The oldest directives concerning antiquities were given in Sweden-Finland in
1666, when prehistoric sites and other antiquarian monuments were declared to
be under the protection of the State. The clergy were ordered to compile
descriptions of the sites of antiquarian and topographical interest that were
to be found in their parishes, and around 20 such descriptions from Finland
were eventually sent to the newly founded Antiquities College in Stockholm. In
the 1680’s, the law was extended to include precious metal objects found in the
ground; these were to be offered to the Crown, which could claim them against a
reward.
In the 1700’s, the antiquities laws were
augmented several times, most notably in the legislation of 1734. This period
saw the rise of the view that antiquities formed part of the national cultural
heritage since they represented the works of the ancestors.
After the Russo-Swedish War of 1808-1809,
Finland became a part of Russia as an autonomous Grand Duchy. Though the
Swedish law of 1734 was still in force, no public authority was charged with
overseeing the antiquities legislation. As romanticism and nationalism began to
awaken, so did general concerns over the gradual deterioration of the medieval
castles and stone churches.
In 1870, the Finnish Antiquarian Society was
formed to care
for and document national historical monuments. The Antiquarian Society, by its
activity, greatly influenced the development of Finnish antiquities legislation
and administration. The Decree on the Protection of Ancient Monuments was given
in 1883, and the next year saw the founding of the Archaeological Bureau, later
renamed the State Archaeological Commission, charged with “the general care of
country’s ancient monuments”.
The Archaeological Commission was reorganized in
1972 and became the National Board of Antiquities.
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