Kuusalu stands out among the Estonian hillforts by its location: it is situated in a bog, which was nearly inaccessible before drainage ditches were dug in its vicinity. The hillfort (ca 3500 sq m) is oval in shape, the yard area inside the rampart reaches ca 2000 sq m. The rampart is currently only 0.5 m high, but had reached up to a man’s chest in earlier times. The gate passage may have been located on its western side.
The only archaeological excavations (1936) were directed by Marta Schmiedehelm. These established that the stone rampart rested on a wooden raft. Both sides of the 4-m-wide rampart had been built without mortar, the inside was filled with irregularly placed granite stones. On top of the rampart, which originally reached at least 1.5 m, wooden defence constructions were probably erected. The rather thin deposits of the hillfort (8–20 cm) were black in colour, contained a lot of charcoal and presumably originated from a fire at the hillfort.
From the remains of a probable barn, a 10–20 cm thick layer of burnt cereals (barley, rye, wheat) could be distinguished; it also contained peas. The animal bones found belonged to domestic animals. The finds have been dated to the 9th–10th centuries AD. The deposits from the hillfort period were buried under a 30–40 cm thick layer of peat.
Three contemporary settlement sites are located near the hillfort, thus Kuusalu can be considered as one of the fort-and-settlement centres typical to that period in Estonia.
Find the hillfort on our hillfort map.
Kuusalu hillfort is one of the six hillforts which received new information boards in 2023 as part of our Monument of the Year initiative with the help of EArL, Muinsuskaitseamet (National Heritage Board), Eesti Ajaloomuuseumi (Estonian History Museum) and the support of Kultuurkapital.