THE PREHISTORIC DWELLING SITE ON LAKE INARI

People have lived on the premises of the open-air museum by the small Vuopaja Bay of Lake Inari at the place where the Juutua River flows into the lake as early as the prehistoric period, the Stone Age and the Early Metal Age, about 6,000 - 2,000 years ago. In the excavations of the area, we have found remains and artefacts that tell about the life of hunting and fishing people; we have found sites of dwellings and open hearths as well as tools, ceramics and burnt bone. The area is protected under the Antiquities Act.

The first inventory of the Vuopaja Bay area was completed by Ilmari Itkonen in the early 1900s. By that time, it was already known that there were many dwelling sites in the area, and a few of them were in fact found during the excavations. The most extensive excavations were done in the museum area in the 1980s and 1990s - as a result of the plans to build a new museum. The findings reinforced the fact that the area had been inhabited in the Early Metal Age.

THE JEWEL FINDING OF THE UKONSAARI ISLAND

The jewel finding of the Ukonsaari Island on Lake Inari (in the picture above) is one of the most important findings in the archaeological history of Northern Lapland. The piece of jewelry - a part of a silver jewel - was found by the English archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans among some bone remains in the sacrificial cave of the Ukonsaari Island.

The filigree dates from the 800s and presumably has its origin in the eastern part of Russia. It may have been used as an earring or as a hair jewel worn on the forehead. The young Arthur Evans was making a wide tour in Scandinavia when he found the jewel - apparently as a result of a lucky coincidence. The jewel was taken to England by Mr. Evans and ended up in the collections of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

Because of a lack of resources, the archaeological research on the Sámi Homeland in Finland has been sporadic and inadequate. It is also difficult to spread the information on the archaeological history of the area to the Sámi population of Northern Lapland, as there are no archaeologists working permanently in the area.

Inari Nanguniemi silver treasure (2003)