Database
Our database is free to use for all history and archaeology enthusiasts. If you use our database, please do not forget to cite correctly:
Mägi, Marika; Palm, Piia Sandra. Archaeological Artefacts of Saaremaa. Foundation Osiliana / Tallinn University. Accessed: date.
The Osiliana Archaeological Database presents artefacts from Saaremaa and the surrounding small islands.
The database contains mainly Iron Age and Medieval finds that can be classified.
Undated metal or other pieces were generally excluded from the database.
Ceramics are represented by isolated examples.
The database is a work in progress and is constantly being updated.
Ice cleat, iron.
Fragment of scythe, iron.
Mullutu
Buckle, iron.
Mullutu
Axe, iron.
Weight (?), cylindrical, lead. In Latvia, such weights are dated to the period from the late 10th to the late 13th century (Berga 2017).
Literature:
Berga, T. 2017. The distribution and chronology of traiding equipment in present-day Latvia in the tenth to thirteenth centuries. – Archaeologia Baltica, 24, 59-77.
First photo: Jaana Ratas.
Weight, cylindrical, lead. In Latvia, such weights are dated to the period from the late 10th to the late 13th century (Berga 2017).
Literature:
Berga, T. 2017. The distribution and chronology of traiding equipment in present-day Latvia in the tenth to thirteenth centuries. – Archaeologia Baltica, 24, 59-77.
Tõnija Põlluküla
A comb-shaped pendant with a cruciform top and a bell, bronze. With ornate lines and cross-branches have concentric circles. Unlike most pendants of this type, the comb-shaped part has three holes, one of which has a small bronze bell attached by a ring. The bell is spherical, with a cruciform opening and a ball inside.
A comb-shaped pendant with a cruciform top and a bell, bronze. With ornate lines and cross-branches have concentric circles. Unlike most pendants of this type, the comb-shaped part has three holes, one of which has a small bronze bell attached by a ring. The bell is spherical, with a cruciform opening and a ball inside. Judging by the analogues, such cross-shaped pendants could belong to the second half of the 10th century or the first half of the 11th century, possibly the whole of the 11th century (for analogues, Kurisoo 1999).
Kõiguste
Crossbow brooch, bronze. With transversal cross-sections. Quite a number of such brooches have been found on the Estonian mainland.
Crossbow brooch, bronze. With transversal cross-sections. Quite a number of such brooches have been found on the Estonian mainland. Most likely from the 4th or early 5th century (Lang 2007, 207-208).
Literature:
Gustin, I. 2004. Mellan gåva och marknad. Handel, tillit och materiell Kultur under vikingatid. – Lund Studies in Medieval Archaeology, 34. Malmö, Almqvist & Wiksell, 100-107.
Vana-Lahetaguse
Crab brooch, bronze and iron. Decorated with lines and two eyes. Arched rhomboidal part, needle of iron. Crab brooches are generally considered to be of Finnish origin, which is why this is a rare find for Saaremaa.
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Crab brooch, bronze and iron. Decorated with lines and two eyes. Arched rhomboidal part, needle of iron. Crab brooches are generally considered to be of Finnish origin, which is why this is a rare find for Saaremaa. In Finland, such brooches are dated to the period 550-800 AD, but judging by the size (length only slightly over 4 cm), shape (the head is almost straight) and ornamentation (the eyes appear in the ornamentation of these brooches mainly in the 7th century), the brooch from Lahetaguse could belong to either the second half of the 6th century or the first half of the 7th century (Ranta 1996, 38). This may be a separate subtype for which it is difficult to find an exact match.
Literature:
Ranta, H. 1996. The Finds. – Purhonen, P. (ed). Vainionmäki – A Merovingian Period Cemetery in Laitila, Finland. National Board of Antiquities, Helsinki, 36-72.
