, found in subtropical and tropical regions, it poses a prevailing health threat worldwide. The origins and spread of treponemal diseases remain unresolved, including syphilis’ potential introduction into Europe from the Americas. Here, we present the first genetic data from archaeological human remains reflecting a previously unknown diversity ofTreponema pallidumin historical Europe. Our study demonstrates that a variety of strains related to both venereal syphilis and yaws were already present in Northern Europe in the early modern period. We also discovered a previously unknownT. pallidumlineage recovered as a sister group to yaws and bejel. These findings imply a more complex pattern of geographical prevalence and etiology of early treponemal epidemics than previously understood.

Richard Hausmann – one-time Great Man of Archaeology in Estonia

The crusades against eastern Baltic societies from the end of the twelfth century saw the reorganisation of the conquered territories into new Christian polities - Livonia and Prussia - largely ruled by a militarised theocracy consisting of the Teutonic Order, bishops and cathedral chapters. This was accompanied by the reconfiguration of land ownership and intensification in resource exploitation aimed at sustaining the new regime, alongside the growing urban and rural populations. An ecclesiastical administration was also imposed on the conquered territories, alongside the construction of churches and monasteries, confronting native religions which attached sacred importance to natural places and cemeteries. This paper compares the transformation of sacred landscapes in Livonia and Prussia and provides an interpretation of variability in relation to theocratic authority, native and migrant populations. Encompassing the role of settlements, cemeteries and the tempo of change, the paper is situated within a new archaeological framework contextualising religious transformation in the Middle Ages. It also provides the first detailed, comparative perspective for the two regions. The landscape was not uniformly transformed and its variability, particularly the post-crusade endurance and even proliferation of native sacred sites, reflects the limits of theocratic authority and the pragmatic necessities of ruling a conquered population. That strong contrasts exist in the nature and process of Christianisation in even superficially similar areas like Livonia and Prussia should serve as a warning to resist generalising across limited data sets.

The Virumaa province in northeast Estonia is the area with the biggest concentration of ‘Hanseatic bowl’ finds in Europe. The finds originate mostly from deposits, often consisting of sets of numerous items. This article suggests a connection between these finds and the Danish crusade to Estonia in 1219, interpreting the bowls as the king’s gift to new subjects for their loyalty, also looking at a possible broader context, and drawing hypothetical parallels with the Danish crusade to Samland and Prussia in 1210. Key words: bronze bowls, Estonia, Denmark, Samland, crusade, mission, gifts for loyalty. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v24i0.1568

The integrated results of micromorphology, plant macrofossil, pollen, phytolith, and non-pollen palynomorph analyses represent an important study of two thirteenth-century Teutonic Order castles at Karksi (Livonia), and Elbląg (Prussia). The research examines deposits that formed during the period of active crusading. At Karksi, the investigation of a midden and of the organic-rich sediment beneath allows the diachronic use of this area to be understood. Freshwater aquatic indicators are consistent with the occurrence of shallow stagnant water, as also suggested by a waterlaid pond sediment identified in thin-section. Coprophilous spore taxa suggest the use of the pond as a watering hole. Plant macrofossils from the midden represent a range of habitats, mostly from wet/damp areas, as well as pastures and meadows, and also woodlands. Fragments of millet are embedded within herbivore dung in thin-section showing the use of this grain as fodder. At Elbląg, parasite ova may derive from animal feces as they also occur in the dung observed in thin-section, and a range of coprophilous fungal spore taxa were extracted. The results reveal information about the range of livestock that the Teutonic Knights kept, whereabouts within the castles the animals were stabled, and what fodder was used.

Sacred River Võhandu

Viljandi (Fellin), a small town in medieval Livonia, was founded in the second quarter of the 13th century, soon after the Estonian Crusades. The Estonians’ prehistoric hill-fort was replaced by a castle of the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order, the prehistoric settlement was abandoned, and the location for the new town was chosen on the site of a former field more suitable for fortification. In this paper, zooarchaeological material from three sites, the prehistoric settlement, the Order’s castle and the early medieval town, will be discussed. Despite the presumed changes in Estonian society associated with the Crusades, the analyses reveal no profound differences in meat consumption in the transitional period from prehistory to the Middle Ages. Key words: zooarchaeology, Late Iron Age, Middle Ages, Teutonic Order’s castle, medieval town, meat consumption. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.15181/ab.v20i0.807

lthough sheep (Ovis aries) have been one of the most exploited domestic animals in Estonia since the Late Bronze Age, relatively little is known about their genetic history. Here, we explore temporal changes in Estonian sheep populations and their mitochondrial genetic diversity over the last 3000 years. We target a 558 base pair fragment of the mitochondrial hypervariable region in 115 ancient sheep from 71 sites in Estonia (c. 1200 BC – AD 1900s), 19 ancient samples from Latvia, Russia, Poland and Greece (6800 BC – AD 1700), as well as 44 samples of modern Kihnu native sheep breed. Our analyses revealed: (1) 49 mitochondrial haplotypes, associated with sheep haplogroups A and B; (2) high haplotype diversity in Estonian ancient sheep; (3) continuity in mtDNA haplotypes through time; (4) possible population expansion during the first centuries of the Middle Ages (associated with the establishment of the new power regime related to 13th century crusades); (5) significant difference in genetic diversity between ancient populations and modern native sheep, in agreement with the beginning of large-scale breeding in the 19th century and population decline in local sheep. Overall, our results suggest that in spite of the observed fluctuations in ancient sheep populations, and changes in the natural and historical conditions, the utilisation of local sheep has been constant in the territory of Estonia, displaying matrilineal continuity from the Middle Bronze Age through the Modern Period, and into modern native sheep.

On the Early History of Setomaa and its Research State: Looking Back and ForwardThis article, supporting the materials presented in the second volume of the book “Setomaa”, discusses some general topics about the early history of the Orthodox Setomaa region in the south-easternmost corner of Estonia. The text outlines and highlights some topics that are of crucial importance for understanding the older history of the region but which, due to the chronological structure of the volume, seem to have remained disregarded or split between different periods.In its early history, Setomaa was not a peripheral frontier area at state borders, but a central region that was located at an important waterway and intersected by an important land route and several smaller roads bound to it. Setomaa was the hinterland of two important centres—Pskov and Izborsk. Pskov was connected to it by both water and land routes; Izborsk lies within the core of the historical settlement region of eastern Setomaa. Although Izborsk was overtaken by the Pechory monastery in the Late Middle Ages, eastern Setomaa remained still densely populated. That Setomaa bordered in the west the sparsely populated peripheral area of Livonia, where the border between Pskov and Livonia was in some areas not exactly defined, does not decrease the importance of the area. In the broader frameworks, among the historical districts of Estonia, Setomaa has the most strategic location in relation to big crossroads.Archaeological data enable us to see the presence and continuity of several central settlement areas and ethno-cultural regions through ages. The settlement areas reflected in the archaeological record have different historical orientations. The coast of Lake Pskov, and in earlier times probably also the surroundings of Izborsk, was connected by waterways with the areas east of Lake Pskov and Lake Peipsi. In the remote past, the contacts that stretched to the shores of the Gulf of Finland and even further were also of great importance. The formation of the peculiarities of northern Setomaa arises from local cultural backgrounds. Eastern Setomaa and the coastal areas were also influenced by the vicinity of Pskov. Southern Setomaa has been bound throughout the ages with Latvia, especially its north-eastern part. Before the formation of the border between Pskov and Livonia in the thirteenth century, Setomaa had an unclear western border. The internal cultural heterogeneity of Setomaa arises greatly from the region’s geographic position, location “on the crossroads”, and openness to contacts from different directions. The findings of regional settlement areas, cultural differences and cultural contacts on micro- and macro levels remain an important task in further research work on Setomaa.

The river Vohandu in south-eastern Estonia has become famous through the book Kurtzer Bericht und Unterricht Von der Falsch-heilig genandten Bache in Lieffland Wohhanda, written by Johann Gutslaff, the pastor of Urvaste parish (1644). The book mediates information about the events of 1642 when peasants of the riverside areas destroyed the new water mill of Somerpalu manor. This act took place because the river was considered to be sacred by the locals, and hindering of the water flow was thought to be the reason for the long-lasting bad weather. News of the water mill on the sacred river spread quickly over all Livonia: from Riga to Narva, Parnu and Reval, and also among the Latvian-speaking population. Gutslaff mentions two assemblies of peasants at Osula water mill (Fig. 1): on May 1 (when people gathered from manor areas on the upper course of the river) and July 8 (when those from the lower course gathered, including from Russia, i.e. from present-day Setomaa). Evidently, the hinterlands reflect communication areas and communication traditions of ancient and probably prehistoric origin. The article presents historical and folkloric information about the beginning of the sacred Vohandu River, discussing also the regions impacted by and reasons for its sacredness. The spring visited and described by Gutslaff one month after the events in Osula can be identified as the spring called Puhalate (‘sacred spring’), which is reflected in folkloric data and still remembered by the older locals. The place is located in the historical Kolju village, ca 10 km south of Otepaa (Figs. 2, 3). The first folklore note about its sacredness and ability to change the weather comes from 1866. Although the spring was buried under gravel during road re-construction work in 1983, its approximate location (Fig. 5) was identified in 2014 by the finding of four votive coins from between 1574 and 1707 (Fig. 6). According to Gutslaff, the spring was located in a sacred grove, and keeping its waters clean was important for having good weather. It was not allowed to cut trees or break branches in the grove, and misbehaviour could cause diseases or even death. The sacredness of the spring and its ability to change the weather is also reflected in folkloric data. Toponyms in the surroundings of the spring give evidence of a large sacral area (Figs. 3, 4), and lore mentions popular assemblies in the grove at the sprint which continued until mid-1890s. Votive coins were brought to the sprint until the 1940s, and the water was used for healing. The custom to stop a funeral procession that was passing by the spring and to sprinkle some of its holy water on the coffin – a unique practise in Estonia – survived until the 1950s/60s. The concept of sacredness is bound, according to Gutslaff, with all the lakes which Vohandu ran through. The first lake on the path of the sacred river, called Lake Ilmjarv (‘weather lake’) by Gutslaff, can be identified as present-day Lake Kauru (Figs. 7, 8). Most likely, this lake is identical to the lake 10 miles from Otepaa that was mentioned by the Pope’s legate Antonio Possevino in 1585 as a site of infant sacrifices, practiced to avoid thunder and bad weather. The sacrificing of children and cattle in some lakes infected by evil spirits to reconcile them was also mentioned in the annual report of the Jesuites in 1583. These memories of infant sacrifice are probably reflected in a popular type of legend which tells about a deal with a supernatural creature living in a lake or a pond: the person who wants to get a treasure must offer a child to him (but gives a cat in a bag instead). The Jesuites’ notes about sacrifices to the lakes also fit well with Gutslaff’s notes about infant sacrifices (in the past) and oxes (in his time) to the sacred Vohandu River. The origins of the sacredness of Puhalate spring might be hidden in the geographical conditions of the region. The Vohandu River, which was considered sacred as a whole, begins in the watershed which separates its basin from the basin of Vaike-Emajogi River. Here the close connections and common origin of the words ‘sacred’ and ‘border’ appear. To the same watershed belong also Lake Kauru/Ilmjarv (located 600 m east of the spring), and three ponds which can predict the weather at the Konnu (Paina) farmstead (1.2 km north-east of the spring). There the water level in spring time was believed to indicate the weather of the forthcoming summer. The name Ilmjarv refers both to the weather and being the uppermost lake in the basin of a river. The sacredness of the watershed may also include Lake Puhajarv (‘sacred lake’) – this is the first lake on the path of Vaike-Emajogi River, which was also called Puhajogi (‘sacred river’) on its upper course. The sacral complex of Vohandu River is unique in Estonia. Lore about the site, although almost forgotten in the present time, gives evidence of the continuity of beliefs and religious practices from the early seventeenth to the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. KEYWORDS: sacred spring, sacred river, sacred lake, Livonia, Early Modern Times, human sacrifice.

Data about the earliest history of medieval churches of southern Estonia are fragmentary, being limited to the first mentions of the parish, priest or congregation, or to mostly scanty historical information about the architecture. Some information can also be provided by archaeological grave finds, which often date back further than the first data about the churches. The article presents a brief survey of the finds from the churchyards of southern Estonia, the area of medieval diocese of Tartu, from before ca. 1450 AD. The finds, mostly jewellery and fragments of cremated bones, show that churches were often built on top of old cemeteries from the Final Iron Age, whereby the pre-Christian jewellery items, mostly brooches, rings and bracelets, date mainly from the 11th to the early 13th centuries. If the cases in which the archaeological information is limited or non-existent are excluded, 60% of the rural churches of southern Estonia (9 out of 15) were built on pre-Christian cemeteries. The percentage may even be higher, since archaeological data for more than half of the churchyards is either missing or insufficient for drawing any conclusions. In the cases where major temporal gaps exist between the Final Iron Age finds and the first written or architectural data about the church, the cemetery probably functioned continuously as a village cemetery in the Christian period. The pre-Christian origins of the cemeteries in the churchyards indicate that the local communities were actively involved in choosing the locations for the churches at the time of Christianization. Place continuity also shows that, despite the violent nature of Christianization, the natives of southern Estonia did not oppose having Christian sanctuaries built on pre-Christian cemeteries, and evidently, the continuous use of the former burial site was considered important.

Finding place and context The archaeological complex of Siksala (Laul & Valk 2007) is located in the south-easternmost corner of Estonia, 2-3 km south of Misso village, ca. 7 km west of the present-day Estonian-Russian border and 3-4 km north of the Estonian-Latvian border. The complex consists of several monuments, including two cemeteries called Kalmetemagi (Graves' Hill) and Kirikumagi (Church Hill) which are located at the ends of the same oblong ridge. The cemetery on Kalmetemagi, mainly from the 11th-15th centuries, was investigated in the extent of ca. 80% in 1980-1993, whereby 242 inhumation graves with 253 burials, and 27 cremation burials were studied (Heapost 2007, table 1; Laul & Valk 2007, 29-80). In the further analysis of the scattered material from cremation graves, regarded formerly as stray finds, 11 additional cremations have been distinguished. The first excavations on Kirikumagi, a hill with the height of ca. 6 m between Lake Hino and Lake Mustjarv (Fig. 1) took place in 2003 (Valk 2004), in order to verify or disprove the former presence of the chapel, reflected in oral tradition, and of the suggested medieval cemetery. In the course of these works a 100 m long and 40 cm wide trench was dug along the hilltop (Fig. 2). The trench was divided into 1-metre long units, the numeration of which started from the west. The investigations were continued in 2004 (Valk 2005) with the aim to study and date the discovered chapel site and cemetery. During these excavations a ca. 35 m2 area, cut by the trial trenches, was opened in the southern part of the hill. In both years, especially in 2003, also some fragments of cremated bones were found from three areas, designated as A, B and C--two in the central and one in the southwestern part of the hill (Fig. 2). Between these areas, likewise in the north-eastern part of Kirikumagi, almost no cremation remains were discovered. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] In 2007 additional excavations were made in area A, in order to study the whole bone assemblage which was cut by the trench in 2003 and which was first interpreted as a pit-grave cremation (Valk 2004, 125). For that purpose, the formerly studied 2 m long part of the trench with cremated bones was extended in both directions for 0.5 m (to get more space for digging, also the filled trench was emptied again). Thus, in all, 2.8 [m.sup.2] was studied at the spot. The earth was dug by 10 cm thick layers. In 2003, the area where bones were found in the trench was regarded as one stratigraphic unit which was dug by horizontal layers. In 2007, the bones were collected by squares of 0.25 [m.sup.2] (the system was based on the general squares' system used in 2003) and by 10 cm layers. To find all the bone fragments, the ground was sieved. In total 69 different bone assemblages, based mainly on 1 m long parts of the trench or 1 m2 squares of the excavation plot of 2004, all of 10 cm thickness, were collected for analysis from Kirikumagi. In reality there existed, however, no distinct borders between the separately analysed assemblages: borders are only conventional, conditioned by the methodology of picking up bones. Distribution of cremated bones The first area of cremated bones (Fig. 2, A) where altogether 1184.9 g bone fragments were found (862.9 g in 2003 and 322 g in 2007) formed a 1.7 m long section of the trench. Some dispersed bone fragments which probably belonged together with them were gained also from the neighbouring square in the northeast (C/50; 5.4 g), and from squares located 0.5-1.5 m (G/ 47; 1.5 g) and 3.5-4.5 m (G/44; 0.9 g) to the south-west from the edge of the main concentration area (Fig. 2, A: 3). The second concentration area (Fig. 2, B) was ca. 5-6 m south-east of area A, in the excavation plot added to the main trench in 2003 (squares H/51 and H/52). Here 70.9 g of bones were found. The finds were from the area with the diameter of 1. …

The article discusses the sacred natural places of Estonia from a regional perspective, outlining the two main regions - sea-oriented and inland. Regionality is most clearly expressed in the distribution of hiis sites - a phe- nomenon characteristic of sea-related areas. There are also other phenomena bound with specific areas, such as the distribution of natural healing places, farmstead offering places, natural offering places related to the cult of Tonis/ Tennus and cross-signed trees. The Orthodox Setomaa region is a distinctive area due to confessional and cultural factors. Besides presenting a general sur- vey of the sources, the article also touches upon the reasons for the emergence of regional differences, outlining geographical, historical, and confessional factors. Regional differences in sacred natural places greatly correspond to other re- gional peculiarities which can be observed in the traditional popular culture. Sacred natural places exist in different parts of the world and have generally much in common (Bradley 2000: 14-32). The concept of sacredness can be con- nected with most different natural objects: trees, groves, forests, boulders, rocks, stones, caves, springs, rivers, lakes, etc. depending on the local natural conditions in the area. In form and functions the sacred natural places are greatly similar in the whole Eastern Baltic area and such is the situation also within Estonia: sacred trees, stones, and springs are widespread all over the country. When investigating deeper into this seeming uniformity, however, a far more diverse picture with more or less clearly expressed regional peculiarities can be observed. In spite of its small area, the territory of Estonia is not homo- geneous in character. Regional differences exist both concerning the appear- ance of the sacred natural places, as well as in their meanings, names and related traditions. These differences are not of random origin and character but are conditioned by certain geographical and natural preconditions, as well as by historical, cultural, and religious factors. The question of regional varia- tions, however, has not deserved much special attention in former research. In the main general works on Estonian folk religion the sacred natural places