Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.1998, Page 14

Adolf Friðriksson & Orri Vésteinsson
FORNFEIFASKRÁNING
Brot úr íslenskri vísindasögu
The history of systematic survey of archaeological sites in Iceland can be traced back
to the beginning of the 19th century and its development is discussed in detail in
this article. The golden age of archaeological surveying in Iceland was in the ciosing
years of the 19C^* century when antiquarians scouted the country for sites which
could be linked to accounts in the medieval saga literature. This work has remained
the basis of knowledge of archaeological sites in the island and it was only after 1970
that interest was rekindled in conducting systematic surveys of archaeological sites.
A struggle for a revision of the legislation for the protection of archaeological sites
resulted in a new law in 1989 according to which all cultural remains older than
100 years are protected. This legislation, together with growing interest in and
awareness of environmental issues and the value of archaeology as part of the
cultural landscape, has created the conditions for a new total survey of archaeological
sites in Iceland initiated by the Institute of Archaeology in 1993. A new
methodology has been developed and large parts of the country have been surveyed,
with the database curtently standing at 20,000 sites, of which 4,500 have been
visited in the field.
AdolfFriðriksson & Orri 'Vésteinsson, Fornleifastofnun Islands, Bárugótu 3, 101 Reykjavtk
Keywords: Archaeological survey, history of archaeology, methodology
Inngangsorð
„Fornleifaskráning" er hugtak sem
heyrist æ oftar á opinberum vettvangi.
Þó er þessi grundvallaraðferð fornleifa-
fræðinga lítið þekkt. Orðið stendur
enn í þingmanni og bónda, það er
óþjált í munni fjölmiðlafólks og merk-
ing þess er óskýr í huga margra. A
meðan íslendingum vefst tunga um
tönn er sá dýri arfur sem fólginn er í
fornleifum þessa lands að hverfa. Nú í
lok 20. aldar, á tímum uppgangs og
efnahagslegrar velferðar, á sér stað
skefjalaus eyðing fornleifa á íslandi.
Miklar skemmdir hafa þegar verið
unnar á þessum hluta menningararfs
þjóðarinnar, en nauðsynlegt er að
stöðva þessa uggvænlegu þróun því
fornleifar eru ekki ótæmandi auðlind.
Beittasta vopnið í þeirri baráttu er sú
tegund grunnrannsókna sem nefnist
fornleifaskráning. Fornleifaskráning er
kerfisbundin leit og skráning á fornum
mannvistarleifum en án siíkra upplýs-
inga er ekki hægt að gera ráðstafanir
til að vernda minjarnar.
Archaeologia Islandica 1 (1998) 14-44