From coast to inland. Activity zones in North Finland during the Iron Age

This study examines the Iron Age of North Finland and focuses thematically on the economic weight of the coast during the Early and Middle Iron Age (500 BC–AD 600) and the shift of this weight to the inland zone during the Late Iron Age (after AD 600). Geographically the centre of attention is, as far as the coastal area is concerned, between the current towns of Raahe and Tornio while the inland zone contains the current provinces of North Ostrobothnia (inland areas), Kainuu and Lapland (Fig.1). In the case of North Finland, there is little use in distinguishing the Viking Age as a single period of study as this arbitrarily defined time period between 800 and 1050 AD is inextricably tied to periods both preceding and following (see Ahola & Frog). Therefore in this study this time period is merely included in what is referred to as the Late Iron Age – i.e. in this context a time period after AD 800