A Middle Neolithic Pit House of the Pyheensilta Group at Hiittenharju, Harjavalta

This article presents the results of archaeological excavations conducted in 2023–2024 at a Middle Neolithic pit house at Hiittenharju in Harjavalta, Finland. Radiocarbon dating and material culture indicate that the structure, dated to c. 2900 BC, was inhabited by a community belonging to the Pyheensilta group, a coastal cultural tradition active c. 3200–2650 BC. The dwelling measured approximately 5.5 × 7.3 m and featured a sunken floor and a central hearth built on a large boulder. Over 11,000 artefacts were recovered, including Pyheensilta Ware, lithics, and a remarkably diverse faunal assemblage. The faunal assemblage indicates the exploitation of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial resources during different parts of the annual cycle and, together with the substantial dwelling and evidence for domestic activities, supports an interpretation of prolonged and potentially year-round occupation. The house is located within a cluster of 13 identified house pits, although it remains unknown whether these represent contemporaneous dwellings or successive episodes of occupation. As the first extensively excavated dwelling securely attributed to the Pyheensilta group, Hiittenharju provides new evidence for Pyheensilta domestic architecture, subsistence, and settlement organisation, while also placing these coastal communities within the broader context of Finnish Middle Neolithic pit-house traditions.