Interim Report on Archaeofauna from Undir Junkarinsfløtti, Sandoy, Faroe Islands

Ongoing archaeological excavations at the site of Undir Junkarinsfløtti, on the island of Sandoy, Faroe Islands have revealed a substantial amount of well-preserved midden material associated with a Viking Age to Late Norse structure. Analysis of the archaeofauna recovered during the 2003 and 2004 field seasons has recorded over 36,000 bone and shell fragments, nearly 27,000 of which have been identified to species level. This preliminary research has found evidence for a subsistence economy at Undir Junkarinsfløtti that differs significantly from those seen elsewhere in the Norse North Atlantic. In addition to the usual suite of domestic mammals (cattle, pigs, sheep and goats), the Undir Junkarinsfløtti assemblage suggests a heavy, sustainable exploitation of local seabird populations (primarily puffins and guillemot). Fishing appears to have focused primarily on cod, the vast bulk of which seems to have been processed for export rather than on-site consumption.

Archaeofauna Faroe Islands Fishing Late Norse Sandoy Undir Junkarinsfløtti Viking Age zooarchaeology

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