Bronze Age Burial Site of Sammallahdenmäki: Sammallahdenmäki is located in the Lappi parish near the west coast of Finland. Sammallahdenmäki consists of 36 granite burial cairns spread out over an area of one km in length. The burial cairns were built close to the Gulf of Bothnia during the Bronze Age (1500-500 BC). In that time, Sammallahdenmäki was easy to spot from the Gulf of Bothnia but due to the land uplift, it is now situated 15 km from the sea. The most important burial cairns of Sammallahdenmäki are the Church Floor, the 'Kirkonlaattia', and the Long Ruin of Huilun, the 'Huilun pitkä raunio', a long wall-like burial cairn surrounded by a stone wall. Most of the Bronze Age burial site is now covered with reindeer moss, plants and forest. The first excavations of the Bronze Age burial site were carried out in 1891. The Church Floor, the Long Ruin of Huilun and two smaller graves were excavated, but no artefacts were found. In the period 2002-2003, new excavations took place, human and animal remains were found and also pottery fragments, stone and bronze artefacts. Sammallahdenmäki is located off the road between Huittinen and Rauma, about 22 km from Old Rauma, also a UNESCO World Heritage. The Bronze Age Burial Site of Sammallahdenmäki became a UNESCO World Heritage in 1999. World Heritage Art: Sammallahdenmäki.
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Burial cairns covered with reindeer moss at the Bronze Age Burial Site of Sammallahdenmäki in Finland. The most important granite burial cairns of Sammallahdenmäki are the Church Floor, an unusual rectangular cairn with a flat top, and the Long Ruin of Huilu. Four of the burial cairns were excavated in 1891, but no artefacts were found. Some cairns were excavated again in 2002 and 2003, human remains were found, also pottery fragments, stone and bronze artefacts. The Bronze Age Burial Site of Sammallahdenmäki was declared a UNESCO World Heritage in 1999.
