Ten thousand years ago, soon after the last Ice Age, the first inhabitants settled in the region surrounding Gilbbesjávri. Since then, the region has evolved into a rich cultural landscape, although the signs of human presence are not as pronounced here as in agrarian areas. Ancient artefacts and habitation sites, as well as vegetational changes indicative of past human activities, speak of a long history and many-sided cultural heritage.
Registered archaeological and cultural heritage sites older than 100 years in and around Gilbbesjávri are marked with yellow dots on the large aerial photograph. It is important to note, however, that not all archaeological and heritage sites are included in museum registers, and therefore, the actual number of sites is much higher. The blue squares and numbers correspond to the adjacent photos of archaeological finds and sites from Gilbbesjávri and the surrounding region. The location of Gilbbesjávri is indicated with a red dot.
[1] 10,000 years ago: A chert blade core found in Omasvuotna (No. Storfjord), Sandøren, represents the earliest phase of Stone Age habitation in the region. It was used to produce thin and sharp strips of stone that were fashioned into knives and arrowheads. The core is 6 cm long.
[2] 6600 years ago: A decorated rim piece of Stone Age pottery (Säräisniemi 1 ware) and a common cockle shell were unearthed from the Juovvagielas 1 site in Gilbbesjávri. The closest common cockle habitats are in the coastal region some 50 km northwest of the site. The pottery sherd is 5 cm and the Cerastoderma edule shell is 4 cm long.
[3] 3000 years ago: The broken arrowhead or knife made of quartzite dates to the Early Metal Period. During this period, stone and bone were first supplemented with copper, bronze and later iron as the raw material for tools and weapons. The artefact, found in Guovdageaidnu (No. Kautokeino), Stálojávri, is roughly 4 cm long.
[4] Similar quartzite has been quarried from Guonjarvárri, approximately 15 km northeast of the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station.
[5] 1700 years ago: The bronze fibula (brooch) derives from the mouth of Jiehtájohka (Fi. Hietajoki), near Gárasavvon (Fi. Kaaresuvanto). This type of brooch was common throughout Europe in the Late Roman period (AD 200–400). The brooch is almost 7 cm long.
[6] 1000 years ago: The silver necklace dates to the transitional period between the Viking Age and the Crusade period. Similar necklaces and neck-rings have been found, for example, in the Várjavuonna (No. Varangerfjord) region and Anár (Fi. Inari). Eastern influences are visible in the duck-foot pendants, which were typical of Karelia and western Russia. The necklace, found in Ráisa (No. Nordreisa), Indre Eidet, falls over 50 cm from the neckline.
[7] 1000–800 years ago: Two iron arrowheads, from Gieddečohkka (forked arrowhead) and Gielleduottar, are approximately 22 cm long and were likely used to hunt wild reindeer in the period corresponding to the later part of the European Middle Ages.
[8] 500 years ago: The spoon made of bone or antler was found in Gáivuotna (No. Kåfjord), Biertavárri (No. Birtavarre). The shape of the spoon corresponds to North European silver spoons from the 1500’s and 1600’s. Silver spoons continue to be an important part of local Sámi culture. The spoon is 12 cm long.
[9] 300 years ago: Boaresmárkan (Fi. Markkina) in Enontekiö was the location of a church and a marketplace from the early 1600’s until 1826. The iron cross and glass bead, dating to the 1700’s, are finds associated with activities that took place around the church. In the region, accessories made of silver pendants and glass beads continue to be part of the women´s indigenous Sámi costume. The iron memorial cross is 29 cm long, and the diameter of the glass bead is 1 cm.
[10] Vegetational changes marking an old habitation site: The Áillahasspátnju cultural heritage site can be easily detected in the aerial photograph from vegetation that clearly differs from the surrounding environment. There are signs of habitation spanning over 1000 years – from Late Iron Age to the 1900’s.
Reindeer herding, and the accompanying way of life, undergo constant change. Over the centuries, their impact on the environment in the Gilbbesjávri region has fluctuated accordingly. Gilbbesjávri is situated close to the centre of the historical Ruovdnal siida, an indigenous Sámi regional and administrative unit. The series of maps illustrates the development of reindeer husbandry and herding-related land use from 1500’s to the present day. The maps indicate the location of Gilbbesjávri with a red dot.
1500: The livelihood of the members of Ruovdnal siida relies on hunting and fishing, practised within family territories according to specific seasons over the course of the year. Seasonal visits to the seashore are made for fishing and market activities. Only a few reindeer are kept, numbering a couple of dozens at the most.
1650: Reindeer husbandry is replacing the hunting and fishing economy, leading to a rapid increase in the number of reindeer. The annual mobility pattern extends beyond the traditional territories as families begin to spend summers at the seashore with their reindeer. Other seasons are spent migrating within the traditional family territories.
1751: Large-scale reindeer herding is the main livelihood in Ruovdnal. Summers are spent at the seashore, but the length of the annual migration routes has significantly increased in tandem with the growing number of reindeer. As a part of the Strömstad Treaty between Sweden and Denmark, the states guarantee the Sámi herders the right to cross the state border.
1852: After Finland becomes part of the Russian Empire in 1809, the Ruovdnal siida ceases to exist as an administrative unit. Large-scale reindeer herding is the main ivelihood. The closure of the state border between Norway and the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1852 forces many migration routes to be redirected through Sweden. The establishment of these new routes causes problems, particularly due to the significant growth in herd sizes. The border with Sweden is also closed in 1889.
1950: Only a fraction of the residents rely on reindeer husbandry for their livelihood, and only a small number of families migrate with their reindeer. Following the senate’s decree of 1898 concerning crown’s forests and reindeer husbandry, reindeer herding is restricted to specific areas allocated to Reindeer Herding Cooperatives. The limited g razing areas of these cooperatives, combined with a large number of reindeer, contribute to the degradation of pastures. Furthermore, tourism, road construction, land development, and other new forms of land use further encroach upon the possibilities of reindeer husbandry. In Norway and Sweden, families continue the traditional herding cycle, albeit with much shorter migration routes.
2000: The Reindeer Herders Cooperative of Käsivarsi is divided into four separate cooperational units. Short-distance pasture rotation has replaced the old migration routes, leading to the exhaustion of pastures. Reindeer husbandry now faces new threats, including climate change, mining operations, and wind farms.
Gilbbesjávri is situated beside the ancient trade route between Tornio and Tromsø. In the 1500’s and 1600’s, states began to establish forts, monasteries, churches, and marketplaces in northern Fennoscandia. These were strategically placed in nodal points along well-established travel routes. The village of Gilbbesjávri only emerged after the Second World War, to provide services to a growing number of tourists. The location of Gilbbesjávri is indicated with a red dot.
Mountain birches are always the best trees for the Sámi people
‒ Reindeer Sámi, author-artist Johan Turi, 1910 ‒
Since time immemorial, the mountain birch (Betula pubescens subsp. czerepanovii) has played a crucial role in the lives of humans in the Gilbbesjávri region. Birch has been the most important source of firewood, and birch leaves have provided nutrition to cattle and reindeer, among other uses. The size and structure of present-day mountain birch stands are, in fact, influenced by human activities.
The adjacent photo from 1923 shows how large areas of birch stands on the slopes of the Sáná (Fi. Saana) have been cut for firewood. Siilastupa, a mountain hut originally built in the nearby valley of Šilisvuopmi (Fi. Siilasvuoma) to ease trade trips between Norway and Finland, was moved a couple of kilometres to its current location at the shore of Lake Gilbbesjávri in the beginning of 1910’s due to firewood depletion. After the move, it was converted into a Crown’s inn, inhabited all year round. The innkeepers also kept their own livestock. A large yard was cleared around the house from which hay was mowed to feed the cattle during the winter months. In the summer, cattle roamed outside the yard.
In his initiative to establish a nature reserve on the shore of Lake Gilbbesjávri in 1914, the botanist and forester Justus Montell wrote: “During the short period of time that the inn has been inhabited, its immediate surroundings, once one of the lushest areas around the lake, have so completely changed their appearance that it is nowadays almost impossible to imagine how rich and lush its vegetation once was. [‒ ‒] The large amount of firewood that is burnt yearly, obviously cut from as close to the inn as possible, means that birch grove after birch grove is cut down. [‒ ‒] A typical example can be found in the plateau between the fells Sáná and Jiehkkáš, that used to, at least for the most part, be covered in mountain birch, but is now completely stripped bare of trees”.
Mountain birch played an important role in everyday life when people primarily resided in portable huts and tents (North Sámi goahti and lávvu). The preferred location for setting up a goahti or lávvu was within a birch stand, as the trees offered shelter and provided readily accessible firewood. In the 1990’s, reindeer Sámi Johan Rassa recounted his experiences, stating: “In my youth [in the 1930’s] we cut the most twisted and low-quality birch first, along with those that were already dead and dry. [By the tree line, up in the mountains] we were particularly cautious about cutting down trees. The land there is barren, and no new shoots emerge from the stumps. It appears that the tree stumps completely perish once a tree is cut. In other laces, it is normal that strong and healthy birch shoots sprout from the stumps after cutting, initiating the growth of new trees.”
In recent decades, the most significant human impact on the mountain birch stands has been grazing by semi-domesticated reindeer. Professor Lauri Oksanen wrote in 2019: “Summer grazing by reindeer undeniably diminishes the extent of willow stands, renders mountain birch more susceptible to caterpillar outbreaks from foliage-feeding geometrid moths, and impedes their ability to recover. [‒ ‒] In traditional pasture rotation, reindeer were in the inland region during winter, predominantly in coniferous forests, roamed inland fell plateaus and mountain birch forests in spring and autumn, and stayed on coastal mountains, capes, and islands during summer.”
Nowadays the reindeer graze year around in the area around Gilbbesjávri. The closure of the state border between Norway and the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1852 rendered migration between coastal and inland pastures unfeasible. According to the project “Remote sensing the habitats of Northern Lapland”, concluded in 2023, mountain birch forests in the Käsivarsi region are mostly in excellent condition due to an effective grazing rotation system. Only the mountain birch stands in the Malla Strict Nature Reserve and on the slopes of Sáná are in poor condition. This deterioration can be attributed to the fact that, over the last two decades, some of the reindeer of the Reindeer Herders Cooperative of Käsivarsi graze in the area very intensely.
The maps and texts were produced by University of Helsinki researchers in the Arkistotiedon käyttö ympäristöntutkimuksessa project, funded by the Kone Foundation (2020–2024). © Jussi T. Eronen, Mikael A. Manninen, Eero Myrsky, Leena Valkeapää, and Taarna Valtonen. Layout by Jaakko Pesonen. Translations by Mikael A. Manninen (English), Taarna Valtonen (North Sámi), Nina Janasik (title and standfirst) and U.T.S. Inter/NordicTrans (Swedish).
Signs of past human activities in the surrounding region
Artefact and site photos: June Åsheim (1), Adnan Icagic (3 & 6), Aud Ahlquist (8) UiT Norges arktiske universitetsmuseum (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0); Markku Haverinen (2, 5, 7 &
9), Petri Halinen (4) Museovirasto (CC BY 4.0); Site data: Riksantikvaren: askeladden.ra.no (Norway), Finnish Heritage Agency: kyppi.fi (Finland), Riksantikvarieämbetet: raa.se (Sweden); Aerial photos: Bing Aerial Open source, modified by Mikael A. Manninen.
Important travel routes in the North during the 1600’s Map and data: © Mikael A. Manninen and Taarna Valtonen. Basemap: © Tapio Palvelut Oy / Karttakeskus.
Mountain birch stands
Photos: Juhani Ahola (Siilastupa), Museovirasto, Historian kuvakokoelma, Juhani Aholan kokoelma (CC BY 4.0); Pekka Kyytinen (Sámi man with dogs), Museovirasto, Kansatieteen kuvakokoelma, Pekka Kyytisen kokoelma (CC BY 4.0); © Pentti Sormunen / Vastavalo.net (Mountain birches and Sáná); © Leena Valkeapää (Mountain birches in
summer and winter).
References: Montell, J. 1914. Ehdotus Kilpisjaurin rannalle perustettavasta luonnonsuojelusalueesta. Luonnon ystävä 4/1914; Oksanen, L. 2019. Kesälaidunnus ei ole ylilaidunnusta. Poromies 3/2019; Rassa, J. = in Ryd, Y. 2005. Eld: Flammor och glöd – samisk eldkonst; Turi, J. 2010[1910]. Muitalus sámiid birra; Ylä-Lapin kaukokartoitus. Metsähallitus, Lapin Luontopalvelut 2024. https://tinyurl.com/kaukokartoitus.
The history of reindeer herding in the Ruovdnal siida Maps and data: © Mikael A. Manninen and Taarna Valtonen. Basemap: © Tapio Palvelut Oy / Karttakeskus.