In the Medieval and Pre-Modern era, the burial place and funerary rituals were mostly controlled and dictated by the ecclesiastical authority, and either the church or secular jurisdiction determined who could be buried in consecrated cemeteries. In this paper, we will take an overview of practices and regulations affecting the burial or disposal of criminals, mortal sinners and suiciders, and discuss how the graves and disposal sites of these individuals could be visible in the Finnish archaeological record. We conclude that based on historical sources, the treatment of criminal corpses was varied and they could have been buried in both common and separate cemeteries, execution sites, and remote locations in forests and marshes. However, "deviant" burials at ordinary cemeteries are unlikely to represent only criminals and people who have committed suicide, as the jurisdiction offered guidelines only on the locations of burials. We also discuss the potential of further studies on execution site archaeology in Finland.

Keywords: Burial customs, criminals, suicide, deviant burial, burial location, historical archaeology, place of punishment

Hakusanat: Hautaustavat, rikolliset, itsemurha, poikkeavat hautaustavat, hautapaikka, historiallinen arkeologia, rangaistuspaikka