Mapping village in hydro power plant dam

The Messaure hydroelectric power station, three miles north of Jokkmokk, is Sweden's third highest dam and was opened in 1963. When the power station was built, the residents of the village of Njuoravuolle were forcibly evicted and the construction also affected other people working in the area, including reindeer herding Sami. The village and nature ended up at the bottom of the dam. Now the village, which has been under water for more than sixty years, is being documented in a project that maps the impact of hydropower development in northern Sweden in the 1950s and 60s.

“For people living in villages like Njuoravuolle that were put under water, hydropower development meant a loss not only of homes, but also of landscapes that created the conditions for economy and culture,” says Dag Avango, professor of history and research leader.

The village of Njuoravuolle was located on the Lule River and consisted of two villages from 1868. In total, some fifty buildings were affected when the land was flooded. The area that was flooded as a result of Messaure was also a common winter grazing area for the Sirges, Jåhkågasska, Tourpon and Udtja Sami villages. In addition, a currently unknown number of ancient remains were placed under water. Prior to construction, the Swedish National Heritage Board inventoried the area. Three Stone Age settlements were found with associated trapping pits for hunting moose and wild reindeer. Most of these ended up under water.

Now researchers at Luleå University of Technology, together with archaeologists from the Norrbotten's Museum and divers from Nordic Maritime Group, are mapping the village of Njuoravuolle located at the bottom of the power plant dam. The area has been investigated with side-scan sonar, underwater camera and by diving.

The lid was put on the well

“Surprisingly much of the village and farmland is fully visible. The farm's well had been carefully capped and large stones were placed on it. This reflects a desire to keep order and tidiness, even though the village was to be submerged, which is somehow very touching,” says Dag Avango, professor of history and research leader.

All house foundations are visible. Dive investigations show that a lot of things were left behind, including a car and a bicycle. The investigation also shows that the wooden bodies of the houses were burned down. There are similar examples from other sites that were put under water along the Lule River valley, justified by the fact that wood would not float away and create problems in the power plant.

The survey is part of the research project “Norrland's water-related cultural environments”, funded by the Swedish National Heritage Board. The research aims to explain how hydropower has affected cultural landscapes, land use and ancient remains along northern Sweden's river valleys. The results of the project show that archaeological remains are continuously affected by the constant rise and fall of the water in the hydropower dams.

“The water erodes away archaeological remains. At the same time, ancient remains, which were not known before, have eroded,” says Dag Avango.

The National Heritage Board documented

Before the hydropower plants were built, the National Heritage Board carried out extensive documentation. They documented cultural landscapes and land uses in areas that would be affected by the hydropower plants, using photographs and interviews. The photographs show what the villages and the agricultural landscape looked like, as well as fishing, timber floating and reindeer husbandry. Interviews were also conducted, which provided in-depth information on farming, forestry, fishing and reindeer husbandry. People also talked about the importance of rivers as transportation routes.

“By revisiting, rephotographing and conducting new interviews, we can see the changes that have taken place in terms of the conditions for people to use the river environments,” says Dag Avango.

The researchers have not yet found any people from Njuoravuolle who can tell them about the place when it was still above the water. But the project has collected testimonies from many other places.

“Sometimes a consensus was reached between the residents who were evicted and the hydropower companies. But many stories are about people who felt they were misled by the lawyers representing the companies,” he says.

The project “Norrland's water-related cultural environments” is being carried out in collaboration with Norrbotten's Museum, Västerbotten's Museum, Stockholm University and the Swedish National Heritage Board. The field survey in Njuoravuolle has been funded by the Göran Gustafsson Foundation for Nature and Environment in Lapland.

• Norrland's water-related cultural environments