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Sammallahdenmaki, Bronze Age burial site in Finland

Situated in the Lappi district, Sammallahdenmaki is an important Scandinavian Bronze Age burial site and included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1999. Thanks to our GPS navigator, we finally arrived at the site (though with a bit of confusion about the road directions) after our tour of Old Rauma. From the highway, we turned right to a winding road with both sides thickly covered by tall trees. What’s interesting about Sammallahdenmaki are the very ancient burial cairns (piles of stones) which date back to 1,500 to 500 BC.

sammallahdenmaki entry
The entrance sign to the burial site with estimated distances to two important cairns: Kirkonlaattia (The Church Floor) at 170 meters ahead, and the Huilun pitka raunion (The Long Ruin of Huilu) after 870 meters.

sammallahdenmaki entrycloseup
Want to hike few meters more? By the way, bicycles are not allowed here, and one should be careful to keep away from the slippery moss.

sammallahdenmaki trees&moss
We immediately noticed the beds of light green moss covering most of the ground including the rocks.

sammallahdenmaki moss
A closer view of the moss-covered ground.

sammallahdenmaki trees&stones
Those piles of stones seem to look ordinary yet they’re one of the ancient burial cairns.

sammallahdenmaki stones
Visitors are not allowed to step on top of the burial cairns which are considered sacred.

sammallahdenmaki crookedtree
This crooked tree caught my attention. I wonder how it grew in shape like this?

It was such a serene and quiet atmosphere at Sammallahdenmaki, a place perfect for a retreat… and even if we were on an ancient burial site, it didn’t feel spooky at all; instead it was an afternoon where we experienced the tranquility of nature.

8 Comments

  1. betchai

    Wow, the formation of the tree indeed looks very interesting. Must be exposed to the elements more than the surrounding trees, or may be genetics? But definitely, the pictures looks peaceful and the twisted tree looks like it speaks of a lot of character.

    Reply
  2. Abas

    DIdn’t Finland get contaminated by the Chernobyl disaster years ago? The crooked tree explains a lot. Lol.

    Reply
  3. Chris

    “..Thanks to our GPS navigator, we finally arrived at the site..”

    I love the day and age we live in. No need for maps anymore!

    Reply
  4. happysteps

    Betchai:

    Yeah, it sure looks like a mutant tree. 🙂 It was also very cold there, aside from being a quiet place.

    Reply
  5. happysteps

    Abas:

    That’s a nice theory and kinda scary… there are two nuclear power plants in Finland and I’ve been to one in Olkiluoto, and they’re very strict about nuclear contamination though.

    Reply
  6. happysteps

    Chris:

    Yup, my bro-in-law’s GPS gadget really helped him as the driver when we traveled to some cities in Finland such as Turku and Tampere. It’s amusing to be “lost” or out of the programmed route and hearing the GPS voice advice you to “Turn around when possible”. 🙂

    Reply
  7. *lynne*

    what lovely pictures! I always imagined the cairns smaller but higher… but I suppose it’s also the effect of weather & time that has them looking not so “tidy”. 🙂

    Reply

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