Hillforts — Karelian shelter-settlements

The Middle Ages were dangerous. Secure walls of a big city could not provide shelter for everybody. On the other hand, it was impossible to turn every village into a fortress. Besides, castles and fortresses were, as a rule, located in a hard-to-access areas, which were unsuitable for agriculture and trade. Therefore, people started building temporary shelters, which stood empty in times of peace, but in case of an alert, could be used as a hiding place until the enemy left.

Such were Karelian shelter-towns on the cliffs and islands of Lake Ladoga. Near the modern town of Sortavala two such settlements can be found. Linnavuori near Tukianmäki village (61 ° 40′31 ″ N, 30 ° 47′1 ″ E) is located on a high cliff (44 m above Tokkarlahti Bay). The cliff top is hard to reach: special ladders are needed to ascend it. The ancient Karelians built ramparts of stones and earth to fortify the site, as well as wooden structures. There is almost no cultural layer on the site, which indicates the exclusively military nature of the settlement: the locals hid there during the raids of the Vikings and other Finnish tribes. From the settlement site, the approaches to the cliff from the bay are clearly visible, so it could also serve as a sentry post. On such cliffs, signal fires must have been made, so that the smoke would warn the area about an impending danger.

Shelter-towns were built also on islands. An island was protected from land attacks but it became a trap if the enemy arrived by water. Near Linnavuori, in the Parolansalmi Strait, between the islands of Riekkalansaari and Tulolansaari, archaeologists discovered two island settlements — Hiiretsaari and Lieritsaari. The remains of low stone ramparts were found on them. Nowadays those settlements could be reached only by water.

Outside Sortavala, near the road Sortavala¬¬—Ruskeala, by Khelyulya village, on a rocky hill, Paaso settlement is located. In 12th—13th centuries, it was not only a fortified shelter, but also a settlement. Three slopes of the hill are steep, while the gentle southern slope had been blocked with defensive earthworks. The excavations at the settlement produced jewellery, handicrafts and tools. Judging from the traces, the settlement was destroyed by a sudden hostile attack and never inhabited again.

The Karelian shelter-settlements demonstrate the heavy fate of local tribes in the Middle Ages. Individual settlements found it hard to protect themselves from loot hunters, while it was not always possible to hide and sit it out on a cliff or an island — all depended on the strength of the enemy.

Only a state and strong princely power could provide secure protection. Medieval Novgorod, which expanded its territory to the Ladoga region and Karelia, was far away, and its power was weak. Its troops could not come to the rescue in time. The region long remained a frontier between the Swedish kingdom and the Novgorodian land. It developed slowly not only due to adverse nature and climate but also because of historical circumstances.

A. I. Filyushkin

Tags: castles and fortresses, before 13 century, The struggle for the Baltic until the 13th century, Karelia, North-West Russia, Novgorodian Land