Antrea Net

{{Short description|Prehistoric fishing net found in Russia}} {{Infobox artefact | image = File:AntreaNet.jpg | created = {{circa}} 8,540 BC | material = [[Willow]] | discovered_place = [[Antrea]], [[Grand Duchy of Finland]], [[Russian Empire]] | discovered_date = 1913 | discovered_by = Antti Virolainen | caption = Pieces of the Antrea Net }} The '''Antrea Net''' is one of the oldest known [[fishing net]]s in the world, found in 1913 in the village of Korpilahti on the [[Karelian Isthmus|Karelian isthmus]] in [[Antrea]], then in [[Finland]] but now belonging to Russia. It is dated to 8540 BCE.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Karjalan synty|editor-last=Saarnisto |editor-first=Matti |publisher=Gummerus Kirjapaino Oy|year=2003|isbn=952-5200-37-X|location=Jyväskylä|pages=171–173}}</ref>

==Discovery== The net was found by farmer Antti Virolainen in [[Antrea]], [[Finland]] (today [[Kamennogorsk]], [[Russia]]) in autumn of 1913 at his home farm Ämmä-Mattila. While he was ditching a swamp [[meadow]], he found several stone and bone objects which got his attention.

==Excavation== The site was excavated by the Finnish archaeologist [[Sakari Pälsi]] in July 1914. In his excavation, Pälsi found 18 [[Bobber (fishing)|bobbers]] and 31 net weights and parts of the net. He also found several stone and bone objects, some [[Birch bark|birchbark]] and pieces of [[tinder fungus]]. All the items were found in a relatively small area, and they had likely come to the scene at the same time in one piece. The items were sunk to the bottom clay of the [[Ancylus Lake]] that existed during that period.<ref name=":0" />

==Description== [[File:Antrean verkon kaivaus Sakari Pälsin kuvaamana 1914.jpg|thumb|Photo from the excavations of the Antrea Net by [[Sakari Pälsi]] in the summer of 1914. The photo shows the bobbers on the front and the netweights on the background.]] The net is made out of [[willow]] and it is estimated -- based on the number of parts found -- to have been roughly {{convert|27|to|30|m|ft}} long by {{convert|1.3|-|1.5|m|ftin}} metres wide, with a {{convert|6|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} mesh. The size of the mesh is suitable for fishing [[salmon]] and [[common bream]]. The net is laced with a knot called [[Ryssänsolmu]], which was in use until much later dates in [[Estonia]] and areas of [[Baltic Finns]].<ref name=":0" />

==References== {{reflist}}

== Additional sources == * Miettinen, Arto, Kaarina Sarmaja-Korjonen, Eloni Sonninen, Högne Junger, Terttu Lempiäinen, Kirsi Ylikoski, Jari-Pekka Mäkiaho, Christian Carpelan & Högne Jungner. (2008) [https://tuhat.halvi.helsinki.fi/portal/en/publications/the-palaeoenvironme%28878befb8-bd10-4bee-bc01-5038caeadfff%29.html The palaeoenvironment of the Antrea Net Find] ''Iskos'' 16, 71-87, (Journal of the Finnish Antiquarian Society).https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256115911_The_palaeoenvironment_of_the_'Antrea_net_find'

[[Category:1913 archaeological discoveries]] [[Category:Archaeological discoveries in Russia]] [[Category:History of the Karelian Isthmus]] [[Category:History of fishing]]