I. Introduction toVanhankaupunginkoski and discussions on its polygonal masonry and history, and why it may be there

ne of the oldest parts of the city of Helsinki is known as Vanhakaupunki, or in Swedish: Gammelstaden, which in the 1500s began to be distinguished from the “New Helsinki” which became officially established during the next centuries. A specific area of Vankakaupunki is known as Vanhankaupunginkoski, which refers to the koski, or rapids that became used in a system of water-powered mills for several hundred years. Now, some of these mill structures are incorporated into the Tekniikan Museo or “Technology Museum”.

Photo below: a beautiful example of old-looking polygonal masonry visible in the basal structure of the weir and mill area at Vanhankaupunginkoski; this particular wall serves as the foundation around this small headland, which once had one of the mills, the one which has now been converted into the Tekniikan Museo “Technological Museum”. Note that the polygonal masonry visible in this image is only “one” section of this polygonal masonry wall, and is also not the only polygonal masonry wall at Vanhankaupunginkoski. Note the large size of the blocks of stone and that, whilst they do not interlock 100 percent perfectly, they still interlock beautifully, and this is still a wonderful example of polygonal masonry in Northern Europe. 

One of the most interesting, albeit overlooked aspects of the “Old Helsinki”, is the presence of polygonal masonry walling around some of the base structures and river banks around the Vanhankaupunginkoski. When I asked at the museum and elsewhere about the origin of these structures, nobody seemed sure, but it would seem reasonable to presume that they are, in-part, some of the oldest structural elements of the Vanhankaupunginkoski mill complex. 

So - what is polygonal masonry, and how and why does it relate to Finland?
Well, polygonal masonry is a, frankly, poorly understood form of engineering and architecture, that was used for example in Ancient Egypt, Ancient Peru, in Japan, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Easter Island, in Russia - and, also in Finland, Sweden and Norway to some extent. I have previously discussed about and published about individual examples of this in Finland, Norway and Sweden in articles and ebooks, and have also dedicated part of a print-only book (published earlier this year) to some of the examples in Finland. But I had not, until writing the article currently in front of you, discussed that at Vanhankaupunginkoski. In the future I will also be publishing about other examples of polygonal masonry in Finland which I have not previously discussed.

Polygonal masonry is somewhat of an architectural enigma. Often, polygonal masonry has done a lot to “earthquake-proof” structures. It is highly sophisticated form of building, not only does it make structures at least, to a degree, earthquake-proof, but furthermore, there is a lot of mystery and there are a lot of unknowns about how exactly these structures were built. I have discussed more on this aspect and some of my ideas in other publications - but essentially, I think it possible that ancient peoples were in some way able to use specific frequencies of sound to position these stones, shape and lift them - although it is my personal opinion that modern humans do not possess these abilities. This is not I think the case when it comes to the examples of polygonal masonry shown in this article, but other examples in Finland, Russia, Peru, Japan, Egypt etc, are far too enormous, and perfectly fit, for any known technology or building method to have constructed them, despite the ludicrous mainstream idea that such giant blocks of stone were shaped with copper tools, and lifted using ropes. 

Photo below, a wider-angle view of a greater part of the polygonal masonry wall section, a small part of which is visible in the first photo in this article. Note the way in which the lowest blocks to some degree interlock with the bedrock below.

In appearance, polygonal masonry walls are noticeable for having often large blocks of stone, with multiple angles, all fitting together perfectly or near-perfectly. It is these multiple interfacing angles that give this masonry the name “polygonal masonry”, or in Finnish: monikulmainen muuraus. The Finnish word is formed from the root moni- “many”, and -kulmainen - “angled”, from kulma - “angle”, and with the second word muuraus meaning “masonry”. 

The examples of polygonal masonry in Finland that I have seen, are not usually as sophisticated as those in Peru, for example. My research leads me to think that whilst some examples are truly ancient and strange, that a lot of the polygonal masonry in Finland has been re-built over time, including that at Hämeenlinna Castle, Suomenlinna and the many examples found within Helsinki itself. Not only this - but polygonal masonry is still used as a building method in Finland, primarily for its aesthetics, and often with mortar rather than dry-stone interlocking blocks, but, it is clear that the knowledge of this kind of masonry never disappeared in Finland. And if you go to various parts of the “modern” city of Helsinki, you will also see examples of polygonal masonry; for example, at the Mannerheimintiensilta or “Mannerheim's Road Bridge” in Helsinki. Again, it has been, by and large, difficult for me to work out just how much of this polygonal masonry could be “really old”, and how much of it was rebuilt, or even post WW2. I have discussed many of these other examples in more detail, some in online articles on my BookofDunBarra website (the website you are currently on), some different examples in a print-only book I published earlier this year, and some other details in other books. 

I doubt that most of the examples I have seen in Finland are truly ancient, and I doubt that they were created by using sound to “alter” the rock. Many of the examples in Finland also contain bore-holes, although, it is difficult to tell to what extent these stones were “added” later on, or indeed how old the process of boring is in Finland (at least it goes back several hundred years) - (I have discussed these bore holes in other publications pertaining to different examples of polygonal masonry in Finland.  Furthermore, unlike the polygonal masonry elsewhere, that in Finland, generally, but not always, does not show blocks of stone that interlock so perfectly and precisely as those in Peru for example. But some examples in Finland do indeed seem very sophisticated. And there are suggestions of much older polygonal masonry structures that are overgrown and “hidden in the forests” as it were, although thus far I have been unable to locate any of them. 

But why would there be polygonal masonry in Finland, to begin with? Why in Finland but not in for example Germany, the UK and Ireland? Well - I am inclined to think that the reason for there being polygonal masonry in Finland, and to some extent in Sweden and Norway, is precisely connected to the linguistic similarities that can be observed, especially between Uralic languages, Quechuan languages, Japanese, and Ancient Egyptian. More specifically my own research, which I have extensively published across different publications (I am not referring to this article in front of you), indicates to me a specific relationship between Uralic and Quechuan languages, and even more specifically, between Finnish and Quechua or the Quechuan languages. There are also connections in mythology, and less-Finland-specific genetic connections between South America and speakers of Uralic languages. Another example I came across recently, and which I have not previously mentioned, is the similarity between the Andean (Quechuan and other Andean) deity Wiraqucha, Wiraqocha or Viracocha (in how this deity is depicted), to depictions of deities found in central Asia, specifically Khakassia (See my article on this website you are currently on dedicated to the Khakas language for information about this language and region, although in that article I do not mention connections with the Americas as such). This is not to mention the similarities between Wiraqocha and Väinämöinen which I have discussed extensively elsewhere. There is also of course polygonal masonry in Japan, for example at Osaka Castle, and there are similarities between Finnish and Japanese (some examples of which I have published in other articles on my www.clwaideac-na-cuinne.co.uk website for example, (the aforementiond website is not the website you are currently on)). . It is my personal experience, after more research into the sites at Japan, that the Finnish polygonal masonry sites based around starforts, (not Vanhankaupunginkoski, but for example at Suomenlinna and Hämeenlinna bare the strongest similarity to the forts in Japan which also exhibit polygonal masonry of this same type). If these starforts in Finland were only created recently, and were the product of colonial times, were built by Swedes and Russians, when Finland had no strong cultural and linguistic connections with Japan, why is it only the Finnish starforts out of all the Northern European starforts, which possess a more or less identical form of polygonal masonry to those forts in Japan? This to me is suggestive that these starforts may, to some extent, be earlier structures, that tie into very ancient possible links between Finland and Japan, and elsewhere. Note also that the name of the goddess Vellamo, and the word velloa, mentioned in detail in terms of etymology further down this article, also pertain to yet another Finnic god connected to the Ocean, and in my opinion, also to the oceanfaring gods of South America, and to the "Mythological Finns of Shetland", and the wizards of Chiloé etc, the latter two which I have discussed in other publications in a lot of detail, including in some recently. See also my article on my Clwàideac na Cuinne website (not the website you are currently on) about Kvaløya in Troms and its ancient linguistics, and my other publications in general, in which a lot of this is spread out across many, many publications.

II. Further discussions, another photo & 8 newly found (Late August 2025) Quechua-Finnish word similarities (8 primary Quechua words and their relationship to 8 primary Finnish words and deep discussions)

The main text of this section, including the word links, is below the photo description and below the photo, both below:

Photo below: another section of the same polygonal masonry wall visible in the other two photos of this article, although the photo below shows a different section of this wall (which is again not the only polygonal masonry wall at Vanhankaupunginkoski). The section of wall shown below faces more towards the southeastern part of the Vanhankaupunginkosken suvanto. Note that the polygonal masonry in this section seems in some areas more tightly fitted.