Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1982, Page 51

BYGGÐALEIFAR Á ÞÓRSMÖRK
55
Steinfinnr Reyrketilssynir took land in Thórsmörk. Njál’s saga, a popular chronicle of lOth
century events set down 300 years later, relates that there were three farms in Thórsmörk at that
time. The site which lies furthest north, and in fact just outside Thórsmörk proper, has become
known as Steinfinnsstadir, the farm of the settler Steinfinnr. The 19th century farmsite, which
could overlie an earlier site, is termed Húsadalur, and the remaining two sites, further west, are
Thurídarstadir and Thurídarstadir efri.
The site of Steinfinnsstadir lies on an eroded knoll just north of the river Thröngá, at the height
of about 250m above sea level. The building remains are first mentioned in an early 19th century
account, and are frequently referred to after that in more recent accounts. By comparing these
earliest descriptions with the remains as they are now, it is obvious, how extensively the site has
been eroded in the last 150 years or so. It now consists only of scattered building stones, but on
the basis of outline it is possible to discern the main dwelling (A) and outhouses (B), and on the
basis of slag a smithy (C). Human bones were found on the site early on, and in 1925 two heathen
graves were investigated down by the river Thröngá. These and other bones found show that at
least three people and a horse were buried there.
A number of finds have been discovered from this site over the years, most of which can not be
closely dated. Among them are, however, two which can: a small bronze buckle (nr. 28), decor-
ated in Borre style which is generally dated to the 9th or lOth centuries; on it is also a border motif
of a type which was common in Ireland in the lOth century. The other datable object is a glass
bead (nr. 38), of a type common in Scandinavia in the lOth century. On the basis of these and the
heathen graves, the earliest settlement at Steinfinnsstadir is dated to the 9th or lOth century.
Thurídarstadir, which is located on the north side of Merkurrani, lies at about 190 m above sea
level. The site has been even more eroded than Steinfinnssstadir, and is rarely mentioned in previ-
ous accounts as containing any remains. An account from 1906 shows, however, that at that time
there were clear remains at the site. In 1980 only the outline of one small ruin could be seen — the
rest consisted of scattered stones. No plan was made and none of the finds from this site can be
closely dated. Previous accounts, however, indicate that it was settled early perhaps.
South of Thurídarstadir, up on the top of Merkurrani, lies a farmsite which has been named
Thurídarstadir efri, at an altitude of about 210 m above sea level. This site seems to have been
first discovered about 15 years ago, when it was exposed through erosion, and the records reveal
nothing about it. It is located at the edge of a recently formed gully, into which it is rapidly dis-
appearing; there was a marked difference in the state of the site between 1980 and 1982. The re-
mains now only consist of scattered stones. Furthest south, along the edge of the gully, could be
detected a longhouse, approximately 15 m in length, and north of it concentrations of stones in
three areas indicated that there were possibly three more structures. Several interesting objects
have been picked up from this site, including a ring-headed pin (nr. 1) datable to the 9th or lOth
centuries, and a bronze object (nr. 2) of insular character, probably Irish, and cut out of a larger
object, such as the end of a brooch, and used, perhaps as a weight at Thurídarstadir efri. Weights
of this kind usually only occur in 8th or 9th century Viking contexts. A stud (nr. 3) of possible
12th or 13th century date and horse shoes, which were first used in Iceland in the llth or 12th
centuries, give an idea of the duration of the settlement. Documentary evidence suggests that all
the sites in Thórsmörk had been abandoned by the 12th century. Some distance south of the site,
right on top of Merkurrani, smelting debris was discovered among a scatter of stones, obviously
the remains of a structure. Extracting iron from bog ore was a common practice in Iceland until
the middle ages. No bog is now apparent in Thórsmörk, but investigations of the river Markar-
fljót have shown much movement in the river, some of it over vegetated land. Some bogs may
well have existed in the area north of Thurídarstadir, which have now been flooded.
The 19th century farmsite in Húsadalur, which lies at about 210 m above sea level, is the only