Research

The beginning of archaeological research

The first archaeological finds from the eastern wall of the main crater were discovered by Ülo Kestlane, a researcher in the Institute of Geology, in 1975. In 1976 the archaeologist Vello Lõugas. started archaeological excavations. On the external slope of the North-eastern part of the crater wall a stronghold was discovered. On the lake side it was protected by the steep bank, on the other side a mortarless limestone wall, 110 m long and 2 m wide, had been erected.

Relying upon the finds, the stronghold could be dated to the 5th-7th century BC, i.e. to the Late Bronze Age. Evidently the stronghold was not erected immediately after the catastrophe, but many centuries later when the taboo caused by the celestial origin of the crater had somewhat diminished and the habitable landscape was restored. The limestone blocks thrown up by the explosion were used to smooth the slope and pave the buildings. The external wall that was to shelter the houses on the slope had to be at least 4 m high. kaali_lake Such a strong wall hasn't been discovered on any of the hitherto investigated early strongholds. The fortified settlement on the crater slope persisted for a couple of centuries at most.

The excavations did not reveal whether it had had any features of a cult site emerging from the peculiarity of the location, or was it an ordinary habitation site of cattle-breeders and tillers, likewise the other contemporaneous fortified settlements on Saaremaa..

Finds

Besides other artefacts, a small silver hoard – two neck-rings and two bracelets dating from the 3rd-5th centuries – was found during the excavations. As they are not contemporaneous with the stronghold we may assert that it must have been a hidden treasure or a votive deposit, the silver-white which Lennart Meri so enchantingly discusses in his book under the same title.

The exclusiveness of the main crater is also accentuated by a mysterious massive stone wall surrounding it. These remains have attracted the attention of the archaeologists since the beginning of the investigations. The wall, 470 m long and 2.5 m wide, surrounding the main crater is far mightier than the mightiest stone fences of Saaremaa. The stones in the wall were also very big – their diameter was up to 1.5 m. The aim of such powerful and labour-intensive construction had to be different from that of an ordinary stone fence. Probabl Kaevamised2 y its function was to separate the important cult site from the surrounding world, so that no unwelcome guest could approach it.

The excavations at the foot of the wall revealed that at the time of building the wall of the manor period, the earlier wall, probably dating from the prehistoric period, was already dismantled. Hitherto it is not clear whether the wall was erected on cult purpose or to defence end. The old toponyms, like Paasiaia põld (Field of the limestone wall), Püha mets (Sacred forest) and the name of the whole county – Püha – which means "sacred" encourage fantasy and offer possible explanations.


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