NABO Field Schools

The NABO field school began as a cooperative venture with the Institute of Archaeology, Iceland (FSÍ) in 1997.

Originally the field school centered on the long running excavations at Hofstaðir, later expanding (along with the Mývatn projects) into a wider investigation of multiple Viking Age sites in the landscape.

The Mývatn field school continued through the summer of 2004, eventually providing students from 26 nations a chance to experience the hot springs, lava fields, and rich insect life of this highland lake basin.

The field school collaborated closely with the Bradford University field school at Old Scatness led by Steve Dockrill and Julie Bond, and with the NSF-Funded Research Experience for Undergraduates program led by Sophia Perdikaris (Brooklyn College CUNY).

From 2005 to 2013, the field school shifted venue to Vatnsfjörður in the impressive West Fjords of Iceland. The school was run by Dr. Karen Milek (U. Durham) and Gardar Gudmundsson (FSI) with the active participation of Christian Keller (U Oslo) and a full range of NABO collaborating specialists.

Since 2010 Julie Bond and Steve Dockrill have also run a NABO Fieldschool on Rousay (Orkney), which was a collaboration between University of Bradford, CUNY & Orkney College. This is part of the Against Time and Tide: Investigating The Iron Age of Orkney project. The excavations at The Knowe of Swandro include a 5,000-year-old Neolithic chambered tomb, the concentric outer walls of which survive underneath the storm beach, Iron Age roundhouses, Pictish buildings, a Viking settlement and a Norse Long Hall. The 2018 excavations at Swandro are featured in the BBC Digging for Britain archaeology programme.

Find out more on our project page for Orkney: Gateway to the Atlantic.

In 2016, the NABO Field School was based at Gufuskálar.

NABO Code of Conduct for Fieldwork

Researchers, students, and all affiliated personnel (hereafter participants) engaged in research projects either conducted by NABO, or in which NABO is an organizing partner, will adhere to the Code of Conduct for the duration of research in the field.

• View the Code of Conduct