Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2005, Page 26

Ragnar Edvardsson & Thomas H. McGovern
Figure 2. The earlier occupation phase
black, compact, with charcoal and small
fragments of bumed bones. The entire
floor was sampled for various analyses
including retrieval of plant remains,
although results are still pending. The
thickest and best preserved floor deposits
surrounded the fireplace due to the
intense activity around the hearth.
A small slot, a few centimeters
in width, was recorded on both sides of
the hearth. These slots ran parallel with
the hearth and within them were regular-
ly spaced postholes. These slots appear to
be the remains of paneling that were on
both sides of the hearth. Similar paneling
has been recorded on other longhouse
excavations in Iceland (Roussell 1943).
In the northem end of the longhouse was
a small pit of an unknown function. This
pit measured approximately 50 x 50 cen-
timeters and was dug into the subsoil,
small flat stones placed upright along the
edges and flat, small stones were placed
at its base. Along the westem and eastem
walls of the longhouse both postholes
and postpads were recorded. However,
more postholes and postpads will proba-
bly be discovered once the walls of the
building have been íully excavated.
Later occupation phase
The longhouse was partially abandoned
at the end of the earlier occupation phase
and from it was created a smaller stmc-
ture with an unknown function. This
smaller building measured approximate-
ly 9 x 5 meters (measured on the inside).
The building used the earlier longhouse
walls on its north, east and west sides,
however, a new gable wall was erected in
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