Medieval Castle Timber Identified in Finland

VAASA, FINLAND—YLE News reports that timber uncovered last spring at the site of Korsholm Castle near Finland’s southwestern coast has been radiocarbon dated to the fourteenth century, when Finland was part of the Kingdom of Sweden. “According to documents, legends, and folk tales, Korsholm Castle was first founded in the middle of the fourteenth century, so this confirms the theory very well,” said project manager Heidi Hummelstedt of KulturÖsterbotten. For example, the structure was mentioned in the will of Bo Jonsson Grips, who was warden of the castle in 1384. Four other samples of wood were dated to between 1450 and 1650, when the Swedish king Gustav Vasa had a royal estate in the area. To read about the plants grown in a medieval cloister garden in southwest Finland, go to "The Archaeology of Gardens: Medical Gardens."