Myrkárdalur in Hörgárdalur, N. Iceland: Brief Summary of the 2008/2009 Archaeofauna

In summer of 2008 and 2009, an excavation team led by the author and Howell M. Roberts (FSI) investigated the potential for midden remains at Myrkárdalur, a farm ruin site situated in a highland area in the most interior part of a minor valley system in Hörgárdalur, Eyjafjörður. The results of these exercises were two small collections of archaeological materials from two middens of the post-medieval and Early Modern Periods. The results of zooarchaeological analysis are presented here, with a very limited discussion on potential site economy. While the ruins visible in the landscape are likely from the medieval period and are reminiscent of medieval corridor houses from Greenland, faunal remains are from a later point in time and indicative of a long term use of this area, at least in terms of structural remains from the early 20th c. still standing. Today, this area is frequented by fox hunters and the land used by the nearest farm further down the valley.

Archaeofauna Early Modern Eyjafjörður Hörgárdalur Iceland International Polar Year Myrkárdalur post-Medieval zooarchaeology

Alternative formats:

If you require this document in an alternative format, such as large print or a coloured background, please contact the author(s) or publisher. If it is a document authored by NABO, please contact us, either via our contact form or by emailing anthony.newton@ed.ac.uk.