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This video presents the Lepna mortuary house in Saaremaa, which dates from the 5-6th century and is rich in finds. The latter aspect is all the more special as we have very few finds from this period in Estonia.
The site of the Lepna mortuary house was excavated between 2002 and 2003. It consisted of the remains of a largely buried building with a stone roof and a fireplace in one corner. The dead had been brought into the building to decompose and their bones were mixed over time. A very large number of weapons and shields were found. A lot of jewellery was found as well, some of it silver or gold plated. Although the artefacts and burials date from the 5th-6th centuries, the cemetery had been cared for until the 13th and 14th centuries, when it was finally abandoned and the roof collapsed.
Authors: Kristo Siig, Martin Männik, Marika Mägi, Piia Sandra Palm.
The video was made in the framework of the project “With Video on Saaremaa’s Historical Landscapes”, funded by Estonian Research Council’s science popularisation project competition and Foundation Osiliana.
Maps are created based on spatial data provided by the Estonian Land Board.
Excavation photos and drawings: Foundation Osiliana.
Animations were made using licensed materials from Freepik.
Unity Asset Store assets were used for 3D reconstructions.
Other visual media content used in the video is public domain.
Mägi, M. (2005). Mortuary Houses in Iron Age Estonia. Estonian Journal of Archaeology, 93−131.
Read the article: here.
Mägi, M. (2005). Stone Graves and Mortuary Houses. The Development of Burial Rites on Iron Age Saaremaa. (In Estonian: Kivikalmed ja surnumajad. Matmiskombestiku areng rauaaegsel Saaremaal.) Saaremaa Muuseum, kaheaastaraamat 2003–2004 (3−34). Kuressaare: Saaremaa Muuseum.
Read the article (EST) here.
Mägi, M. (2004). The Mortuary House at Lepna on Southern Saaremaa. In: Archaeological Fieldworks in Estonia = Arheoloogilised välitööd Eestis 2003 (45−60). Tallinn: Muinsuskaitseamet.
Read the article: here.
