Orthodox regalia found in Huhtiniemi graves

Bodies could have been from 19th century Russian hospital

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In addition to 11 skeletons previously unearthed at the Huhtiniemi campsite in Lappeenranta in southeastern Finland, the bodies of two other people have been disinterred, along with several bronze and silver pendants, bone buttons, and pieces of cloth. The objects include crosses and other symbols of the Orthodox Church.
     
The objects have been sent to the Finnish National Museum for further study. The aim is to determine their age, and the purpose of their use.
      Olli Töyräs of the National Bureau of Investigation says that an investigation is underway into the causes of death, but that it is not a criminal investigation.
      "We want learn the story behind the bodies."
      Police are asking anyone with first-hand information on the matter to come forward; vague rumours are seen as a hindrance to the investigation.
     
The Department of Forensic Medicine at the University of Helsinki is examining the skeletons to see if there are any indications of death by execution. Also under investigation is the age, gender, and time of burial.
      One focus of the investigation is to ascertain if the bodies are those of deserters from the Finnish army suspected of having been executed in Huhtiniemi in the summer of 1944.
     
It has since been put forward that the bodies may have been from a Russian military hospital situated in Lappeenranta in the 1830s.
      Under Orthodox tradition, the dead are laid to rest in an east-west direction with a cross placed on the chest. The idea is that if the person were to rise from the grave, he or she would be facing the sunrise, because Christ is the source of light.
      Professor Helena Ranta, a forensic orthodontist who worked at the excavations and who has extensive experience from work in the Balkans and after the tsunami in Thailand, says that at least the 11 bodies initially found in Huhtiniemi were lying with their heads pointing west and their feet to the east.
      A total of three graves that were near each other were excavated at Huhtiniemi. The police guard has since been dismantled, and the graves have been covered up. No decisions have been made on further excavations.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  New tipoffs on locations of more possible wartime mass graves (24.10.2006)
  Remains of 11 men found in mass grave in southeastern Finland (18.10.2006)

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