Recent Projects from the North Atlantic Biocultural Organisation http://www.nabohome.org/cgi_bin/rss2.pl Search Google http://www.google.no/search? q Skutustadir is an active farm and hotel center on the south side of Lake Myvatn. It figures in sagas as the home of "Killer Skuta", an early chieftain, and historically was one of two parish church centers in the Myvatn area and has remained one of the most prosperous farms down to modern times. In 2007 Dr. Arni Einarsson of the nearby Myvatn Science Center noticed animal bones and charcoal eroding from previously unsuspected midden deposits south of the present farm dwellings. Follow up work by collaborating FSI and NABO teams (led by Orri Vesteinsson, Agusta Edwald, Tom McGovern, George Hambrecht, Ian Simpson and Astrid Ogilive) in 2007 and 2008 has revealed a deeply stratified set of midden deposits with excellent organic preservation. Test trenches in 2008 have allowed for collection of ecofacts and artefacts datable by a combination of tephra and AMS C14 from first settlement (cultural deposits are directly upon the AD 871+/-2 Landnam tephra) down to the late 19th c. Analysis is still in preliminary stages and a much larger excavation is planned for 2009-10, but initial results suggest some significant changes in economy through time, including a surprisingly substantial amount of seal bones deposited post-1477 (Skutustadir is about 60 km from the sea). For updates contact Tom McGovern at nabo@voicenet.com http://www.nabohome.org/cgi_bin/explore.pl?seq=3 Skutustadir,Iceland,Zooarchaeology Möðruvellir is located in Hörgárdal, Eyjafjörður, Northern Iceland. The site lies on open lowland pasture, to the north of the river Hörgá, some 13 kilometres north of the modern City of Akureyri. Möðruvellir is situated only a short distance from the delta of the Hörgá, and may be regarded as being within a coastal environment. Möðruvellir has been a site of considerable importance throughout Icelandic history. It has been the site of a church since at least the second half of the 12th Century (Vésteinsson, 2001:10), and Möðruvellir was established as a House of Canons at the end of the 13th Century. These religious activities were supported by the produce of a large and important farming estate. Previous research at Möðruvellir: Archaeological and historical research regarding the farm was undertaken as early as the 19th Century, by Kristian Kaalund (Vésteinsson, 2001:7). A kuml (burial mound) was unearthed in the 19th Century and therefore it is safe to assume that the area was settled (at least that people were buried there) before the year 1000 AD (Vesteinsson, 2001:10). In 1985, Guðmundur Ólafsson of the National Museum of Iceland surveyed the area, and produced a list of archaeological sites. Fornleifastofnun Íslands activity at Gásir: - 2001 – Orri Vésteinsson, Expanded archaeological survey and site registration. Including a summary of Möðruvellir´s history (Vésteinsson, 2001). - 2004 – Howell Roberts & Orri Vésteinsson, Excavation of trenches in the boundary at Möðruvellir Farm, in advance of construction work (Roberts, 2004). - 2005 - Howell Roberts, excavation of an evaluation trench in the churchyard; investigative work prior to planned ground works for central heating and path construction (Roberts, 2005) The ceramics and glass objects found during the 2006 (TR1), 2007 (TR1), and 2008 (TR2,TR2b) were analyzed by Gavin Lucas (Lucas 2010) and place the most recent layers in this very deeply stratified midden mound into the 18/19th centuries. Lower deposits are hoped to be dated through C14 analysis and may thus provide proof for a long site-occupation as indicated by written sources. http://www.nabohome.org/cgi_bin/explore.pl?seq=23 Monastic site, long occupation, Hörgárdalur,local-resources,archaeofauna,environment,site-formation- The focus of investigations at Gufuskálar, a well known fishing station in Snæfellsnes, were three badly eroded mounds close to the shore line. The aim was to clean the profiles and cast light on the nature of the remains, preservation etc. http://www.nabohome.org/cgi_bin/explore.pl?seq=95 Maps of Pagan Burials in Iceland developed through arcgis software and uploaded on Google Earth. In essence, the focus of this project was to create individual maps considerably zoomed in, showing not only the burials but also the landscape features surrounding each burial. The level of transparency of the maps is directly associated with Google Earth features so we can match their accuracy. It has been argued that in the Viking Age the choice of a placement of a burial could be related to the landscape, e.g. near a river or a farm. The reasons could vary from burying an individual near water – perhaps seen as a liminal zone between the land of the living and the dead; or near a farm in order to mantain the connection between the living and the dead (R Maher 2003). In placing these maps onto the layout of Iceland, it may be possible to perceive the landscape features around the burials in a more comprehensive way and perhaps create theories about the supposed association with the landscape. http://www.nabohome.org/cgi_bin/explore.pl?seq=155 burials,maps,pagan