Gripla - 01.01.1977, Page 21

JOURNEY TO THE NJÁLA COUNTRY
17
While we were at Hlíðarendi I mentioned the help given by archeo-
logy in distinguishing between fact and fiction.
The results of excavations at Bergþórshvoll have been much more
impressive.
The most important were those of the late Professor Matthías Þórðar-
son, director of the Museum of National Antiquities, in the years 1927-
28, and especially those of his successor in that post, now president of
Iceland, Dr. Kristján Eldjárn, in the years 1951-52. With the collabor-
ation of Gísli Gestsson, curator of the Museum, Dr. Eldjárn has pub-
lished the conclusions of both Matthías Þórðarson’s and his own work.
These excavations provided ample proof of a fire at Bergþórshvoll, and
carbon-14 tests showed it to have taken place during the saga-age,
about the time indicated by the saga itself and by annals.
The farm-buildings were excavated by Matthías Þórðarson. He was
disappointed to find little ash, but I agree with Dr. Eldjárn that this
could be explained by subsequent clearing of the site, similar to that
being carried out at present by the people of Vestmannaeyjar, prepara-
tory to rebuilding. And then one house was built after another on the
site, so the ash disappeared.
On the other hand, to the north of the farmhouse remains were found
of a drying-oven (sofnhús) where there were obvious signs of destruc-
tion by fire, while to the west Dr. Eldjám discovered what had been a
byre for thirty cows, also giving clear signs of fire. Here I mention only
the most important discoveries. All this provides sufficient evidence to
support the written record of Njáll’s death by burning on this spot at
about the time indicated.
But now we must leave such absorbing matter and return to the
author of Njála. Should anyone ask how wide a horizon he may have
had, the answer must be: he was a typical man of the Sturlunga-age and,
like others of his time, had travelled widely about Iceland. Thus his
knowledge of the eastern region is considerable, especially the southern-
most parts of it, while some localities in the Strandir district of the
north-west are mentioned with strange precision. However, one must
suppose that various places were only known slightly, by hearsay, or by
what he had read about them in sagas or other written sources. He
probably never visited Norway; there are too many mistakes in what
Gripla 2