Oddstaðir in Hörgárdalur, N. Iceland: Report of the 2009 Archaeofauna.

This report presents preliminary zooarchaeological results from the Viking Age and medieval midden deposits at the Oddstaðir farm ruins. Beyond providing a long term chronology on site management and farm economy, this site has produced faunal remains dating from the 13th to the late 14th c., contemporaneous with those found at the Gásir trading site and also those from the medieval monastic estate at Möðruvellir. The Oddstaðir ruins are found on land that has for several centuries belonged to the Öxnhóll farm. Öxnhóll owned a parish church until the 16th c. After an extensive coring survey for potential medieval midden deposits turned out successful in the summer of 2009, a test trench was placed into the most promising midden area, providing the excavation team with a sizeable sample of environmental and some material remains. A representative sample of the collected faunal remains has been analyzed to gain a general idea of midden formation processes, site economy and changes thereof observed from different midden phases. Cultural deposits available for faunal analysis span an occupation period from ca. the late 9th to the late 14th c. AD.

Results from the Oddstaðir faunal analysis are highly valuable and suggest that this farm was established early on during Icelandic Settlement. Based on its faunal collection, this was likely a medium ranked farmstead with relatively rich farm land available during the initial occupation phases. However, Oddstaðir could have just as well been or eventually become a tenant farm as during the 13th c., the farm management strategy seems to have changed, potentially in response to the prime meat supply required by the trading site at Gásir. As mentioned, it is not known for certain whether the Oddstaðir farm was a tenant farm from its establishment, whether this happened during the 13th or 14th c., or whether this change in farm ownership may have happened at some point later in time. A complete absence of fresh water fish and the very small number of ptarmigan found at Oddstaðir may hint to a lower rank its occupants held within the local society. On the other hand, the domesticate profile at this farm, the recovery of a small, lap dog sized dog and a strong development toward predominant dependence on domesticates rather than marine resources (including sea birds) certainly available in Eyjafjörður and Hörgárdalur and likely to have been part of communal exchange, suggest that this farm was able to sustain its domesticate profile for centuries. Whether this suggests an independent, middle ranking farmstead, or a farm regulated and specifically geared toward the regional beef and mutton production is subject to further research and likely requires excavation of the Oddstaðir farm mound. It is entirely possible that Öxnhóll, either acting independently, or directed by the monastic estate at Möðruvellir, was the holder farm responsible for Oddstaðir´s quite distinct domesticate profile. The phased bovid skeletal element distributions suggest a shift in the kind of elements remaining on site and the ones missing in this assemblage; these skeletal elements associated with high quality beef cuts were likely sent to either Möðruvellir or Gásir for consumption purposes. This development took place in the 13th c., coinciding with the general decline of marine species, fish, seal, and sea birds, and an increase in the domesticates at Oddstaðir. At present, and whether a tenant farm or independently owned, this site seems to have played a significant role in the local Gásir supply system and is a great indicator for the impact that Gásir may have had on its Hinterlands.

Archaeofauna Hörgárdalur Iceland Oddstaðir zooarchaeology

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