The 18th Century Sea Fortress of Ruotsinsalmi, Kotkansaari in Finland

Archaeobotanical Data of a Log Latrine; Pp. 30–51

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12636384
AutoresMia Lempiäinen-Avci (0000-0002-0221-151X, autor de correspondencia), Marita Kykyri
Año2017
Volumen21
Número1
Páginas30-51
Fecha de publicación2017-03-10
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaEstonian Journal of Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1406-2933 • E-ISSN: 1736-7484
EditorialEstonian Academy Publishers (PUBLISHER • EE)
DOI10.3176/arch.2017.1.02
OpenAlexW2614422465
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2

In archaeobotany, plant remains from latrines have been used to derive information on historical food consumption. In this interdisciplinary paper, we present new archaeological and archaeobotanical data from the 1790s sea fortress of Ruotsinsalmi in Kotkansaari, Finland. Archaeological research revealed the remains of an infantry barracks and a well-preserved log latrine at the sea fortress. The contents of the latrine were excavated, and waterlogged human faeces were found. To reconstruct the food consumption of the soldiers at the sea fortress, we carried out archaeobotanical analyses on the faeces. The waterlogged human faeces consisted purely of plant remains and fish bone fragments. The analysis of the plant remains gave records of 77 different plant taxa, and common millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) and sage (Salvia officinalis L.) were identified for the first time from archaeological layers in Finland. The remarkable number of cultivated and exotic plants recorded from the faeces shows that imported as well as locally produced food was used

Ancient history · Archaeology · Fortress (chess · Geography · Latrine · Sanitation · Environmental Science · Historical and Archaeological Studies · History