VSF 2010 Report - Nabo

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Mynd/Figure 5. The final excavation on the Viking Age part of the site at the beginning of the <strong>2010</strong> field season, showing the wall of Structure 9 under excavation. Some of the features associated with the pit house, Structure 10, are already appearing. Mynd/Figure 6. Excavations in progress on the farm mound in <strong>2010</strong>. 14
OVERVIEW Karen Milek University of Aberdeen, UK Introduction to Vatnsfjörður, the Excavation Project, Collaborators, and Sponsors According to the Book of Settlements (Landnámabók), the earliest extant version of which dates to around AD 1275-80, but which had originally been compiled a few decades earlier, Vatnsfjörður, in the eastern part of Ísafjarðardjúp, was one of the original landnám farms in the Westfjords, settled during the initial period of colonisation between c. 870 and 930. According to this source, the farmer who first settled at Vatnsfjörður, Snæbjörn Eyvindsson, laid claim to a large tract of land between Mjóifjörður in the west and Langidalur in the east (Figure 1, above). 7 Although the complex agendas behind the writing of the Book of Settlements make it impossible to know whether the size of the land claim or the name of the settler are true, 8 there is no doubt that the farm, which was strategically located in the very centre of the Westjord regon, quickly became a regional centre occupied by chieftains. By AD 1118, according to the Story of the Conversion (Kristni saga), which probably dates to the mid-thirteenth century, Þórðr Þorvaldsson of Vatnsfjörður was one of the thirteen great chieftains in Iceland, and Vatnsfjörður was the only chieftain’s farm in the west of Iceland that was specifically named in this text. 9 One of the twelfth-century chieftains who lived at Vatnsfjörður, possibly Þorvaldur Snorrason, established a church there before AD 1200, and by 1273 it was reputed to be the second wealthiest church in the country. 10 From the the time that written records about contemporary events become available in the thirteenth century, Vatnsfjörður played a dominant role in the politics of power in the Westfjords. Eiríkur Sveinbjarnarson , who lived at Vatnsfjörður from AD 1277-1342, was the richest magnate in the area and had the prestigious role of the head of hirðstóri, the Norwegian court for the North and West of Iceland. 11 In 1433, part of Vatnsfjörður (which was by then part-owned by the church as half had been given away as a beneficium) was inherited by Björn Þorleifsson, who was reconned to be the most powerful man in Iceland in his day. 12 The wealth of the farm, which included cattle and was greatly bolstered by rents from tenant farms and access to resources such as peatland, woodland, and driftwood, made it much coveted by the church, but despite many years legal disputes with the bishops of Skálholt, often referred to the King of Denmark himself, half the farm remained in private hands until 1530. 13 The farm remained very wealthy throughout the sixteenth century, with the large size and beautiful furnishings of the dwelling buildings and the church remarked upon by visitors, but by the mid-seventeenth century the grand old 7 Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards (1972). The Book of Settlements: Landnámabók. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, p. 71. 8 Adolf Friðriksson and Orri Vésteinsson (2003). ‘Creating a past: a historiography of the settlement of Iceland’, in J. Barrett (ed.), Contact, Continuity and Collapse: The Norse Colonization of the North Atlantic. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 139-161. 9 Siân Grønlie (2006). Íslendigabók – Kristin saga – The Book of Icelanders – The Story of the Converson. London: Viking Society for Northern Research, pp. xxxii-xxxiii, 54. 10 Diplomatarium Islandicum (1896-1950). Reykjavik and Kaupmannahöfn. Volume XII, pp. 14-18. 11 Torfi H.Tulinius (2005). ‘The Westfjords’, Archaeologia Islandica 4: 9-15, p. 12. 12 DI IV, pp. 529-530. 13 DI IX, pp. 535-540. 15
Page 1 and 2: VATNSFJÖRÐUR 2010 FRAMVINDUSKÝRS
Page 3 and 4: EFNI / CONTENTS Vatnsfjörður 2003
Page 5 and 6: SAMANTEKT Garðar Guðmundsson Forn
Page 7 and 8: Sem fyrr voru nemendur víða að,
Page 9 and 10: tóbakspípum, ofnum og prjónuðum
Page 11 and 12: q Borgarey Mjóifjörður Skálav
Page 13: shown. Mynd/Figure 4. Stitched aeri
Page 17 and 18: Summary of the Vatnsfjörður Resea
Page 19 and 20: floor layer, and is likely to an ea
Page 21 and 22: against the 3 m thick, external wes
Page 23 and 24: • The digital terrain model of th
Page 25 and 26: ÚTGEFNAR, SKÝRSLUR, RITGERÐIR OG
Page 27 and 28: ERINDI UM VATNSFJÖRÐ PRESENTATION
Page 29 and 30: ANNAÐ PUBLIC OUTREACH Opinn dagur
Page 31 and 32: Excavation Methods The excavation o
Page 33 and 34: Occupation Phases of Structure 10 S
Page 35 and 36: Upon the removal of the gravel plat
Page 37 and 38: EXCAVATIONS IN THE FARM MOUND AREA
Page 39 and 40: The Excavations Group 10662 Group (
Page 41 and 42: Associated with turf blocking [1050
Page 43 and 44: contained similar finds as were fou
Page 45 and 46: The removal of the deposits excavat
Page 47 and 48: sherds, a possible indication of th
Page 49 and 50: Figure 11. An overview of extension
Page 51 and 52: Group 9502 Group (9502) contains de
Page 53 and 54: In 2010 the area was extended to th
Page 55 and 56: Figure 16. An overview of room (106
Page 57 and 58: Group 10590 Group (10590) is a 7m l
Page 59 and 60: At the end of the 2010 season it ha
Page 61 and 62: Figure 21. Wall [10644]. Facing eas
Page 63 and 64: 17th - 18th century 1906 disturbanc
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Descriptions of Sections Trench 42
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a b Figure 3. South-facting section
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EVALUATION TRENCHES EXCAVATED AT VA
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Trench 37 Around 20 m south-west of
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glazed ceramics, burnt stone, windo
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luish-grey layer of coarse sand [10
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This was thought to be an indicatio
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Table 1. Register of units recorded
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CORING AT HÁLSHÚS AND VATNSFJARÐ
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Visible structure #5 #4 #2 #3 #1 Po
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Vatnsfjarðasel Vatnsfarðasel is l
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silo Main turf building #1 Test #3
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29-38 cm same as above 38-39 cm cha
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63-74 cm same as above 74-76 cm lam
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53-57 cm laminated reddish brown, l
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Organic preservation was generally
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ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION OF THE AR
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depth has been written about the di
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using an ISIS ABT-55 scanning elect
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Smithing Hearth Bottom During the p
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Fingers, or ‘tendrils’ of flowe
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Classification Counts Weight (kg) u
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Conversely, the small size of undia
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Microscopy The results from the opt
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that iron production and smithing w
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would be a worthy pursuit. The lack
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Milek, K. (2009). Excavations in th
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Archaeometallurgy, eds. S. L. Niece
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Table 2. Showing the size, weight a
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Table 4. Showing the dimensions and
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Figure 3. A 3-Dimensional bar chart
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Figure 5. Photographs of two ‘fun
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Figure 9. Examples of technical vit
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Figure 12. BSE image of smelting sl
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Figure 16. Optical micrograph of un
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Figure 20. Photographs of the ten p
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Appendix 1: Abbreviations Undiagnos
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Hammerscale Ferruginous concretions
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pebbles of dense vesicular basalt,
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ID. [324] Mag. Max. Dimensions (cm)
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mixed with the small undiagnostic s
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ID. [6103] Mag. Max. Dimensions (cm
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ID. [...] Finds No. Class. Count We
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Table 1. The 2010 Viking Age faunal
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Combustion Traces Where previously
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BOTANICAL REMAINS FROM A SAMPLE COL
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Figure 1. West-facing section of sa
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Some bioturbation by roots and worm
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300 Charcoal Volume (ml)/Number Sea
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Discussion Origin of Charcoal As me
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driftwood. All of the driftwood col
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Changes in Charcoal and Seaweed Con
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above the farm, and the two specime
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FRIÐRIKSSON, A. & TULINIUS, T.H. (
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SOIL MICROMORPHOLOGY ASSESSMENT OF
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suggesting that this side of the bu
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Figure 2b. Structure 3 in 2006 faci
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occupation deposit. The floor layer
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the structure dry by digging down t
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Bibliography Bullock, P., Fedoroff,
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Figure 5.3 Description of Sample VS
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Figure 5.7 Description of Sample VS
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Figure 5.11 Description of Sample V
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Figure 5.16 Wood phytolith 50 µm F
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Figure 5.27 Iron Nodule (OIL) 100
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Betula pubescens (the native downy
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An opportunistic sampling strategy
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POLLEN ANALYSIS OF THE WET MEADOW A
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Figure 2. Site photograph detailing
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to low percentages (
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values were not a result of process
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Figure 3. Pollen and spore percenta
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CORRELATION OF TEPHRA LAYERS FROM V
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and second, to ensure the most accu
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Figure 2 . Geochemistry of Vatnsfj
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Thorarinsson, S. (1955b). Nákuðun
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10038 D 10010 Fill of post-hole [10
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10569 C 10540 Post hole in hearth (
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10632 D 8562 A midden deposit in ro
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10054 D Lower horizon of land surfa
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ÍS-204 Vatnsfjarðarsel/Seljaland/
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ÍS-204:001C nokkurra metra kafla b
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frá henni er Hólhúsótt [011] og
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ÍS-204:032 Kálgarðsflöt gerði
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sigið nokkuð inn í rústina fyri
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... J vatzfirde fiorar merkur“ (D
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ÍS-205:001 Vatnsfjörður bæjarh
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grjótholti á breiðum hjalla. Var
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norðnorðvestur-suðsuðaustur. Ha
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ÍS-205:011 Nónvarða varða eykta
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hólfum. Samtals er tóftin 8x7 m o
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ÍS-205:021 hleðsla refagildra 655
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ÍS-205:024 Mylluhóll heimild um m
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verið rutt út. Talið er líklega
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erfitt að greina lag hennar. Austa
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ver um 11,5x5 m að innanmáli, þ
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sóleyjum. Búið að slétta yfir
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til vesturs. Op er á þeim hluta h
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ÍS-205:047 varða óþekkt 6556.19
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Vatnsfirði. Nokkrum metrum austan
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ÍS-205:059 Að loknum uppgreftri v
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gæti verið um holur til að elda
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ÍS-205:068 varða óþekkt 6556.44
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ÍS-205:076 Selsker varða óþekkt
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ÍS-205:081 tóft útihús 6556.407
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Norðaustan við íbúðarhúsið v
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hún að hluta grafin niður. Garð
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túnið til norðvesturs. Túngarð
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Þústin samanstendur af grasþúst
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ÍS206:032 heimild um kálgarð Um
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hjallur norðvestan við fjós. Vi
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Vatnið kemur úr litlu lækjarspr
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ÍS-208:001 Hálshús bæjarhóll b
Page 291 and 292:
eru á þeim báðum í miðju, til
Page 293 and 294:
ÍS-208:012 gerði óþekkt 6554.97
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VSF 2010 Report - Nabo

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