Mati Mandel

Mati Mandel
Mandel in 2011
Born1945 (age 80–81)
CitizenshipEstonian
Alma materUniversity of Tartu
OccupationsArchaeologist, historian, museum professional
EmployerEstonian History Museum
Known forArchaeology of Läänemaa; research on western Estonian burial sites
AwardsOrder of the White Star, IV class

Mati Mandel (born 1945) is an Estonian archaeologist and historian.[1] A longtime archaeologist at the Estonian History Museum, he has specialised in the archaeology of western Estonia, especially ancient and medieval Läänemaa, and has also published extensively on the history of western and northern Estonia during the 1940s.[2][3][4]

Early life and education

According to the Estonian Research Information System, Mandel graduated from Tartu State University in 1972 as a historian-archaeologist.[1] In 1992 he completed a master's thesis titled Võitlusnuga ja mõõk Muinas-Eesti relvastuses ("The fighting knife and sword in the armament of prehistoric Estonia").[5] He defended his doctoral dissertation, Läänemaa 5.–13. sajandi kalmed ("Graves of Läänemaa in the 5th to 13th centuries"), at the University of Tartu in December 2003.[6]

Career

Mandel became closely associated with the Estonian History Museum, and official records later identified him as head of the museum's department of early history.[2] His archaeological work has centred on burial sites, settlement sites and strongholds in western Estonia.[3][7] Archaeologist Valter Lang has described him as a systematic researcher of historic Läänemaa.[8]

Among the sites most closely associated with Mandel is the Maidla Iron Age grave field near Kullamaa. Later scholarship credited him with large-scale excavations there in 1989–1990,[9] and his 2017 monograph on Maidla later synthesised the results of Estonian History Museum investigations carried out there between 1983 and 1990 and again from 2011 to 2015.[10] In 2019 ERR quoted Mandel calling Maidla the most outstanding archaeological site in Läänemaa, with more than 10,000 finds recovered there.[11]

Mandel's fieldwork has also figured in wider public reporting. In 2015, Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) reported that he had discovered and investigated a Great Northern War-era plague grave in his own farmyard in western Estonia.[12] In 2021 an expedition from the Estonian History Museum led by Mandel uncovered an untouched late-antique burial in Pärnu County, a discovery reported by both ERR News and Archaeology magazine.[13][14] In 2022 ERR reported that research directed by Mandel at a burial site on the Läänemaa–Pärnumaa border produced bone fragments and artefacts dating from the 5th to 6th centuries.[15] Reporting in 2024 on renewed research into western Estonian hill forts, ERR News noted that this work was building on earlier investigations carried out by Mandel in southwest Estonia.[16]

Alongside archaeology, Mandel has written on twentieth-century history, especially the fighting around Keila in 1944, the career of the anti-Soviet partisan Ants Kaljurand ("Hirmus-Ants"), Johan Pitka's 1944 combat group, and the history of the pre-war Estonian Defence League in Läänemaa.[4][17]

Honours

In 1996 Mandel received an annual award from the folk culture endowment of the Estonian Cultural Endowment for his role in establishing the Lihula Museum and organising volunteer work at Lihula Castle.[18] In 1998 he received the Keila cultural prize for work connected with his book on the 1944 war events around Keila, commemorative projects for those killed in the fighting, and archaeological research in the town.[19] In 2001 he was awarded the Order of the White Star, IV class.[20] In 2015 he received the Läänemaa service decoration,[21] and in 2018 he received the Freedom Fighter's Oak Leaf badge for preserving and popularising the history of the Forest Brothers.[22]

Selected works

  • Sõjalõpu sündmused Keila ümbruses (Keila: Harju Muuseum, 1994).[23]
  • Lihula muinas- ja keskaeg (Tallinn: Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, 2000).[24]
  • Läänemaa 5.–13. sajandi kalmed (Tallinn: Eesti Ajaloomuuseum, 2003).[25]
  • Kogu tõde Hirmus-Antsust? (Tallinn: Eesti Ajaloomuuseum, 2010).[26]
  • Maidla muinaskalmistu saladused (Tallinn: Eesti Ajaloomuuseum, 2017).[10]
  • Sõjaeelse Kaitseliidu hiilgeaeg ja häving Läänemaal (Tallinn: Eesti Ajaloomuuseum, 2020).[27]
  • Läänemaa muinasajast Lihula keskaega: arheoloogilise uurimise lugu (Tallinn: Eesti Ajaloomuuseum, 2023).[28]

References

  1. ^ a b "Mati Mandel". Estonian Research Information System (in Estonian). Estonian Research Agency. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b "Kultuurimälestiseks tunnistamine ja kultuurimälestiseks olemise lõpetamine". Riigi Teataja (in Estonian). 4 March 2025. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  3. ^ a b Hepner, Juhan (15 January 2023). "Mati Mandel pani enda Läänemaa arheoloogilise uurimise lood raamatusse". Novaator (in Estonian). Estonian Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  4. ^ a b Hepner, Juhan (4 September 2020). "Kaitseliidu Lääne maleva varasem ajalugu sai kaante vahele". ERR (in Estonian). Estonian Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  5. ^ "Magistritööd EAB 1986–1996". Arheoloogia.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  6. ^ "Kaitstud doktoritööd". University of Tartu (in Estonian). Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  7. ^ Kärner, Kaja (21 October 2023). "Kajalood. Mati Mandel: Lihula on Eesti Pompei". Vikerraadio (in Estonian). Estonian Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  8. ^ Lang, Valter (2011). "Comments on Martti Veldi and Tõnno Jonuks "The problem of forgotten sites: what to do with new monuments? A case-study of long-known but left behind sites from Ida-Virumaa": where does the shoe of our heritage protection pinch?". Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  9. ^ Allmäe, Raili (2013). "Occasional archaeological human skeletal remains from Läänemaa, western Estonia". Papers on Anthropology. 22: 17–27. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  10. ^ a b "Maidla muinaskalmistu saladused". Estonian History Museum (in Estonian). Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  11. ^ Hepner, Juhan (27 January 2019). "Läänemaal on arheoloogid teinud 50 aastaga erakordseid avastusi". ERR (in Estonian). Estonian Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  12. ^ Hepner, Juhan (31 October 2015). "Arheoloog leidis koduõuelt Põhjasõja-aegse katkuhaua". ERR (in Estonian). Estonian Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  13. ^ "Gallery: Rare untouched burial site found in Pärnu County". ERR News. Estonian Public Broadcasting. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  14. ^ "Ancient Child's Burial Uncovered in Estonia". Archaeology. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  15. ^ "Arheoloog: teaduslikust huvist lähtuvaid kaevamisi on Eestis üha harvem". ERR (in Estonian). Estonian Public Broadcasting. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  16. ^ "Archaeologists aiming for clearer picture of Lääne County's ancient forts". ERR News. Estonian Public Broadcasting. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  17. ^ Kuuskemaa, Peeter (2011). "Oli Eesti aeg, Vene aeg, Saksa aeg ja siis tuli Hirmus-Ants" (PDF). Tuna (in Estonian) (1): 143–146. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  18. ^ "1995–2000". Kultuurkapital (in Estonian). Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  19. ^ "Tunnustamine". City of Keila (in Estonian). Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  20. ^ "985. Riiklike autasude andmine". President of the Republic of Estonia (in Estonian). 2 February 2001. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  21. ^ Lauri, Urmas (4 February 2015). "Läänemaa teenetemärgi saavad Mati Mandel ja Sulev Saareväli". Lääne Elu (in Estonian). Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  22. ^ "Vabaduse Tammepärja aumärk". Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs (in Estonian). Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  23. ^ Mandel, Mati (1994). Sõjalõpu sündmused Keila ümbruses (in Estonian). Keila: Harju Muuseum.
  24. ^ Mandel, Mati (2000). Lihula muinas- ja keskaeg (in Estonian). Tallinn: Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus. ISBN 9985700600.
  25. ^ "Läänemaa 5.-13. sajandi kalmed (Töid ajaloo alalt ; 5 2003)". DIGAR. National Library of Estonia. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  26. ^ Mandel, Mati (2010). Kogu tõde Hirmus-Antsust? (in Estonian). Tallinn: Eesti Ajaloomuuseum. ISBN 9789985988947.
  27. ^ Mandel, Mati (2020). Sõjaeelse Kaitseliidu hiilgeaeg ja häving Läänemaal (in Estonian). Tallinn: Eesti Ajaloomuuseum. ISBN 9789949741625.
  28. ^ Mandel, Mati (2023). Läänemaa muinasajast Lihula keskaega: arheoloogilise uurimise lugu (in Estonian). Tallinn: Eesti Ajaloomuuseum. ISBN 9789949741687.
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