Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.1998, Page 143

RITDÓMAR/BOOK REVIEWS
FRIÐLÝSTAR FORNLEIFAR í
BORGARFJARÐARSÝSLU (Protect-
ed historic monuments in Borgarfjörð-
ur-county). By GUÐMUNDUR
ÓLAFSSON. Rit Hins íslenska forn-
leifafélags og Þjóðminjasafns Islands 2.
Reykjavík 1996. 109 pages with 77
maps and photographs and an English
summary.
The first efforts to protect historic
monuments in Iceland stem from the
activities of the Danish Commission
for the Protection of Ancient Monu-
ments, established in 1807. Iceland
was at that time a Danish colony and
its clergymen and officials, along with
others in the Kingdom, received
enquiries about ancient monuments
from the Commission. It was, how-
ever, not until 1817, when an Iceland-
er, Prof. Finnur Magnússon, was
appointed to the Commission, that
action was taken and the first monu-
ments were given a protection order.
The interst in, and the desire to
preserve, antiquities in Iceland grew as
the 19th century progressed. This was
in keeping with developments else-
where in Europe and was bound up
with the growing nationalist move-
ment at that time. The Collection of
Icelandic Antiquities, the predecessor
to the present National Museum, was
established in 1863 and in 1879 the
Archaeological Society was founded.
The systematic recording of archaeo-
logical remains first started in Iceland
in about 1980, with local funding in a
few areas. Under the revised Law of
Antiquities, which took effect in
1990, the National Museum is obliged
to record archaeological remains as far
as is possible. No extra funds were,
however, made available to the muse-
um to carry out this duty, so the
recording which has been done since
the enforcement of the new law still
relies on local funding.
The book being discussed here does
not deal with comprehensive recording
of archaeological remains, but rather
with remains in one county in the west
of Iceland, Borgarfjarðarsýsla, which
have been given special protection
orders. The first ten sites were awarded
this status in 1817, but the issuing of
protection orders did not take off until
the 20th century. Initially the sites
chosen were those regarded as histor-
ically significant, such as the hot pool
where the historian, poet and politi-
cian Snorri Sturluson is thought to
have taken his baths; the alleged rema-
Archaeologia Islandica 1 (1998) 143-153