Skáholt 2002 - Nabo

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ensuring local wealth; this may be further tested, by consideration of church cartularies. The alternative hypothesis is that Skálholt did not intensively manage land, preferring to rely on tithing (i.e. external income) to maintain wealth. If the first hypothesis is validated and intensity of land management at Skálholt is consistently high throughout the early ‘Christian’ period, then a second hypothesis is that crop productivity was high throughout this period, even during periods of climatic deterioration. This will, in part, reflect the significance of year-on-year improvement to land quality through manuring strategies. Soils survey will be undertaken by systematic ha nd augering and by exposure of selected profiles for sampling. Analyses of soils will be undertake using thin section micromorphology (Davidson and Simpson, 2001) and element analyses used in CENTURY soil organic carbon and productivity modelling (total carbon, total nitrogen and total phosphorus – Simpson et al., <strong>2002</strong>). The temporal and spatial framework of the study will allow statistical models and comparisons of soil properties and productivities to be made. Preliminary soil assessment A preliminary soil assessment has begun to indicate the validity of a soils-based approach to understanding early land management practices associated with the Skálholt ecclesiastical settlement. One exposure in a ditch section has demonstrated accumulating silt loam and sandy silt loam soils with colours ranging from 2.5YR 3/6 (dark red) to 10 YR 3/1 (dark grey brown) (Figure 4). Prior to the landnám tephra of AD 871±2 there is no disturbance or amendment of soils. Post landnám there is evidence of cultivation ridges, with an earlier phase overlain by a later phase, that have a distance of approximately 120cm between the high points of the ridges. Based on colour characteristics, these cultivation ridges were created by overturning turves and exposing the soil. The occurrence of occasional fine charcoals and rare small bone fragments indicate that these soils were amended with a view to maintaining and enhancing soil 15
productivity. Soil accumulation on top of the ridges suggests that cultivation was subsequently abandoned. However, the continuing amendment of these accumulating soils, again evidenced through the occurrence of small charcoal and bone fragments suggests that this area may have been used for intensive grassland production. Samples for thin section micromorphology and bulk chemical analyses have been collected to further test and refine the field observations; preliminary results of the chemical analyses are available (Table 2). Of particular significance are the total phosphorus values which have a range of 152 – 1159 mg / 100g, as enhanced levels of total phosphorus have been used in cultural landscape contexts to indicate amendment of soils with organic materials. Here the marked difference in total phosphorus values between pre- and post- landnám soils indicates significant levels of amendment, with a greater degree of amendment during the final phases of soil accumulation. Furthermore, the total phosphorus values from the amended soils at Skálholt are greater than those found in other early enclosed arable areas studied in Iceland where ranges of 242 – 303 mg /100g total phosphorus have been identified (Simpson et al, <strong>2002</strong>), implying a greater intensity of manuring at Skálholt. Conclusions Emerging evidence from Scotland is beginning to suggest that early, pre-Reformation, ecclesiastical settlements may have introduced new agricultural land management methods that contributed to substantial landscape change, with evidence for new ways of working the land retained as relict soil properties (see Discussion below). On these grounds, it is possible to advance the hypothesis that early ecclesiastical settlements also contributed new land management systems to Iceland. This project will define the nature of land management systems associated with Skálholt, using a soils-based approach that integrates historical and archaeological evidence, within a tephro-chronological framework and spatial framework that includes analyses of contrasting farm types. 16
Page 1 and 2: SKÁLHOLT 2002 Framvinduskýrslur/I
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction .
Page 5 and 6: LIST OF PLATES Plate I. View of the
Page 7 and 8: Between 1954 and 1958, the first pr
Page 9 and 10: structures. Thereafter, excavation
Page 11 and 12: The project is a cooperation betwee
Page 13 and 14: 76 m 75 m 74 m 73 m 72 m 71 m 70 m
Page 15 and 16: is also suggested that a topographi
Page 17 and 18: I I I I I I I V c m S k á l h o l
Page 19: Þrátt fyrir að gjóskulög frá
Page 23 and 24: EXCAVATION Excavation occurred at t
Page 25 and 26: The buildings basically consisted o
Page 27 and 28: Room [15] (Bishop´s Inner Chambers
Page 29 and 30: Abandonment of the building is mark
Page 31 and 32: Room [127] (Unknown Annexe; MS) Unm
Page 33 and 34: sporadically used to dump hearth wa
Page 35 and 36: Rector´s chambers, and after 1781,
Page 37 and 38: earthquake and re-location of the s
Page 39 and 40: There is little doubt this feature
Page 41 and 42: much earlier. Curiously though, the
Page 43 and 44: Figure 6. Phasing of School Rooms 8
Page 45 and 46: On the southern side of the haybarn
Page 47 and 48: shelters in the 19 th century seems
Page 49 and 50: 3. FINDS The amount of finds recove
Page 51 and 52: CERAMIC Pottery A rapid assessment
Page 53 and 54: glazed earthenwares (faience) were
Page 55 and 56: Bearing in mind that the rooms on t
Page 57 and 58: with incomplete markings: Ger[many]
Page 59 and 60: lown as in the 18 th century exampl
Page 61 and 62: lines. There was also a fine exampl
Page 63 and 64: Other A few rarer metal types were
Page 65 and 66: () which has a flaw running almost
Page 67 and 68: comes fairly close and is a rare si
Page 69 and 70: 4. DISCUSSION THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PO
Page 71 and 72:
communities may have introduced new
Page 73 and 74:
practices, a general hypothesis tha
Page 75 and 76:
5. APPENDICES UNITS No NoType Group
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No NoType GroupNo Description 82 De
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No NoType GroupNo Description 203 D
Page 81 and 82:
FINDS FindsNo UnitNo BoxNo Object M
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FindsNo UnitNo BoxNo Object Materia
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6. REFERENCES Adderley, W.P., Simps
Page 107 and 108:
Horsley, T., (1999). ‘A prelimina
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Skáholt 2002 - Nabo

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