Thursday, December 29, 2011

Estonia: Archaeologists Discover Medieval Artifacts at Art Academy Site

Archaeologists digging at the site of the future Academy of the Arts have uncovered a trove of medieval artifacts, including several boxes of ceramic pottery, as well as silver coins, wooden dice, bone jewelry and a piece from a board game.

All sites for new buildings in Tallinn's downtown area must undergo archaeological excavations. The Academy of Arts property sits on the edge of an ancient suburb of Tallinn, and is one of the largest turfs archaeologists have had the joy to unearth, reported Postimees.

In many other archaeological sites, the more ancient cultural layers are often destroyed before researchers reach that deep. But diggers made it all the way to the medieval strata at the Academy of Arts. The plentiful ceramic findings are particularly useful for dating.

Click here to read this article from Estonian Public Broadcasting