Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.1998, Page 146

Ritdómar
important archaeological field to an
interested forum. Her scientific work
began in 1991 with a two years re-
search post at the National Museum of
Iceland in Reykjavík. During this
project she investigated all the pottery
stored at the National Museum and
the Arbær Museum in Reykjavík
which for the most part had remained
unstudied until then.
All pottery found in excavations in
Iceland has been imported. Clay can be
found on the volcanic island but its
quality is poor and therefore not usea-
ble for pottery production. In addition
the island has hardiy any forest and as
a consequence lacks the necessary fuel
for the firing of kilns. Nevertheless it
is probable that attempts were made
to produce pottery, as for instance was
the case in the Faeroe Islands and the
Hebrides. The fact that only imported
pottery can be found on Iceland makes
pottery research highly interesting as
an archaeological discipline, especially
when dealt with within the context of
Icelandic trade with other countries.
The majority of the imported pottery
consists of material from northern
Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands
and England.
What does the author set out to do?
Above all she offers us a survey of the
different types of pottery found in Ice-
land. The publication is also a hand-
book that can be used for further anal-
ysis. The different types of pottery are
discussed and differences between sites
and parts of the country are explained.
At the same time the author is aware
that her work is just a first step in
Icelandic pottery research.
The volume is clearly structured and
well thought out. In chapter 1 Guðrún
Sveinbjarnardóttir introduces the
structure of the book as well as the
aim and the function of the work, This
introductory chapter also deals with
the present state of pottery studies on
Iceland and examines the geological
conditions of the island and historical
attempts to manufacture pottery.
Consideration is given to the fact that
due to frequently insufficient docu-
mentation of the finds it often seemed
impossible to use the discovered pot-
tery for comparative chronological and
spatial studies.
The second chapter deals with the
methodology, the research method and
the structure of the work. Each chapter
is briefly introduced and its contents
described, as a useful guide to reading
the book in detail. Complications dur-
ing the investigations arose because of
the diversity of the material. In addi-
tion stratification was often missing
and a high number of sherds were
either too small to ascertain pottery
type, a problem confounded by the
small number of rim sherds. These cir-
cumstances are felt by the author to
limit the possibilities to come up with
clear statements. The pottery was ana-
lyzed on the basis of the colour of the
fabric and glaze and finally an attempt
was made to assign the sherds to a
common classification. The following
types of pottery have been found in
Iceland: redware, greyware, stoneware,
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