Late medieval tar production on the Lake Verkhnee Kuito. On the Question of “Lopar antiquities” in the Western White Sea region

Abstract

In 2008, archaeological excavations of the “Lopar pit”, described by a Finnish ethnographer at the end of the XIX century, were carried out on Lake Verkhnee Kuito on the island of Lietesuari near the village of Voknavolok in North Karelia. The object is interpreted as a place for the production of tar, which existed from the end of the XV to the XVIII centuries. Two topics are considered: the problems of the “Lopar question” for the territory of the Western White Sea and the specifics of tar production in the farms of this region.