Midden in Möðruvellir

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Parent name: Gásir Hinterlands Project

Project Details

Title:Midden in Möðruvellir
Permalink:https://www.nabohome.org/cgi-bin/explore.pl?seq=89
Abstract:The key aim of this effort was to locate and recover animal bones, artefacts, and environmental samples from a well stratified midden sequence at Möðruvellir, in connection with ongoing archaeological work investigating local subsistence strategies in late medieval Eyjafjord.
Country:Iceland
Project Start Year:2006

Account Owner

Contact: Fornleifastofnun Íslands
Postal Address: Bárugata 3, 101 Reykjavík, ICELAND
Post Code: 101
Telephone: 00354-5511033
Website: http://www.instarch.is
Email: fsi@instarch.is

Project Content

PDF File
The Midden at Möðruvellir 2006 - Preliminary Excavation Report [0.56 MB]
An exploratory trenching exercise was carried out in 2006 in the area of the so-called Ash Hill (Öskuhóll) at Möðruvellir in Eyjafjörður. An area of about 5 x 2 m was excavated. The excavation revealed a well stratified midden with good preservation and a large number of finds most of which date to the 18th-19th centuries. In light of these successes it is proposed that further excavation be undertaken at Möðruvellir in 2007.


PDF File
The Midden at Möðruvellir, 2007 - Preliminary Excavation Report [1.09 MB]
A midden trench opened in 2006 was extended in 2007 for further investigation. Layers excavated probably date to the 18th-19th centuries although the excavation reached to the depth of 2,5 m below surface. Preservation was good and it is hoped that excavation can continue in the search of medieval midden layers.


PDF File
Midden Excavation at Möðruvellir, and Prospection in Hörgárdalur - Interim Field Report (Gásir Hinterlands Project 2008) [2.18 MB]
Survey, coring and small scale test excavation on nine selected sites in Eyjafjörður took place in 2008 in search of medieval midden deposits. Some of them proved to have rich deposits possibly datable to the medieval and early modern periods, especially Skuggi and Myrkárdalur. The excavation in Möðruvellir also continued with the goal of finding faunal materials useful for C14 dating. Bones in lower layers turned out to be badly preserved but textile was in better state.


PDF File
Insect remains from the midden at Möðruvellir Status of the analysis and preliminary results by Veronique Forbes [0.89 MB]
This report focuses on the archaeoentomological analyses – the analysis of preserved insect remains – which were undertaken on samples from Möðruvellir as part of the GHP project. Methods employed for the collections of archaeoentomological data in the field and in the laboratory are presented along with some preliminary results.



Project Location

Latitude: 65.770215°N
Longitude: 18.249468°W