National Board of Antiquities

 The National Board of Antiquities preserves Finland's material cultural heritage: collects, studies and distributes knowledge of it. The Board is a cultural and research institution, but it is also a government authority charged with the protection of archaeological sites, built heritage, cultural-historically valuable environments and cultural property, in collaboration with other officials and museums. 

The Board offers a wide range and diversified range of services, a professional staff of specialists, the exhibitions and collections of its several museums, extensive archives, and a specialized scientific library, all of which are at the disposal of the general public.

The National Board of Antiquities of Finland is attached to the Ministry of Education.

Archaeology

Archaeology studies the past through remains and relics preserved in the ground and under water. There are some 17 000 ancient monuments and sites in Finland and more are being discovered all the time. Antiquities are an important legacy from past generations. They tell of life, habitation, communications and the movement of people, means of livelihood, religious practices, and the burial of the dead.

All ancient monuments and sites in Finland are protected under the provisions of the Antiquities Act. At the National Board of Antiquities, the Department of Archaeology and the Department of Monuments and Sites are responsibile for maintaining and caring for the archaeological cultural heritage along with certain provincial museums in Finland.

Official Protection

Relics and antiquities are protected as evidence of Finland's past settlement and history. They are the only existing source material for the prehistoric era. In the cultural landscape they form the oldest elements that can be dated and, consequently, they provide a starting point for the examining different aspects of the landscape. Many prehistoric antiquities are significant sights and educational locations when they have been restored, maintained and marked with signs.

In practice, planning work means that the National Board of Antiquities follows the effects of land use plans on antiquities and issues statements on their protection to land owners, municipalities, planning bodies and authorities; in addition, the board organises and monitors archaeological investigated necessitated by protection.

The Antiquities Act

Antiquities are protected in Finland under the Antiquities Act (295/63). Under the act "fixed antiquities are protected as reminders of Finland's past settlements and history. Without permission granted under this act it is prohibited to dig, cover, modify, damage, remove or physically interfere with antiquities".

The Antiquities Act protects automatically without separate measures antiquities which are within definition the act and prohibits action that might endanger the preservation of the relic. Fixed relics do not have any age limit. The act refers to both prehistoric and historic objects. The most recent conservation measures concern defence works from World War II. The protection of prehistoric relics and antiquities is carried out by the Department of Archaeology of the National Board of Antiquities, the historical relics and sites are protected by the Board's Department of Monuments and Sites, and the underwater relics by the Maritime Archaeology Unit.

The Antiquities Act orders that the planner of public land-use projects or town plans must examine the effects of the plan on antiquities. According to the act, the party responsible for a public or a large private project is required to fund the research work caused by the project.

If a fixed archaeological relic is found in excavation work, the act orders that the work is to be discontinued and that the National Board of Antiquities or the provincial museum is to be informed of the matter. The aim of regular field inventories and marking the objects on multi-level plans is that the developer or landowner would not have to face such difficult situations.

The aim of the Antiquities Act is to ensure that the national heritage is preserved to be seen and studied by future generations. Photograph by Jyri Saukkonen.

Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage

The Antiquities Act protects underwater sites the same way it protects ancient sites on land. Underwater man-made structures, such as fairway obstructions or the remains of bridges or quays, for example, are protected as reminders of Finland's past settlements and history. Regardless of their age, all sites are protected and one must not touch them without permission from the National Board of Antiquities.

Old shipwrecks are protected by their age. The wrecks of ships and other vessels discovered in the sea or in inland waters that can be considered to have sunk over one hundred years ago, or parts thereof, are seen as ancient sites. A find of this kind must be reported to the National Board of Antiquities without delay. If it is obvious that the owner has abandoned the wreck or a part of it the wreck belongs to the state. Also the artefacts in or from a wreck of this kind belong to the state.

Within the National Board of Antiquities, it is the Maritime Archaeology Unit that is responsible for the protection of underwater sites.

Means of Protection

To be able to protect underwater sites, the Maritime Archaeology Unit finds it essential to instruct recreational divers and to co-operate with them. The aim is to make sports divers understand and respect the value of ancient sites and the information these contain. Divers must see how they themselves can take part in protecting the underwater cultural heritage. The Maritime Archaeology Unit co-operates actively with divers when it comes to checking the location of different sites, the documenting of the sites, and general change of information. The underwater park at the wreck site of the Kronprins Gustav Adolf off Helsinki was designed especially to give an idea of what a single underwater site can tell us about the events of past times and why these finds are worth protecting.

According to the Antiquities Act, those responsible for the planning of public waterworks must establish whether the execution of such works will concern ancient monuments. Since there is no exhaustive list of the location of underwater sites in Finland, the Maritime Archaeology Unit informs constructors to make an inventory of the bottom in sufficient time beforehand. If a site is about to be harmed or destroyed because of a construction project, the Antiquities Act obliges the constructors to pay for the investigations needed.

On seas, the Finnish Coast Guards observe known sites. The Maritime Archaeology Unit is in active co-operation with the Coast Guards; it informs the Guards about its fieldwork sessions, granted research licences and recreational dives at wrecks sites.

The protection of sites is eased by active co-operation with environmental authorities, forest administration, the Navy, the Finnish Maritime Administration, the Finnish Institute of Marine Research and other public operators. The exchange of information with foreign authorities in the field of cultural heritage is also of great importance.

Protected Areas

On ground of the Antiquities Act, four wreck sites in Finland now have a protected area around them: St. Nikolai off Kotka, St. Mikael and Vrouw Maria in the outer archipelago of Nauvo, and the wreck site at Gråharun in Korppoo. Diving on these areas is subject to license. The Maritime Archaeology Unit treats the licence applications. The aim is to protect underwater sites for future generations and for forthcoming investigations. Protected areas make a long term means of safeguarding different finds from different times. Ancient sites and the information they have can thus give us a rich picture of the history of navigation also in the future.

St. Nikolai

The Russian war ship St. Nikolai sank in a battle between Sweden and Russia at Svensksund off Kotka in the summer of 1790. The wreck was found by fairway maintenance workers in 1948. The hull, the length of which was over 40 meters, was intact at the time, the cannons were on their right places and the figurehead was unbroken. Soon after the wreck was found quite a few items and parts of the structure were raised randomly and they even tried to raise the whole wreck without succeed. Unfortunately these actions damaged the wreck badly. The Antiquities Act, which now protects wrecks that are over 100 years old, was not in force at the time.

The National Board of Antiquities investigated the wreck together with the Provincial Museum of Kymenlaakso and a number of recreational divers many times in 1960's - 1980's, and several objects were raised. The wreck was measured and photographed for drawings. Among the raised objects there were parts of the structure, guns, utensils and some personal belongings of the crew. Also remains of human bodies were found. Already in the 1960's it became clear that since the wreck lies in a fairway, currents from ships damage the wreck. The Finnish Maritime Administration demanded in the 1970's that the draught of the fairway is 13 meters, and so the wreck was made lower.

Despite the great changes and damages that took place or were made in the course of time, a decision was made in the 1970's that the wreck of St. Nikolai is to be safeguarded as a monument of naval warfare. The artefacts were to be protected for future investigations. The National Board of Antiquities asked for a protected area around the wreck and in the autumn of 1976 the State Provincial Office of Kymi (now State Provincial Office of Southern Finland) confirmed the area. Anchorage and diving are therefore strictly prohibited within the range of 300 meters from the wreck unless they are involved in saving and protecting lives of persons in distress at sea, fairway or research work conducted by authorities, or research work guided by the National Board of Antiquities.

St. Mikael

In the autumn of 1747, the merchant vessel St. Mikael was sailing from Amsterdam to St Petersburg when she sank in the waters of Nauvo in the south-western archipelago of Finland. The wreck was found in the 1950's when the nets of a local fisherman fastened in the masts of the wreck. The wreck of St. Mikael is one of the very few old wreck sites in Finland that are identified by the help of archive information. Archive investigations concerning St. Mikael were conducted by Dr Christian Ahlström.

The wreck lies at the depth of app. 40 meters and its 24-meter long hull is intact. The lower parts of all the three masts are standing up. The wreck was documented many times in 1960's - 1980's and several objects were raised. Among the raised objects there were items from the cargo, personal belongings of the crew, and parts of the ship's structure. Also remains of human bodies were found in the wreck.

The National Board of Antiquities asked for a protected area around the wreck of St. Mikael and in the spring of 1999 the Southwest Finland Regional Environment Centre confirmed the area. The aim is to safeguard the wreck and the information it has for future generations and for forthcoming investigations. A well-preserved hull is valuable when studying the history of shipbuilding and the wreck holds artefacts that are appealing in the sense of cultural history. The investigations of the wreck site have yet not been completed.

On the protected area anchorage and diving are strictly prohibited unless they are involved in rescuing a ship or a person in distress, fairway or research work conducted by authorities, or diving guided by the National Board of Antiquities. The protected area can be crossed by a boat.

Vrouw Maria

The merchant vessel Vrouw Maria was on her way from Amsterdam to St. Petersburg when she sank in the outer archipelago of Nauvo in the autumn of the year 1771. The wreck was found in a side scan sonar search organised by the Pro Vrouw Maria Association in the summer of 1999. Already in the 1970's, Dr Christian Ahlström had found archive information about the wrecking of the ship. The most central source for researchers is the ship's protest, which was found in the municipal archives of Turku. The document consists of e.g. an extract of Vrouw Maria's logbook. According to the entries of the Sound customs house in Denmark, Vrouw Maria was with a cargo of sugar, dyestuff, zinc, cloths, and single items whose customs fee seems unusually high. Vrouw Maria now has a reputation of a treasure ship because her cargo consisted of art treasures bought by Russian aristocrats and Catherine the Great. Among the works of art were for example Dutch paintings from the 17th century.

The wreck lies at the depth of app. 40 meters, and the 26-meter hull is intact. The lower parts of both the masts are standing up. The Maritime Archaeology Unit (earlier the Maritime Museum of Finland) conducted non-destructive field research at the site in 2000-2004. The researchers monitored environmental conditions, photographed and videotaped the hull and the interior of the wreck, and took measurements of the wreck for a three dimensional model. So far only a few items have been raised. In 2001-2004 Vrouw Maria represented Finland in an international research and safeguarding project on underwater cultural heritage (The MoSS Project). The project was funded by a European Community programme called The Culture 2000.

The National Board of Antiquities and the owner of the area, a representative of Finnish forest administration, came to an agreement on a protected area around the wreck of Vrouw Maria in the spring of 2000. The aim of this area is to safeguard the wreck and the information it has for forthcoming investigations. The wreck is an exceptionally well-preserved historical piece of underwater cultural heritage that has much to give for different branches of science. By the help of the protected area, the structures of the wreck or the artefacts do not disappear or get damaged undocumented, and the wreck site can be investigated in the future as intact as possible.

Inside the protected area anchorage and diving are strictly prohibited unless they are involved in rescuing a ship or a person in distress, or diving or research work guided by the National Board of Antiquities. The protected area can be crossed by a boat.

The wreck site at Gråharun

The wreck near the island of Gråharun was found by accident when the Finnish Navy was diving near the island in 1998. The wreck is of an unknown ship. The National Board of Antiquities supervised non-destructive documentation of the wreck in 2001-2003. The wreck is approximately 16 meters long and clinker-built (overlapping hull planks) and it has two masts. The structures of the wreck are worn-out and fragile. There are a lot of ceramics bowls and pots in the wreck. In addition, there are crucibles that were used in melting different elements.

By the help of the artefacts, the wreck is dated to the turn of the 16th and 17th century. Only a few wrecks from this era are known in Finland and the wreck of Gråharun is the only one of them that that is almost in its original state. Sports divers and earlier investigations damaged and changed the other wrecks from this era.

The National Board of Antiquities asked for a protected area around the wreck of Gråharun and in the spring of 2004 the Southwest Finland Regional Environment Centre confirmed the area. The aim is to safeguard the wreck as untouched as possible for forthcoming investigations, that is, to make sure the structures of the wreck or the artefacts do not disappear or get damaged undocumented. Archaeologists are thus able to investigate the wreck site as an intact entity in the future. All information can be collected and exploited e.g. in publications.

Inside the protected area anchorage and diving are strictly prohibited unless they are involved in rescuing a ship in distress, maritime safety measures conducted by the Finnish Maritime Administration, or diving or research work guided by the National Board of Antiquities. In addition, it is prohibited to use the island of Gråharun as a diving base. The protected area can be crossed by a boat and the island of Gråharun can be used for camping, for example.

Source: http://www.nba.fi/en