Paaso - Mount Paasonvuori - ancient Karelian settlement , near the city of Sortavala . The settlement was discovered in the 1880s by the Finnish archaeologist Otto Appelgren . The name may be related to the origin of the Finnish word Paaso from the Russian word “churchyard”, or the meaning of paaso is “flat stone or slab”. There is also a version on behalf of your own. In modern Finland, surnames with a similar derivative are not uncommon, for example, Paasio . Thus, the Paaso clan could live in this territory, which gave the name to the settlement.
Content
Description
Paaso is located on a high cliff near Lake Karmalanjärvi and the Heljulyanyoki River. The area of the settlement is about 1000 square meters. The main excavations were carried out in the 70s of the twentieth century. Several dozen ceramic fragments, arrowheads and spears were found , as well as a fragment of a sword . Archaeologists date the site of the XII-XIII centuries, but most likely it existed earlier, possibly even in the Viking era, since this area was inhabited by Finno-Ugric tribes already in the VII-VIII centuries.
The hillfort on Mount Paaso was more likely not a place of permanent residence, but a refuge-shelter for the local population in case of danger.
On the southern slope to the top, there is a gently sloping path; it was from this side that the entrance to the ancient settlement was fortified with a rampart and wooden gates. A shaft of stone slabs also protected the eastern part of the settlement. The top of the mountain was built up with dwellings with foundations of small stones, which did not have a fastening mortar. Inside the buildings were foci of a rounded shape. During archaeological excavations under the direction of S.I. Kochkurkina , seven dwellings located in a checkerboard pattern were discovered. Their location suggests that residential buildings on Mount Paasonvuori also carried a defensive function. The top of the buildings is a wooden, log cabin structure . Paaso could temporarily shelter up to a hundred people. The history of the site of Paaso continued until the fourteenth century. The numerous jewelry found here, household equipment and the remains of utensils , as well as distinct traces of the fire , indicate that the residents died or hastily left the settlement. The remains of the hearth were also discovered, which suggests that people during the siege could make or repair weapons, such as arrowheads and spears.
Notes
Links
- Views from Mount Paaso on the site "Photo-Karelia"
- review
- Karelian Science Center
See also
- Finno-Ugric Studies
Sources
- Kochkurkina Svetlana Ivanovna (inaccessible link)