VSF 2010 Report - Nabo

Discussion
The two sections excavated through the boundary wall in 2010 revealed that it had several
building phases and had been in use for a very long period of time. Unfortunately, neither
section contained any visible tephra layers, but the differences in the colours of the turf
construction phases – and in particular the fact that a podzol was directly underlying the
southern part of the boundary wall and had been used in the earliest construction phase in
both sections (identical to the Viking Age part of the site) – suggests that the earliest phase
of the wall can be dated to the Viking Period. Moreover, modern fence posts set into the
top of the wall and a fragment of barbed wire found in the top soil of Trench 42 indicate
that the same boundary had been used until the early 20th century, although the fence line
today is a few meters east of the western part of the turf boundary wall, and stretches
considerably further to the south of the southern part of the wall (see Figure 2a for a view
of the current fence line). It is hoped that in future field seasons more sections can be
placed in the boundary wall in its eastern and northern sections in order to further
investigate its construction and date.
References
Broddi (1904) Gaddavírslögin. Ingólfur II ár, 6 blað.
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