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Copyright of Estonian Journal of Archaeology is the property of Teaduste Akadeemia Kirjastus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Estonian Journal of Archaeology is the property of Teaduste Akadeemia Kirjastus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article reports on the highlights of the small-scale excavations made at the Inju Vanatoa rural cemetery in Lääne-Viru County in Estonia in 2022. The excavations were initiated by the local community, particularly from history enthusiast Kalju Vaga. Also cited are the discovered antiquities that are preserved in the archaeological collection of the Foundation Virumaa Muuseumid in Rakvere, Estonia, including an intact skeleton.

The article presents the highlights of the archaeological studies at Pühalepa churchyard in Hiiumaa, Estonia in 2021 and 2022 as part of a project to build a memorial honoring soldiers from Hiiumaa who died during the Estonian War of Independence. Also cited are the antiquities discovered at the site including a denar coin minted during the rein of Simon I zur Lippe (1247-1277) in Paderborn, Germany and the silver coin minted under the count of Flanders, Guy Dampierre in late 13th century.

The article discusses the 13th-14th century artifacts that were discovered along Niguliste Street in Tallinn, Estonia during the reconstruction and restoration of the St. Nicholas (Est. Niguliste) Church in 2022. Also cited are the discovery of traces of slag, animal bones, and pottery at the site, and the opinions of earlier researchers like Wilhelm Neumann on the possible artefact at the site.

The article presents the discussion on results of the excavations. Topics include archaeological rescue excavations recovered eight single burials, two double burials and four mass graves; and unnatural positions of the arms and legs serve as evidence that the bodies had been thrown into the grave as the arms were mostly positioned over the head.

The article presents the discussion on preliminary excavations took place in Tallinn on the plot of Pärnu Rd 59. Topics include discovering the burial site extends further south to Tatari street having 11 partially preserved inhumation burials; and skeletons also had no signs of battle-related nor execution traumas and had likely passed away due to famine or an epidemic.

Archaeological fieldwork at C. R. Jakobsoni St. 13 in Tallinn 236 Under the asphalt was a thick layer of demolition debris, probably from the buildings that were demolished in 2007, under which a sandy sooty cultural layer was found along with numerous rubbish pits. Osteological age, sex and pathologies of the recorded skeletons from J. Kunderi and F. R. Kreutzwaldi streets, Tallinn burial site. 10 18-21 y / a 6th lumbar vertebra, Schmorl's nodules on the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th thoracic and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd lumbar vertebrae. Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2018, 233-246 Archaeological fi eldwork at the burial ground, settlement site and ancient fi eld at C. R. Jakobsoni St. 13 in Tallinn Martin Malve Tartu Ülikool, ajaloo ja arheoloogia instituut, arheoloogia osakond (University of Tartu, Institute of History and Archaeology, Department of Archaeology), Jakobi 2, 51005, Tartu, Estonia; martinmalve@gmail.com Janika Viljat OÜ Arheograator, Raekoja plats 11-16, 51004 Tartu, Estonia Erki Russow Tallinna Ülikool, humanitaarteaduste instituut, ajaloo, arheoloogia ja kunstiajaloo keskus (Tallinn University, School of Humanities, Institute of History, Archaeology and Art History), Uus-Sadama 5, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia Aivar Kriiska Tartu Ülikool, ajaloo ja arheoloogia instituut, arheoloogia osakond (University of Tartu, Institute of History and Archaeology, Department of Archaeology), Jakobi 2, 51005, Tartu, Estonia OÜ Arheograator, Raekoja plats 11-16, 51004 Tartu, Estonia INTRODUCTION The city of Tallinn still holds many surprises in the fi eld of archaeology. Compiled by / Koostanud: Martin Malve Burial no / Matuse nr Sex / Sugu Age / Vanus Pathologies / Patoloogiad Stature / Kehakasv 1 40+ y / a Ankylosis of the 3rd and 4th cervical vertebrae, spondylosis of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th thoracic vertebrae, Schmorl's nodules on the 7th thoracic and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd lumbar vertebrae. [Extracted from the article]

In case of long-term use of the churchyard the soil would surely have contained bone fragments there. This interpretation seems likely also because there is no information about two big medieval cemeteries - the churchyard and adjacent non-churchyard village cemetery - from any other rural parish centre of Estonia. CHRONOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK There is enough reason to suggest that the parish church and churchyard were founded in Kodavere just after Christianization of the area in 1220 (HCL XXIV: 1), since the building of churches immediately after the conquest was a common practice in Livonia in the era of crusades (HCL XI: 5; XIV; X; XVI: 8; XXIX: 1). The lack of a medieval church site and churchyard near the present church is shown also by the fact that the soil contains no fragments of human bones even east, south-east and south of the sacristy. It seems highly likely that the cemetery in the historical Kodavere parish centre is the medieval parish churchyard, giving also a hint about the location of the medieval wooden parish church of that time. [Extracted from the article]

The trepanned skull found in Valjala is the oldest known skull with surgery marks found in Estonia. The somewhat earlier date of the grave, compared with other graves in Valjala, is supported by the fact that the lower leg bones of the skeleton were destroyed when digging the foundation for the round apse of the earliest Valjala stone church. 116 VARASED KRISTLIKUD MATUSED VALJALA KIRIKU ÜMBRUSES SAAREMAAL Marika Mägi, Martin Malve ja Tarvi Toome Valjala kirikut peetakse Eesti üheks vanimaks kiviehitiseks. Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2018, 93-118 Early Christian burials at Valjala churchyard, Saaremaa Marika Mägi Tallinna Ülikool, humanitaarteaduste instituut, ajaloo, arheoloogia ja kunstiajaloo keskus (Tallinn University, School of Humanities, Institute of History, Archaeology and Art History), Uus-Sadama 5, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia; marika.magi.01@tlu.ee Martin Malve Tartu Ülikool, ajaloo ja arheoloogia instituut, arheoloogia osakond (University of Tartu, Institute of History and Archaeology, Department of Archaeology), Jakobi 2, 51005, Tartu, Estonia Tarvi Toome Tallinna Ülikool, arheoloogia teaduskogu (Archaeological Research Collection of Tallinn University), Rüütli 10, 10130 Tallinn, Estonia INTRODUCTION Valjala Church is situated near the south-eastern coast of Saaremaa, and has often been referred to as one of the earliest stone churches in Estonia. Unfortunately, the skull was found in a damaged grave where the skull was the only preserved part of the skeleton; the rest of the skeleton had been dislocated by later burials or earthworks. [Extracted from the article]

Treponemal infections namely yaws, bejel and syphilis, are re-emerging diseases, representing a global threat to human health. Historically, syphilis is known from causing a devastating epidemic in Europe at the end of the 15th century. The origins and spread of treponemal diseases, however, remain unresolved, including the potential introduction of syphilis to Europe by Columbus' expedition to America. Here, we analyze genetic data from wide selection of archaeological human remains from both Europe and Americas. We present several reconstructed ancient Treponema pallidum genomes retrieved by target enrichment and next-generation sequencing, that reflect a high diversity of strains related to both venereal syphilis and yaws, including a formerly unknown form of treponemes phylogenetically basal to both bejel and yaws lineages. A molecular clock dating performed on ancient and modern genomes allows for a pre-Columbian origin of treponemal epidemics in the Old World, based on the estimates for the ancient European strains. Furthermore, a new high-coverage genome from Poland, providing an updated phylogeny and remarkable evolutionary analysis on the role of recombination in treponemes is studied in-depth among the ancient examples of the syphilis-causing strain. Our findings demonstrate a broad variety of treponemal diseases in Europe temporally close to New World contact and showcase that the treponematoses that are mostly restricted to the tropics and subtropics today, also existed widely in historical Europe. These results suggest a more complex pattern in the geographical distribution of early treponemal diseases than previously understood, and imply their possible endemic spread within the Old World. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estonian Journal of Archaeology is the property of Teaduste Akadeemia Kirjastus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article focuses on expansion and renovation of building of Tori shop archaeological research carried out on parish cemetery of Tori in 2016 and mentions scientific fieldwork on burial site. Topics discussed include churches built in 1852-1854 replacing wooden building, archaeological excavation at the archaeological site, and schilling of the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The article focuses on water system of Paistu village renewed by replacing aged pipes and mentions pipes were installed due to heritage protected areas in the village. Topics discussed include church which was plundered by forces of Lithunian Grand Duchy, trenches south-west from the church when moraine was opened and pipes installed by drilling on side of churchyard.

Copyright of Estonian Journal of Archaeology is the property of Teaduste Akadeemia Kirjastus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

During road construction, previously unknown burial ground containing four mass graves, two double burials and eight single graves was discovered. The dead were buried just outside the town walls of Medieval and Early Modern Tartu. The location and several lead bullets found inside the skeletons indicate that the burials date to the Great Northern War (1700-1721). Further archaeological research confirmed that the dead had been soldiers from the siege of Tartu in 1704. The find is unique as it is the first and biggest battle grave from the long-lasting war that has been discovered from Estonia or from neighbouring countries. The skeletons belonged to Russians, who attacked the town and town defenders, consisting of local battalions and Swedish garrison. In three mass graves, dead had been simultaneously buried in the shallow graves and the topmost skeletons had been sagged into the bottom ones. The skeletons were intertwined without any order and from one common grave six Russian orthodox pendants were discovered. The analysis of the osseous material showed that the remains of at least 90 male individuals, between 17-50+ years of age, were buried in the excavated area. The demographic profile was similar to other war-related assemblages of the same region. Paleopathological analysis allowed to conclude that the battle was not fought face-to-face. The numerous gunshot and small cannon shot wounds identified from the remains suggest that the men had been killed from the distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Baltic region was repeatedly struck by plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, during the so-called Second Pandemic (14th-18th centuries). After the initial wave, the Black Death (1346-1353), the Plague of the Great Northern War 1702-1714 is the most prominent outbreak in the Baltics, reportedly causing more deaths than any previous epidemic in some regions. Years of war, displacement and famines had weakened the local population and undermined state authorities, setting the stage for one of the last widespread plague epidemics in Europe. In the last two years, several papers presented a number of newly retrieved Y. pestis genomes from four Baltic sites, presenting evidence for repeated outbreaks of plague over several centuries. In our study, we aim to investigate the genetic history of the Second Pandemic in Estonia and neighboring regions, both by metagenomic screening of individuals on regular cemeteries and by targeted analysis of suspected plague burials. We present paleogenetic evidence for plague in six different urban and rural sites, spanning the 14th-18th centuries, linking the Baltic plague outbreaks to known Y. pestis lineages circulating in other parts of Europe at the same time and offering new insights into the phylogeography of the Second Pandemic. In addition, we contextualize our findings with the recently published plague genomes from the Baltic region which so far have not been presented comprehensively in synopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the results of archaeological, architectural and historical investigations in relation to the renovation of the medieval house being used by the Tartu Toy Museum in Estonia, including the construction of the cellar rooms.