Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1966, Page 50

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ÁRBÓK FORNLEIFAFÉLAGSINS
úr því. Á móti þessari tilgátu mælir það, hvað beinagrindurnar eru
heillegar og áð ekkert beinanna var í upphaflegri legu. Venjulegur
haugbrjótur með ábatasjónarmið myndi ekki ganga svo um.
SUMMARY
Description of bones from a Viking Age grave at Vatnsdalur,
Western lceland.
The skeletal material from the Viking Age gravemound at Vatnsdalur, Western
Iceland, described by Thor Magnusson in the present issue of Árbók (p. 5—32), prov-
ed to include 7 almost complete skeletons, 4 males and 3 females, ranging from 18
years of age to a little under 40. The average age of the 7 individuals is far below
that of 108 previously known individuals from pagan times in Iceland (i. e. the period
900—1000 A. D. approximately).
On Tables 1 and 2 the author attempts a eomparison between some character-
istics of the skeletons from Vatnsdalur on one side and other skeletal material
from pagan times and early Christian times in the Þjórsárdalur valley (llth
century) on the other. The comparison shows that the average stature of the
Vatnsdalur-people is slightly above that of other Icelanders from pagan times
and llth century Þjórsárdalur-people but somewhat below the stature of Iron
Age Norwegians. The cranial and upper facial module of the Vatnsdalur people
is larger than in the other groups on Table 2, and as to the form of the Vatns-
dalur skulls it is remarkable how relatively high they are and much higher than
the skulls in the groups compared (cf. length-height and breadth-height indices).
In this respect and also as to length-basinasal-length index the Vatnsdalur skulls
are closer to the Norwegian Iron Age group than the Icelandic ones. In other
respects, however, the Vatnsdalur skulls differ more definitely from the Nor-
vegian than the Icelandic ones, a fact most clearly shown by the high upper
facial indices I and orbital indices. Somewhat similar can be said of the tibio-
femoral index and the frequent torus mandibularis.
In the second half of the paper (II) the author tries to use spots of verdigris
on the bones to identify the kinds of ornaments which might have accompanied
each person in the grave. Likewise he tries to find out whether one or more per-
sons were buried in the boat, and, in given case, which of the seven. Finally the
author discusses the interpretation of some minor unusual aspects of the find.