Mankby was a

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

village in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

under the Swedish rule. It's nowadays located in the Espoonkartano district of the city of

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

, and extensive

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

excavations have occurred there in recent years. The early stages of the village are not known, but it was formed along the King's Road. At the beginning of the 16th century, the village consisted of eight estates. The houses in Mankby were mostly around 25 square meters, although one house is considerably larger and based on the excavation finds, it was possibly associated with the House of Folkunga. In 1556, King

Gustav I Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...

decided to found a royal mansion in Espoo and the populations of Mankby and Espoby were transferred elsewhere. Following the decision, Mankby was completely abandoned and mostly forgotten. In 2004, some foundations of the dismantled cottages were found, prompting archaeological excavations that lasted 2007–2013. Publication of the research, called ''Mankby. A Deserted Medieval Village on the Coast of Southern Finland'', was published in 2016. There are plans of turning Mankby into an archaeological park.

References

{{reflist Archaeological sites in Finland History of Uusimaa