Nationally significant archaeological sites VARK

Between 2018 and 2024, the Finnish Heritage Agency implemented an inventory of nationally important archaeological sites (VARK). The project identified the most important archaeological sites on the Finnish mainland. The result was approved by the government as an inventory for the purposes of the national land use objectives based on the Land Use and Building Act (the current Land Use Act, 132/1999) on 7 November 2024.

VARK sites

A selection of archaeological sites that exemplify the regionally diverse characteristics of the Finnish past, excluding the Autonomous Region of Åland, was prepared during the inventory project.

Archaeological sites recorded in the Register of Ancient Sites (fi Muinaisjäännösrekisteri) were employed as the base data and the platform for the inventory. In the course of the work, field inspections were conducted at the sites whose base data concerning, for example, location, preservation, and other documentation was inaccurate or outdated.

More detailed information on the VARK sites is available in the Cultural Environment Service Portal at www.kyppi.fi (in Finnish and in Swedish).

More information on the inventory process is available in the project description of the inventory.

Selection criteria

VARK sites provide a both chronologically and regionally comprehensive assemblage of Finnish archaeological sites. The assessment of the sites was conducted based on common selection criteria, which examine, for example, the cultural historic significance, research value, archaeological diversity, and degree of preservation of the sites. The effect that the landscape around the site has on the perception of the site’s environmental position in the past was also evaluated during the process.

Goals of the inventory

The inventory was undertaken to prepare a well-founded assemblage of significant archaeological sites to be approved for the national land use objectives. The main purpose of the national land use objectives in the spatial planning system is to ensure that matters of national significance are taken into account in planning and in the actions taken by the public authorities. Accordingly, the VARK sites and their values pinpointed in the inventory must be ensured and acknowledged as one of the starting points at different levels of land use planning.

Implementation of the inventory

The Finnish Heritage Agency bore the main responsibility for implementation of the inventory, which was compiled in cooperation with the museums with regional responsibility, Metsähallitus (a state business institution managing national forest and water properties), universities, and some specialists from different organisations. The Finnish Heritage Agency and the museums with regional responsibility carried out the majority of the assessments of the sites and field inspections together.

In addition, the steering group for the inventory consisted of experts from the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities (fi Kuntaliitto), the Ministry of the Environment, and the Ministry of Education and Culture.

The data on the VARK sites represents the situation during the inventory (2018–2024). The sites included in the inventory and the base data attached to them will not be updated until the whole inventory is renewed and updated.