Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.2007, Page 119

118 ÁRBÓK FORNLEIFAFÉLAGSINS
Summary
This paper presents preliminary results of a long-term investigation into the Viking
settlement of Hofstadir in north-east Iceland. The site was first excavated by Daniel Bruun
in 1908 and entered the literature as the type-site of pagan temples. In 1992, a new project
began which was completed in 2002 and was a collaboration between the Institute of
Archaeology (Reykjavik) and North Atlantic Biocultural Organization (Hunter College,
New York). The project re-excavated the main longhouse and also discovered several new
structures and it is this structural information rather than the artefacts or environmental
data that is the focus of this paper.
In total, the site consists of a large hall (AB), a pithouse (G), two semi-sunken pithouses
(A4, A5), three turf houses connected to the hall (A2, C2, D2) and a free-standing
structure (E2) (see fig.1). The site dates from c. AD950 until c. AD 1150 based on both
tephrachronology and radiocarbon, but in this time period not all the structures are
contemporary. The hall is the most impressive building, over 38m long and 9.5m wide
putting it into the largest size category of knownViking halls; it has at least two phases
of construction, and was constructed with turf walls around a timber frame marked by
postholes and postads. A substantial ash floor lay along the middle of the hall where there
was a small central fireplace and there is good evidence for partitions along the sides. The
other structures are all much smaller, but also built with turf walls and timber frames, and
most also had hearths. The pithouse G also almost certainly housed a loom, while the
three eastern structures (A2, A4 & A5) may have been successive smithies. Structure E2 is
very unusual in construction, having a drain along one side and micromorphology of the
drain fill suggests this may have been a privy.
The final intepretation of the site will be discussed in a forthcoming monograph, but
the associated artefacts and environmental data add to a complex story where economics,
politics and religion all play a role in understanding this unique settlement. The project
is additionally fortunate in having information on the wider landscape during the same
period, as it is linked to a multi-displinary investigation of the Myvatn lakes region where
five other Viking settlement sites have been or currently are being investigated.