Volume 20, 1970 - The Arctic Circle - Home

3l+ccrnmturical,iorts on fh:rt occasiorr, I nr-lssed seeinq l,ire largest ruinof a.11, !0 miles north oJ' Pamiok.r ofl wha.t has since been narned tl'reFord si-te" This structure, r'epresented by earth ridqes and a semi.-sut,terranea,n lnterior, seenred to have four partitions but only onedoorway. It is I15 x 2h feet, measured from crest to crest of theridges.0:I Pamiok Island tliree Longhouse ruins vrere 6frs€rved.Tlre fi.rst of tiese, Lr5 x 16 feet, was completely exca.vated.Deposifs !.rere shallow, but stra,tigraphy showed an unidentified,oossi'bl1' liorse, stcne culture at Lhe bottom, overlain by twosfa.ges o I late Dorset culture. The sidemralis r,,rere outcurving andthe ends were rorindedr &s is tlie case in some lJorse dviellings. uowni.he cein'l,re was a double row of rafher r-rniformly spaced firepits,sl,one-lined in sorie cases; in others, carefully consfrucfed as stoneboxes set in the floor" These are knovar as ember pits in Norsearchaeology anC at LtAnse-aux-Meadows, lJanrfoundland. The buildingdlnensions arid shape are cornmon in certain ltiorse siLes. A vestibuleopening of f the nia,in room near one end is also a well known Norsef eature.The narrol{ness of the remaining fl-oor space in the mainroorir; t,her a.bsence of sleepi-nr p1;t,fornrs Lhere, and flie occurrenceof ra-iseC plat,forms j-n the end rooms led me to suq.qest that thelatf't" wer:'e for sleening. The presence of firepifs in both furthersuqrrest,s such use, raNirer than for storage.Thc ior:ghouses b.rere roofed vrifh tlnt,ers, of course, andpcst, rnor:lds v.rere founC. The roundeci endsr &s one would expect, wereroof eci r^rj t-h poJ-es brrf led into the earth riCqes and leaned into asable elid in tipi fashion.iihe second longhouse ruin on Pamj-ok was 83 feet by 2.3 feetacross iis ridge crests. ft ha,ci three partiti-ons and differed fromaII otlier mins in the extrene sizes of the boulciers used in thewalls o Some boulders ran over 1000 pounos. Nearly all had beentunibled out of pla ce.Ixcavafions to CaLe shor^'' +-hat the ki-tchen of' tl.ri-s; Iargeruin rras al:rosf s(lrla.re, wifh a little over L9 feet to a side.Doon,,a;g posit,ii-ins lcildinc' info tire ot,her rooms were establlshed"'l'irr-' stut's; o1' J'ouniiat,ion vlal-ls .wet:e uncoverecl and Ieft undisturbed.'l'hc t,rull,lctl borr]-,11'rsr upon corllrlct,ion of viork on this roon, werercst,orc:cl Lo a])proxinraLt:lrr {'orrner positions over t}rr: yrall stut;soAgain ccnfrerl fircpi Ls vrerc J'ciunct, a.nd one oJ' Lhese procluced enoughcharcoal" for a radi,oc;lrbon riate, whi"ch was about A.l). 1050.Archit,ectural featurr:;, Lrovreverr, -{'a.vour a date between A.I). fl00ancl 1200 "Along the inner sirles of fhe si'd,e-walls were post rnoulds,again prorring t.lre prcser:Ice of tirnlier j-n tlre constmction. The