The prehistory of Sundom began as early as the stone age. We know this since the summer of 2003, when the results of an age-evaluation of burned bones from Öjberget was finished. It’s a matter of the clearly oldest trace of humans found in the Vaasa-area. The C-14 analyse made in the dating laboratory of Helsinki university, reveals that the bones were burned approximately 3 800 years ago – that is to say in the final phase of the stone age. Also remainders of quartz, sandstone and burned rocks (”rocks used for boiling”) have been found on the same location – in a cave-like space under a large boulder laying about 46 meters above sea-level.

Close to 4 000 years ago, Öjberget was a small island, far out at Västerhavet (the western sea). Back then, the island was hardly one kilometer long and at most, half a kilometer wide. To the closest mainland in south-east by present Laihela, there was a stretch of almost 30 kilometers.

The Öjbergs-island was at the time probably a rich ground for season-catching, where the people could fish and hunt seal. The cave under the boulder provided a good shelter against weather and wind. Under the great rock a fire gave heat and prepared food from fish, bird and seal. It could even be pleasant if one could cover the opening with hides hung on thin treetrunks. Further excavations is necessary to with greater certainty be able to describe the life on the island at Västerhavet at that time.

At extensive excavations in the area, arranged by Vasa arbis in the spring of 2005, an interesting stone age object appeared. It was the bite-part of a stone-chisel that was dug out. www.vaasa.fi/arbis 


Öjberget and Söderfjärden about 3 800 years ago.
By the land-raise simulator made by Vasa stadsplaneverk and Svenska yrkeshögskolan 2000.