Department of Archaeology

"Holy Cross Church of Hattula in Häme (Sw.: ‘Tavastland’), located approximately 100 kilometres north of Helsinki (Sw.: ‘Helsingfors’), is the only preserved medieval church in Finland that was originally completely made of brick. In addition to its building material, the church is famous for its colourful and rich paintings completed at the beginning of the 16th century.

The main object of the research is to discover what kind of building technique was used and how the builders proceeded in the 15th century when the church was constructed. In addition, the research is designed to see if the building technique could shed some light on the debated issue of whether the church was built in a single construction phase or not.

When I first studied the church for my Master’s thesis in 2000-2001, my main problem was that it was not well documented. There were no brick-by-brick drawings on which to mark my observations. Using digitized but unscaled photographs, I was able to cope. Since the beginning of this century, the possibilities of using digital surveying methods have improved considerably, including for buildings archaeologists.

In this article, I briefly discuss the different methods of producing 2- and 3D digital research material for buildings archaeologists’ needs. Firstly the image based survey techniques: the close range photogrammetry and producing rectified photos and orthophotos (based on DSM) are discussed. Secondly the non-image based survey techniques: total station and laser scanning and their possibilities are dealt with. This is followed by a comparison of the methods.

In co-operation with the private buildings archaeological company Muuritutkimus Ltd. and the Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing of the Helsinki School of Technology, I am using the image based and non-image based survey techniques to produce the research material for my lisenciate thesis."

"Terrakottamaskerna i Heliga korsets kyrka i Hattula
Av Tanja Ratilainen

I denna artikel jämförs de sex terrakottamaskerna i Heliga korsets kyrka i Hattula med masker i andra medeltidskyrkor i Finland. I jämförelsen dryftas deras ursprung, vad de föreställer och vad de kan betyda.
Att masken utgör en valvkonsol eller placeras på den yttre muren är rätt sällsynt i Finlands medeltida stenkyrkor. Förutom i Hattula förekommer terrakottamasker åtminstone i Nagu, Korpo, Pernå och Vittis.
Hinrich Brunsberg-skolans inflytande på korbygget i Åbo domkyrka och på förmedlingen av dekorationselementen i detta kor via slottet i Tavastehus till Hattula kyrka utgör en ny möjlig förklaring till maskernas ursprung. Det är troligt att byggnadsarbetarna visste vad maskerna användes till och att de kände till deras symbolik.
Utgående från maskernas ansiktsdrag kan det antas att två av dem är kvinno- eller helgonfigurer. Tre masker, som möjligen är mansfigurer, är ganska primitivt och enkelt gjorda, medan den fjärde är omsorgsfullare gjord. Nyckeln till att förstå maskerna kan finnas i deras miner och placering."

The aim of the ongoing research is to study the brick building techniques of the Holy Cross Church at Hattula. Questions asked are: How did the bricklayers proceed in their work? Is it possible to identify masons? Was it a single project concluded in a relatively short period of time? In this article I will
briefly present the digital surveying methods applied with the focus being on a selection of results concerning
the building techniques.
Building archaeological surveying methods such as stratigrafic analysis of the walls and photogrammetry
(PhoToPlan, iWitness) and laser scanning were applied in co-operation with Muuritutkimus Ltd and the Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing of the Aalto University and the Geodetic Institute. Studying the building archaeological record showed that bricks were probably assorted after firing and in some cases the colour of the brick revealed where the masons proceeded horizontally. The brick measurements suggest that there was a change in the brick producing process and therefore possibly a break or a delay in the building project. However, analyzing the bonding technique it seems that the same group of masons built the whole church. Studying of the putlog holes showed that the masons working on
both sides of the walls proceeded at a slightly different pace that the planks of the putlog scaffolding were probably taken down as the works progressed and that several types of scaffolding were applied during the building project.


Keywords: Brick, building techniques, church archaeology, digital surveying methods, Middle Ages.

"Brick use in Turku in the 14th century
According to current research, during the construction of Turku Cathedral brick was used in the sacristy’s door jambs and vaults in the 14th century and to a larger extentin the nave at the beginning of the 15th century (Drake). Possibly a gate building
or some other structure on the south-eastern side of the cathedral was built of brick at the end of the 14th century (Ratilainen). The town’s earliest masonry building
for secular rulers was probably the town hall, which was built at the beginning of the 14th century. The first reliable evidence of brick use dates from as late as the town hall’s second building phase in the 1350s–1430s (Uotila). According to current
knowledge, the oldest private masonry building, which had brick-built vaults, was constructed in the 1390s (Uotila). Construction of masonry/brick buildings became
more frequent in Turku in the 15th century (Uotila), and the Dominican convent’s buildings were possibly also erected at this time (Hiekkanen). During the excavations of The Early Phases of Turku project an unusual fireplace laid with unfired brick (adobe) was discovered; so far there is no knowledge of a similar fireplace dating to the Middle Ages. Yet this fireplace and a few other stoves and ovens indicate that brick has been used in fireplaces already since the early 14th
century. We can perhaps claim that brick was particularly suited for constructing fireplaces and that this is why it was used in them before stone and brick construction became more common in the town in general. On the other hand, we can ask why people would have taken the trouble to make or import a few bricks just to build fireplaces. In my opinion, it is more likely that bricks were either brought to or made in the town in larger quantities for specific building projects, and that fireplaces were
constructed with bricks that were left over or dismantled from other structures. Also the brick fragments discovered in layers that are older than the adobe fireplace, in addition to a few other examples, indicate that brick has been used and perhaps even
made in the town as early as the first decades of the 14th century."

Before the town was built the area located southwest to the present cathedral was under cultivation. At the beginning
of the 14th century the base of a stove measuring 2 x 2 metres and made of unfired bricks was built on the old field.
Timber walls were built around it. The stove is one of the oldest and most curious hearths in the Town of Turku. The
choice of building material, unfired brick, is unknown in the rest of Finland or Northern Europe. Why the bricks were
not fired is, for now, a mystery.
Kirkkokatu (Church Street) was built southeast to the timber building. It was one of the most important streets in
the medieval Kirkkokortteli (Church quarter), which is to say the district between the Cathedral and Suurtori (the
Old Great Market). Among other things, Kirkkokatu was a route for religious processions on holy days. In literary
sources it is mentioned for the first time in 1443. Studies revealed that the street ran at the same location already at the
beginning of the 14th century. In the 15th century the street was covered with wood and it was first paved with stones
by the beginning of the 16th century at the latest. In the mid-17th century Iso Kirkkokatu (Great Church Street) was
built parallel south to the Kirkkokatu. Thereafter Vanha Kirkkokatu (Old Church Street) was no longer the only main
artery through the town to Suurtori.
During the 14th and 15th centuries five to six timber buildings were constructed on the plot on the river side of
Kirkkokatu, but they were destroyed in numerous fires. At the end of the Medieval period a stone building was
constructed on the plot. It was in use up until the last great town fire of 1827. Based on earlier research it was known
that the foundations of the stone house measured approximately 19 metres long and 14 metres wide and it contained
seven to eight rooms. In the southern corner room here investigated a number of floor levels were discovered. Under the
oldest of them a hoard of coins was found, probably left there in the 1520s. It was enough money to buy, for example,
70 - 80 litres of beer.
No information has survived on the medieval inhabitants of the plot known as Rappangården, or Rappana House. It
is likely that the plot was owned by the Church. The finds suggest that the residents were wealthy. One of the most
famous later residents was the father of Finnish history, Henrik Gabriel Porthan, who lived on the plot towards the end
of the 18th century."

TIILIEN JA KATTOTIILIEN ALKUPERÄN
TUNNISTAMINEN pXRF-MENETELMÄLLÄ
– TAPAUSTUTKIMUS KESKIAJAN TURUSTA
Tutkimuksessa selvitetään alkuaineanalyysien avulla, valmistettiinko muuri- ja
muototiiliä 1200-luvun lopulla ja 1300-luvun alkupuoliskolla Turun seudulla vai
tuotiinko niitä muualta Koroisten jaTurun kaupungin rakennushankkeisiin.
Lisäksi tarkastellaan sitä, miten tiilien hankinta (muuritiilet, muototiilet, kattotiilet)
kehittyi 1300- ja 1400-lukujen aikana. Kyseessä on ensimmäinen suomalainen
tutkimus, jossa tiilien ja kattotiilien alkuainekoostumuksen tutkimiseen käytettiin
kannettavaa röntgenfluoresenssianalysaattoria (pXRF). Työssä analysoitiin 20 tiiltä Koroistenniemeltä sekä 17 tiiltä ja 3 kattotiiltä Turun kaupungin alueelta. Koroisten tiilet oli taltioitu Juhani Rinteen kaivauksissa (1900–1902) ja kaupungin tiilet Varhainen Turku -hankkeen kaivauksissa (2005–2006). Vertailuaineisto (40 kpl) koostui paikallisista ja tuoduista saviastioista ja tiilistä. Tuloksia verrattiin myös paikallisten savien geologisiin koostumusanalyyseihin. Tulosten tulkinnassa otettiin huomioon mm. ympäröivien maakerrosten mahdollisesti korkeat raskasmetallipitoisuudet sekä kaliumin ja kalsiumin liukeneminen tiilen pinnasta. Tämän vuoksi useista alkuaineista koostuvien ryhmien katsottiin yhdessä
osoittavan tiilen vierasta alkuperää. Vertai luaineiston perusteella ainoastaan raudan
ja kalsiumin tulkittiin yksin osoittavan tuontia. Aineistossa oli vähintään 9, mutta
todennäköisesti kaikkiaan 13 tuotua tiiltä. Näiden joukossa oli muototiiliä, mutta
myös tavallisia muuritiiliä. Tiiliä tuotiin tiilenkäytön varhaisvaiheista lähtien, 1200-
luvun toiselta puoliskolta 1300-luvun alkupuoliskolle, mutta edelleen käytön yleistyessä 1300-luvun toisella puoliskolla ja 1400-luvulla. Tiiliä valmistettiin alusta
lähtien myös paikallisesti. Tutkimusaineistossa oli vain kolme
kattotiiltä, minkä perusteella ei juurikaan voida tehdä luotettavia johtopäätöksiä kattotiilien hankinnasta. Vaikuttaa kuitenkin siltä, että 1400-luvulla kattotiiliä hankittiin
sekä paikallisesti valmistamalla (73) että tuomalla muualta (66?,67). Kattotiilien
pinnoitteena käytettiin luultavasti lyijy- ja kuparipohjaista (66, 67) sivelyä.
Tutkimuksen perusteella Turun seudulle ei keskiajalla saapunut ainoastaan
tiilentekijöitä ja muurareita, vaan myös tiiliä. On mahdollista, että tiiliä tuotiin,
koska tänne ei saatu tarpeeksi taitavia tiilenlyöjiä tai että paikallinen tuotanto ei
riittänyt täyttämään tarvetta. Tiilien harvinaisuus tai kalleus ei liene ollut syynä
tuontiin. XRF-menetelmän käytön etuihin voidaan laskea se, että näytteitä ei tarvitse
kuljettaa analysaattorin luo, mikä esimerkiksi mahdollistaa laitteen käytön kentällä.
Näytteitä saadaan myös analysoitua suhteellisen nopeasti isoja määriä. Toisaalta
kannettavat XRF-analysaattorit ovat edelleen melko hintavia, ja käyttäjän on toimittava
Säteilyturvakeskuksen valvonnan alaisena. Lisäksi eri laitevalmistajien laitteiden
tulokset eivät ole suoraan vertailukelpoisia keskenään.

As my master's dissertation I studied how the social network analysis can be implied to archaeology of German hansa using the material from Early Turku -project excavation near the Turku Cathedral  conducted by Museum Centre of Turku in 2005. The inspection period was between 1300- 1600 and it examined the intensity and the direction of Turku import. Although the results are more of preliminary, the adaptation of social network analysis to study of long-distance trade in archaeology was successful.  In this article I am also going through briefly the terminology of social network analysis.