Virnamäki’s Flow

In the national landscape of the Aura River Valley, on the upper reaches of Halistenkoski in Turku, next to the old village of Halinen, lies the Virnamäki cultural heritage and archaeological site. This area is a regionally significant meadow site, notable for its pillar juniper meadow and meadow vegetation, and it also contains significant archaeological remains that represent the younger Iron Age of the Aura River Valley.

Landscape Maintenance and Vegetation Survey in Summer 2022

The Aura River Foundation has been maintaining the Virnamäki area for several years and has developed its guidance in cooperation with the National Board of Antiquities and the City of Turku. Key restoration work was carried out in 2018, when the overgrown juniper meadow and old pastureland, which had become overrun with aspen, were cleared with the help of a one-time grant from Turku City's Beautification Fund. A management plan for these areas was also produced, along with guide signs along the trails. Additionally, the foundation has conducted small-scale mowing and removed invasive plants with the help of the Turku Resident Budget in 2021.

Partial funding for the 2022 work was provided through the Helmi-Environmental Program. In June 2022, extensive landscape maintenance began in Virnamäki, alongside a vegetation survey. The goal of the work was to preserve the traditional biotope of Virnamäki and the environment of the archaeological sites, preventing the area from overgrowing again and allowing problematic plants to take over native vegetation. The area had already begun to become overgrown since the previous restoration. The maintenance efforts aim to preserve the landscape character of the old traditional meadow area and promote the area's biological diversity. Furthermore, the 2018 management plan for the juniper meadow and aspen forest is being updated to cover the entire cultural landscape area, with monitoring of the results from the 2018 restoration.

What is the Helmi-Environmental Program?

The Helmi Program addresses the main direct cause of the depletion of Finland’s nature: the loss and degradation of habitats. The Helmi Program enhances Finland's biodiversity and improves the state of habitats by, for example, protecting and restoring peatlands, managing and maintaining bird wetlands, traditional biotopes, and forested environments, and restoring aquatic and coastal nature. In addition, the program promotes ecosystem services, water protection, carbon sequestration, and other climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. For more information about the Helmi Program, visit the Ministry of the Environment or the ELY Centre websites.

Landscape volunteer work, cultural walks, and cultural canoeing trips are organized in Virnamäki and the surrounding Aura River environment.

Virnamäki’s Past

The archaeological site of Virnamäki and other nearby sites form a complex that provides an excellent representation of the younger Iron Age (550–1150 AD) in the Aura River Valley. The area includes the Virnamäki burial site and settlement, nearby cupstones, and the Komosten burial mounds along the riverbank. These sites are protected under the Antiquities Act.

Virnamäki also features archaeological plants—species that are connected to human activities from the Iron Age and tell the story of the area's history.

People first settled along the Aura River around 4,000 years ago. The river flowing into the sea and the fertile clay soils and hard moraine areas suitable for agriculture ensured a stable livelihood. At that time, most food likely came from the sea, but agriculture was also beginning to develop in the surrounding areas.

Virnamäki has yielded evidence of younger Iron Age burials and a settlement from the same period. The findings mainly come from the forest area, but some discoveries have also been made in the fields. Archaeological excavations in 1976–77 dug 41 test pits in the forest area. Many of these yielded burned bones and pieces of pottery. An interesting find was a bronze ring (dated to about 1,500 years ago), which the discoverer believes could have been part of a belt ornament. Pottery was found in both well-made and more fragile, low-quality vessels. Pottery and the ring are the only finds that help date the site. Additionally, the area has yielded evidence of cremation burial sites. The findings reflect everyday life in the Iron Age, as well as beliefs and burial practices.

Sacrifice cups are small depressions carved into the surface of rocks or boulders, sometimes polished smooth at the bottom. They typically have a diameter of 5–10 cm and a depth of 1–3 cm. In the Virnamäki area, five sites have been definitively identified as cupstones. These stones are believed to be connected to religion, such as ancestor worship or fertility cults. Carved cup depressions are difficult to date, but most cupstones are likely from the Iron Age. Some were also made and used in later historical periods. The oldest known cupstone in Finland dates back to the Bronze Age. The cupstones in Virnamäki are most likely from the Iron Age, and they are located either along field edges or on rocks that extend into the fields. Their location suggests that these stones were also connected to agricultural activities.

The Komosten mounds, located right by the Aura River in a forested area, are two naturally shaped mounds or burial mounds. During an archaeological survey in 1961, pottery from the Iron Age, as well as burned bones and soot soil, were found in a test pit. The mounds were identified as ancient remains at that time. These mounds have generally been regarded as burial mounds, but they may also have served as a campsite. While burial mounds are typically considered burial sites, they were a rare burial form during the Iron Age in Finland. The common burial practice of the period was cremation, with no visible structures above the ground.