VSF 2010 Report - Nabo

Brief historical background of Hálshús and previous archaeological work
Little is known about the history of the farm of Hálshús. The first mention in historical
sources dates its occupation around 1327 (Aldred, 2008: 40). Jarðabók suggested that the
farm was a tenant farm owned by the main farm of Vatnsjörður until the early modern
period (JÁM: 214-215) when it probably became an independent farm until its
abandonment in modern times, just like many farms and shielings in the area (eg Sveinhús,
Miðhús and Vatnsfarðasel). Today, the farm is in ruins: turf and stone walls, a sheep house
and hay storage silo annexed to the main turf structure and other unidentified features are
the only witness of an ancient occupation. East of this structure, at the edge of a gentle
slope, lies the eroded face with midden deposits appearing in the profile. In order to record
the profile and gather more information on successive deposits, a member of the staff
undertook a small evaluation trench where the profile showed its thickest deposits (see
Oddgeir Isaksen, this report).
Coring methodology
Based on the location of the evaluation trench excavated earlier during the summer and the
shape of the feature, a coring strategy was established. A total of five coring transects were
done; four of them – oriented more or less north/south – were concentrated around the
possible midden east of the main turf structure and another one – oriented east/west – was
done between the main structure and a visible feature lying east of the farm (Figure 2). A
five meter distance between each core was respected. A list of all core descriptions can be
found in Table 1. Core locations were flagged in order to later locate them with a total
station.
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