Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2004, Side 23

ZOOARCHAEOLOGY, HlSTORY AND LANDSCAPE ARCHAEOLOGY AT FlNNBOGASTAÐIR IN THE 18TH CENTURY
and an ongoing program of landscape
archaeology in the region. The district
(hreppur, plural hreppar) of Ámeshrep-
pur covers a larger area than most hrep-
par in the south and southwest of Iceland,
and takes in a landscape of deep narrow
Qords, narrow glacial valleys, and high
mountains (Figure 1).
There is little area that can be culti-
vated between the mountains and the sea
and by the later 19th century the farmers
in the area were known for a wide rang-
ing subsistence strategy. The major
resources of the NW in the 19th century
included fishing, sealing, egg collection,
bird hunting, driftwood, and the wind-
falls provided by the stranding of both
whales and ships (Kristjánsson 1980). In
the mid 19th century there were 27 farms
in the Ámes district and in the beginning
of the 20th century this number had
increased to 50 farms. This expansion
was a result of increased fishing which
affected the whole of Iceland at the time.
However, decline in fishing from the mid
20th century onwards has caused farms
to be abandoned, especially in the NW. In
2000 there were only 8 farms still occu-
pied in the area, and there is now a real
concem for the long term viability of the
community as a whole. The changing
demography of this now marginalized
region cannot be fully understood with-
out reference to a properly historical
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