Removal of turf [1000] from the extended area exposed an uninterrupted blanket of siltyclay topsoil [1001]. Beneath this layer, the previously identified wall lines of House 2 werefound to continue along their anticipated course (approximately SW-NE). The buildingstyle observed in 2007 was evident once more, with each wall comprised of internal andexternal faces of large stones ([1006] and [1007] form part of the northern wall, and [1008and [1009] form part of the southern wall) around cores of earth and small irregular rubble([1018] & [1019] from the north and south walls respectively).Excavation of the internal deposits revealed a clear-cut sequence of ashy carbon-richmiddens ([1005], [1020], and [1021]). These contexts correspond to and are equal tocontexts [214] and [261] recorded in 2007. Collapsed stone and/or core material from bothwalls was found throughout this sequence ([1010], [1011], [1012], [1028], and [1034]).Below the uppermost contexts and associated collapse material within the structure(including previously unexcavated deposits against the NE baulk, [1022] and [1029]) asingle ash- and carbon-rich clay context, [1035] was identified extending across the wholeinternal area and butting inner wall faces [173/1007] and [175/1008]. This was equal to thestratigraphically earliest context recorded in 2007 ([305]), which has been dated toAD1440-1640 at 95% confidence levels (Lab. Code GU-16695, table 5.1 this volume).Due to time constraints, excavation of the interior of the structure was limited to a 1m-widesondage running between the inner wall faces against the SW baulk. Sampling and removalof [1035] revealed a moderately carbon-flecked silty clay [1043] that was similarly sampledand excavated. This layer comprised the primary abandonment or post-abandonment fill ofHouse 2, the removal of which exposed an intact floor surface containing flagstones [1049]and a small sub-circular ‘hearth’ [1044]. A ‘hearth’ [1044], comprising burnt red andyellow ashy clay within a loose arrangement of possible kerbstones, was foundapproximately 50cm from the internal SE wall face. After detailed recording this featurewas sampled for archaeomagnetic dating, any residual material being bulk sampled.The presumed floor surface chiefly comprised clay layers [1046], [1047], [1048], [1051]and [1052] but also contained a spread of ash and carbon flecks, [1045]. Clays [1048] and[1051] were both heavily burnt and also carbon-rich. A linear arrangement of possibleflagstones [1049] ran NE-SW in the NW floor area. One of these was lifted in order toinvestigate the possibility that they formed capping for a flue, drain, or similar. However,only a homogenous yellow clay [1050] was found to underlie this feature and wastentatively interpreted as natural subsoil. If this were the case it might suggest a singleoccupation phase for House 2 associated with the overlying floor.The external area down-slope of House 2 was not fully excavated this season. The rubblecollapse [246] identified in 2007 was found to continue into the extended trench area, andwas accordingly renumbered [1003]. Although successive layers of this material wererecorded and removed, the base of this ‘collapse’ was not reached and its primaryrelationship to the SE wall of House 2 remains unclear.Externally to the NW of the structure excavation revealed mixed colluvium and topsoil([1004], [1013] and [1017]) overlaying various ‘tips’ ([1014], [1016], [1025] and [1027])20
Figure 2.2: Plan of the sunken floored structure, HamarFigure 2.3: Plan of the excavated structure within Area C, Hamar21
- Page 1 and 2: VIKING UNST PROJECTEXCAVATIONS AT H
- Page 3 and 4: This is a provisional report on the
- Page 5 and 6: PART TWO: PERSONNEL AND RELATED RES
- Page 7 and 8: PART ONEEXCAVATIONS AT HAMAR &THE U
- Page 9 and 10: A geophysical survey of the site wa
- Page 11 and 12: The 2006 & 2007 excavation seasonsT
- Page 13 and 14: sites are multiperiod settlements s
- Page 15 and 16: more complex; geophysics would be a
- Page 17 and 18: floor surface included fragments of
- Page 19: Lower room & ash pitWork also concl
- Page 23 and 24: External DepositsA section was exca
- Page 25 and 26: along the north edge (open side) of
- Page 27 and 28: Figure 2.5: The south east annexe,
- Page 29 and 30: At the lower (easternmost) end of t
- Page 31 and 32: 3. SUMMARY OF FINDS FROM THE 2008 S
- Page 33 and 34: 46mm) with working marks on three s
- Page 35 and 36: 3.2.2 A geological assessment of th
- Page 37 and 38: minerals are chemically stable in n
- Page 39 and 40: the same stone. SF721 (context [117
- Page 41 and 42: context [185] is a fine example of
- Page 43 and 44: close proximity of steatite outcrop
- Page 45 and 46: oom. The three body sherds are fair
- Page 47 and 48: Greenland and Iceland that a number
- Page 49 and 50: channel changes from U-shaped to V-
- Page 51 and 52: 4. ENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCEJ.M. Bond,
- Page 53 and 54: The cereals recovered are hulled si
- Page 55 and 56: five barley grains and a single oat
- Page 57 and 58: 4.3.2 The Upper House, UnderhoullAs
- Page 59 and 60: [176]. The identification of microl
- Page 61 and 62: iron within the soils (Gaffney & Ga
- Page 63 and 64: 63Figure 4.1: The graphical represe
- Page 65 and 66: SitecodeSamplecodeContext SFnumberA
- Page 67 and 68: presence of tephra within the depos
- Page 69 and 70: has been widely criticised as too g
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Outram, Z., Cussans, J.E., Summers,
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Level Two StudentsKirsty BennellJoh
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8. BIBLIOGRAPHYAlsvik, H. and Batey
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Davidson, D.A. and Simpson, I.A. 20
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McDonnell, J.G. 2000. Pyrotechnolog
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700s-800s: a potential alternative
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