Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2004, Page 94

Orri Vésteinsson
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* ....../ / ' //’// / ' \\ f
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F/g. 7. Sectionfrom the 1971-75 excavation ofSuðurgata 3-5 in Reykjavík. From Nordahl 1988,
40.
across them, whereas "ad hoc" sections
were quite unevenly distributed. They
were thick on the ground in Aðalstræti 18
where modem trenching cut through the
archaeological deposits in many places,
but much rarer in the Suðurgata 3-5 plot
where two "long-term" sections seem to
have been considered to give sufficient
stratigraphic control. (Fig. 7) Plans were
drawn of individual features or whole
complexes in more or less stratigraphic
order but layers or stratigraphic units
were not systematically defíned.
Artefacts were related to stmctural units,
individual buildings or building phases,
the characterization of which forms the
backbone of the stratigraphic analysis. In
these excavations all archaeological
deposits inside the predefined plots - also
the section baulks - were removed, giv-
ing some idea about the outside of the
buildings. This however did not become
standard practice for some time yet in
Icelandic archaeology and was until the
1990s confmed to sites where predefmed
plots were being cleared of archaeologi-
cal deposits in a rescue context.
The changes in accepted practice can
be seen very well in the excavation of
Kúabót by veteran fieldworker Gísli
Gestsson in 1972-1976. This was a very
similar site to Gröf which Gestsson had
excavated in the 1950s and the differ-
ences between the methodologies are
quite revealing. Unlike Gröf sections
were recorded through all the buildings
at Kúabót, laid out beforehand to give a
representative view of individual rooms
as well as the whole complex. Like Gröf
however the walls themselves were left
unexcavated and were not dug through
where the sections cut through them.
Areas outside and in between buildings
were only cleared where features like
pavements could be traced. Each build-
ing was also clearly more carefully exca-
vated, with greater attention being given
to details - reflected in the publication of
larger scale plans of each building in
addition to the overall site plan. A very
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