Landscape Recreation of Viking-Age Iceland

The abstract and the PDF file have been kindly provided by Maria Maily who retains copyright.

Maily, M. (2023) Landscape Recreation of Viking-Age Iceland. University of Edinburgh, Unpublished MSc Dissertation. 36 pp.

Abstract

As Norse sailors settled in Iceland, they were faced with a land of ice, fire and forests. Yet Iceland’s landscape is now well-known for lacking trees, a situation which only amplifies the negative effects of climate change and soil erosion. To reverse this situation, efforts are made to plant and grow new forests, but a drop in funding has slowed the progress considerably. To stimulate public engagement, this work therefore proposes to develop a land cover model of Iceland’s past landscape, visualising its natural forests to promote afforestation efforts. This paper first reviews the previous attempts at recreating the pre-Landnám landscape (land take phase of the settlement). Using literature describing the factors contributing to the landscape changes in Iceland, these attempts are discussed to highlight their strength and understand their limitations. Then, using a novel methodology that incorporates soil, wetness and vegetation, a model of the potential current-day land cover of the wider Thingvellir area is developed. This model is then reviewed against official land cover datasets, to highlight key findings. Finally, by incorporating archaeological and historic data, the model is revised to generate a new pre-Landnám land cover model. Several insights were made, despite the model’s limitations. First, the current-day model, and the comparison with official land cover, permitted the identification of areas where afforestation efforts could be successful and prioritised. Second, the pre-Landnám model suggests a more diverse landscape compared to those previously described in the literature.

Iceland Settlement travel networks Þingvellir

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