TARTU, ESTONIA—ERR News reports that construction work at the University of Tartu has revealed traces of houses destroyed during the Great Northern War. “So to say, we opened an early modern time capsule, the whole quarter has remained exactly the same as it was in 1708 when it was destroyed,” said archaeologist Rivo Bernotas. Estonia, which had been ruled by Sweden, was integrated into the Russian Empire in 1710 as a result of the war. Bernotas said the researchers also recovered a token created to commemorate the consecration of Jodokus von der Recke as Bishop of Tartu in 1545, medieval ovens and refuse such as animal and fish bones, and other artifacts including an stove tile carved with the image of King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden. To read about recent archaeological work in Estonia, go to "Largest Viking DNA Study," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2020.
