Published in: Itä-Helsingin Uutiset, 10th of December, 2003

- HISTORICAL VILLAGE OF GUBBACKA WILL BE RUN OVER BY THE HARBOR CONSTRUCTION

- The construction project of Vuosaari harbor, has financed the archeological diggings of Gubbacka with 182 000 euros. In the diggings, the archeologist have found a village, that dates back to the 14th century. They have found for example old coins and ceramic art. Also a spur has been found, that has belonged to the military. To the place where this old village stands, will be build an intersection due to the new Vuosaari harbor. That's why we wanted to investigate this place, before it will be buried under the freeway, says the leading researcher. The investigations are now over and from our part, the village area is ready for the destruction. 

- The search for the village didn't start until after the year 2001, when place-name researcher placed the old Gubbacka to the terrain, using old maps. Gubbacka is located in the Vantaa area, about 500 meters north from the Kehä III and Itäväylä intersection. In the basic search in the autumn of 2002, about twenty foundations of houses were found and five of them were investigated in the summer of 2003. The diggings reached to one meter depth. About twenty researchers and students were performing these diggings. 

- At first it was thought that the village dates from the 11th century, but the diggings changed this idea. The village however is quire remarkable discovery, because not much is known about the lives of the peasants in the 14th century. There are no written sources and so the researchers need to rely on the archeological findings. There haven't been too many investigations of old villages in Finland, so this was kind of a pioneer work, says the leading researchers. No real "treasures" were found during the investigation, as most of the findings were everyday items or common tools. However, the dice made out of bone, is a quite nice discovery, admits the leading researcher. 

- About 2000 different items were found during the diggings and all of those have been carefully catalogued. Even the smallest piece of bone are included, but only about 500 items can be said to be "real" items. The houses in Gubbacka have been made out of logs and the most interesting part was, that the logs have been removed and transported to another location when the residents have moved. The people who lived here, have also shaped the area around the houses. For example, some of the houses had terraces. The leading researcher also praises the great ovens that these houses once had. Biggest of them were 4x4 meters in size. The diggings will end up to a report that will be finished in March or April and will be eventually uploaded to the museum office internet pages.