Fornbyli Landscape and Archaeological Survey on Hegranes (FLASH) Interim Report 2015, Iceland

• Main Author: Kathryn Catlin
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Arctic Data Center 2017
• Subjects: archaeology; Hegranes; Helluland; Iceland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.18739/A2707WQ05

In 2015, the Fornbyli Landscape and Archaeological Survey on Hegranes (FLASH) project and the Skagafjordur Church and Settlement Survey (SCASS) conducted survey and excavation in and around known outlying ruins, archaeological places (fornbyli), and extensive fields at the farms of As, Keflavik, Egg, Hroarsdalur, Gardur, Helluland, and Keldudalur on Hegranes in Skagafjordur, North Iceland. The work was performed to meet the goals of the Skagafjordur Church and Settlement Survey (SCASS) and for Kathryn Catlin's doctoral dissertation research towards her PhD at Northwestern University. The FLASH research had two primary purposes: first, to locate, date, and to the extent possible, characterize the nature of the activities performed at the fornbyli locations; and second, to describe and understand the sequences of soil erosion and sediment deposition that have occurred on Hegranes, both near and distant from the fornbyli and the major farms, since the settlement of Iceland ca. 870 AD. Coring was performed at all seven farms with multiple objectives for both projects. At Keflavik, As, and Keldudalur, coring was employed to (1) determine the establishment date and extent of the medieval farm mounds near the farmstead center; (2) locate areas of human activity and measure soil depth in the fields immediately surrounding the medieval farm mounds; and (3) determine the dates, use, and environmental context of fornbyli at the margins of the modern farms. At Gardur and Hroarsdalur, coring concentrated on (1) the farm mounds and (2) the extensive nearby fields. At Egg and Helluland, coring was only undertaken at (3) two of the fornbyli. This document reports on (2) extensive field coring and (3) coring at the fornbyli. (1) Coring and excavations in the farm mounds fell under the purview of the main SCASS project and are reported elsewhere. Test pits at Minni-As and Tunfotur (on As) targeted the oldest locations of ash middens as determined from coring survey, and additional profiles at Minni-As and Thraelagerdi (on Keflavik) were placed to characterize erosion at a distance from human habitation. Limited finds (primarily faunals) were retrieved. Macrobotanical flotation samples were obtained from all pre-1300 contexts, along with radiocarbon samples when feasible. Preliminary interpretations of the work suggest that many fornbyli were constructed early and reused for multiple purposes through the medieval period and later, and that the overall landscape of Hegranes has been subject to significant erosion and landscape change over the course of its history. In particular, the timing of transitions from well-drained to boggy soils in low-lying areas will be investigated in 2016 and 2017.