A Giant's Church () is the name given to prehistoric stone enclosures found along the coast of Ostrobothnia region of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in an area that roughly stretches from

Kokkola Kokkola (; , ) is a town in Finland and the regional capital of Central Ostrobothnia. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Kokkola is approximately , while the Kokkola sub-region, sub-region h ...

Kemi Kemi (; ; ; ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately from the city of Tornio and the Finland–Sweden border, Swedish border. The distance to Oulu is to the south and t ...

, with the densest concentration around

Raahe Raahe (; ; ) is a town in Finland, located on the western coast of the country. Raahe is situated in the North Ostrobothnia region, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Raahe is approximately , while the sub-region has a population of a ...

and

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

. Dating from the

subneolithic The Subneolithic is an archaeological period sometimes used to distinguish Archaeological culture, cultures that are transitional between the Mesolithic and the Neolithic. Subneolithic societies typically adopted some secondary elements of the ...

period (3500–2000 BC), they are thought to be a rare example of monumental architecture built by hunter-gatherers in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

Description

The stone enclosures are rectangular or oval boulder embankments. Around forty sites are known, located in a strip on the northwest coast of Finland ( Ostrobothnia). Although located inland today, they were probably originally on the seashore. There is no hard evidence as to their intended use. It is possible they were used by hunters of

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

on spring ice, who were away from their usual dwelling places. One of the largest known sites is Kastelli Giant's Church, which encloses an area of . The Giants' Churches have been dated to the "

" (ie.

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

people who are beginning to use

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

artefacts) around 3500–2000 BC. By 1500 BC they were abandoned.

References

External links

* {{Commons category inline, Giant's churches 4th-millennium BC establishments 16th-century BC disestablishments Mesolithic Europe Neolithic Finland Archaeology of Finland Ostrobothnia (administrative region)