Behind the Viljandi song festival stage lies a hill that hides many historical treasures. St. Catherine’s Church, built around 1225, once stood on this site. Castle knights were buried under the church floor and foundation walls, and Estonians who had been baptized were buried around the church. After the church was destroyed, the dead were buried in the churchyard. This area also became a manor cemetery, and five members of the Viljandi manor family are known to be buried there: Baron Oswald Paul Conrad Constantin von Ungern-Sternberg, Baroness Marie Anna Eugenie von Ungern-Sternberg, Otto Oswald Karl von Mensenkampff, Baroness Emily Sophie Alexandrine von Ungern-Sternberg, and Alexandrine Alice Emily von Mensenkampff. Information about their graves is scarce, but some details can be found. The last burial in the cemetery took place in 1934, and many older residents of the town still remember the black granite crosses and horizontal gravestones.
TASK
The purpose of the GPR survey was to confirm or refute claims of grave markers buried beneath the surface. Therefore, the survey area had to be scanned very accurately and with high resolution, as the possible location and size of the grave markers were unknown.
SOLUTION
As the survey required images of the ground with the highest possible resolution, a high-resolution 3D GPR Raptor was used to collect the data. For accurate positioning, an RTK GNSS device was first tried, but the metal roof and walls of the bandstand interfered with its operation. Therefore, the GPR was positioned with a Total Station. The collected GPR data was processed and visualized using GPR Slice software. The data was collected in two parts: the higher part in the middle of the mound and the lower part around it.
RESULTS
The survey found several objects less than half a meter deep that could be grave markers or parts of them. A cross was also found, which could be one of the large granite grave markers that were being sought. In addition, the underground ruins of two buildings and a footpath covered with stone paving were found. As the study area has been used as a churchyard and cemetery for at least 800 years, many different metal and non-metal objects were found at various depths in the ground.
Read more “Sakala”: Laululava tagant asuti mõisarahva kadunud haudu otsima
Mapped underground walls, stone pavements and objects
Cross-shaped object found underground in horizontal section of ground surface