Archaeological excavations in Aboa Vetus

Aboa Vetus (Old Turku) is a museum of archaeological history. The ruins excavated in the Convent Quarter originate from the Middle Ages. In the midst of these ruins, museum visitors progress through the permanent exhibition, which focuses on the 15th century. The artefacts on display originate from the excavations carried out in the town quarter where the museum actually sits.

The east side of the centre of Turku is the town's oldest district, the quarters of which are the Cathedral Quarter and the Convent Quarter. In the Middle Ages, the area was a bustling centre of administrative, commercial and ecclesiastical life. The town's residential areas were also concentrated on the east bank of the river. This medieval district is one of the country's most historically significant areas, the stratification of which is fascinating and uniquely rich.

Here, on the banks of the River Aura and in such locations as the Convent Quarter, archaeological excavations and research have been carried out for at least a hundred years. While this has been happening, research methods, the museum collection and information about the townscape have been developing and accumulating. The ruins in the Aboa Vetus Museum were discovered beneath the ground. Through the ages, all kinds of things have been constructed on top of them; new streets and buildings. 1928 saw the completion of the so-called Rettig Palace, the lower half of whose garden is now the location of Aboa Vetus.

The Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova Museum and the Matti Koivurinta Foundation that maintains it have been active in researching the Convent Quarter and the whole Rettig plot of land since the 1990s. In Aboa Vetus, museum visitors have the opportunity to walk through the Middle Ages and also to see how research is being carried out. The aim of the museum is to continue excavations in the area of the museum every year. That way, it will be possible to date the ruins more exactly, and, through the discoveries made there, to gain new information about life in this very area hundreds of years ago.

In 2010, the excavations will continue in Aboa Vetus. Children attending the museum's summer school will gain experience in the work of an archaeologist.