Myrkárdalur
| Parent name: | Gásir Hinterlands Project |
Project Details | |
| Title: | Myrkárdalur |
| Permalink: | https://www.nabohome.org/cgi-bin/explore.pl?seq=22 |
| Abstract: | The highland site at Myrkárdalur contains several ruins, and the early farm ruin is clearly visible: several rooms are connected through a central corridor, reminiscent of medieval houses from Greenland. A landslide in the 14th Century destroyed part of the farm and the occupants were forced to move further west, where several more recent ruins are located (sources cited in Hreiđarsd. 2008:178). Myrkárdalur was abandoned in 1955 and the land has since been used by the nearest farm, Myrkárbakki.
Midden trenching at different locations in 2008 and 2009 has resulted in a small amount of faunal remains and artefacts, dating the contents to the 17th/18th centuries in trench 1 and the 16th/17th centuries in trench 2. |
| Keywords: | Hörgárdalur,local-resources,archaeofauna,environment,site-formation-processes |
| Sponsors/Funders: | NSF |
| NABO | |
| CUNY NORSEC | |
| FSI | |
| Country: | Iceland |
| Project Start Year: | 2008 |
| Projected End Year: | 2009 |
Account Owner | |
| Contact: | Ramona Harrison |
| Institution: | Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion, University of Bergen |
| Postal Address: | Řysteinsgate 3, 5020 Bergen |
| Post Code: | 5020 |
| Email: | Ramona.Harrison@uib.no |
Project Collaborators | |
| Name: | Elín Ó. Hreiđarsdóttir |
| Institution: | Institute of Archaeology, Iceland |
| Address: | Bárugata 3 , Reykjavík |
| Postcode: | 101 |
| Country: | Iceland |
| Email: | elin@instarch.is |
| Website: | http://www.instarch.is/instarch/english/ |
| Name: | Howell M. Roberts |
| Institution: | Icelandic Institute of Archaeology, Iceland, FSÍ |
| Address: | Bárugata 3, Reykjavík |
| Postcode: | 101 |
| Country: | Iceland |
| Email: | howell@instarch.is |
| Website: | http://www.instarch.is |
Project Content
|
Myrkárdalurin Hörgárdalur, N. Iceland:Brief Summary of the 2008/2009 Archaeofauna In summer of 2008 and 2009, anexcavation team led by the author and Howell M. Roberts (FSI) investigated the potential for midden remains at Myrkárdalur, a farm ruin site situated in a highland area in the most interior part of a minor valley system in Hörgárdalur, Eyjafjörđur. The results of these exercises were two small collections of archaeological materials from two middens of the post-medieval and Early Modern Periods. The results of zooarchaeological analysis are presented here, with a very limited discussion on potential site economy. While the ruins visible in the landscape are likely from the medieval period and are reminiscent of medieval corridorhouses from Greenland, faunal remains are from a later point in time and indicative of a long term use of this area, at least in terms of structural remains from the early 20th c. still standing. Today, this area is frequented by fox hunters and the land used by the nearest farm further down the valley. |
Project Location
Latitude: 65.63075°N
Longitude: 18.581767°W