The Site of a Film Set as Material Heritage: A Case Study of the Pohjola Village from Rauta-aika (The Age of Iron) TV-Series

Abstract

Rauta-aika (The Age of Iron, 1982), a four episode TV-series produced by YLE – the Finnish Broadcasting Company, transported the audience into a world of fantasy by successfully mixing the Finnish national epic Kalevala with elements of the local Iron Age. This paper focuses on the dismantled film set of the Pohjola village at the Seinävuori Hill in Hämeenkyrö, documented using archaeological methods in 2012, from the perspective of material heritage. While the remains visible today at the Seinävuori Hill are scarce, they continue to give a context for various meanings and experiences assigned to this place in the recent and more distant past and hence impact the heritagisation of the place.