Archaeological excavations were conducted in connection with the renovation of the Council of State building. The excavations were carried out in two stages in 1993-94 and 1995-96.

The excavation area is situated in the historical centre of the city. Urban settlement dates back to the 1640s when Helsinki was moved from the mouth of the River Vantaa to its present location on the Vironniemi peninsula.

Helsinki remained a small town until the end of the 18th century. The buildings were mostly wooden and the town resembled a village in its general aspect. Fires destroyed the town on several occasions throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. The fire of 1808 destroyed a third of the city and the Govinius plot was within the devastated area.

When Helsinki became the capital of the Finnish Grand Duchy in 1812, an extensive rebuilding programme began in the city. In a few decades the old wooden buildings gave way to a new Neo-Classical centre.

The buildings situated in the excavation area belonged in the early 19th century to the merchant Henrik Govinius. In 1805 a total of 13 wooden buildings were located on the site. Govinius sold the plot and the massive Senate building was built on top of it.

No pictures have survived of the buildings on the Govinius plot. The digital modelling has been done on the basis of fire insurance documents. No exact knowledge is known of the external details of the buildings, so in some places features typical of the city architecture of the time have been used.