Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2005, Síða 60

Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2005, Síða 60
Ragnar Edvardsson These sites increase in number in the period between 1800 and 1900. There seems to be a connection between the offshore bases and social conditions at any given period. In the 17th and 18th century, fishing went into decline at a time of environmental, social and politi- cal changes. The increase of fishing sites in from mid 19th century into the 20th century, also seem to correspond to more favorable conditions environmentally, politically and socially in Iceland. (Barlow 2001, 106; Júlíusson 1996, 212- 212). Fishing increased dramatically in the period between the mid-19th to early 20th century. This was mainly due to the industrialization of the fishing industry and the lifting of bans and regu- lations that limited the industry. New types of boats with engines appeared making it possible to go farther out to sea than had earlier been possible. These changes made the fishing stations unnecessary as the distance to the offshore fishing grounds no longer mattered. Many offshore fishing sites were abandoned. Others changed from a fishing station to a fishing village as more and more people flocked to the shore to participate in the booming fish- ing industry. Only the sites that had been established in a favorable environment changed to fishing villages; others were completely abandoned. Unfortunately, the fishing vil- lages often completely destroyed the physical remains of the earlier fishing stations and in other cases the stations were destroyed by road or other types of construction. The largest fishing stations in Vestfirðir were Bolungarvík, which became a fishing village and Kálfadalur, in the vicinity of Bolungarvík, which was completely destroyed by road construc- tion between 1960 and 1970. Very few offshore bases lasted into the 20th centu- ry. Those that did survive, were finally abandoned by the mid-20th century. The offshore fishing station of Skreflur, in the district of Kaldrananes, lasted until the 1940s after which all fishing in the area had moved to the village of Drangsnes. (Ömefnaskrá Kaldbaks í Kaldrananes- hreppi) The rapid developments in Vestfirðir caused the near destmction of sites with the offshore bases and today there are few remains left for study. Also it must be considered that some stations were sited so close to a farm that the fish- ermen could remain on that farm ovemight or for longer periods and in these cases there was no need to build booths to live in during the fishing sea- son. Such sites have left little physical remains. This can clearly be seen on the island of Bjameyjar in Breiðafjörður were no fishing booths are visible only mas- sive boat-landings, constructed with large rocks and boulders. Results of Archaeological Investigations As mentioned above, the research was divided into two main parts; archaeolog- ical survey and excavation. The archaeo- logical survey focused mainly on the off- shore fishing bases in two regions; (i) the area surrounding the mouth of Isa- fjarðardjúp and the immediate area south of the Isafjarðardjúp in Isafjarðarsýsla, and (ii) various areas in Ames- and Kaldrananes districts in Strandasýsla. Isafjarðarsýsla and Strandasýsla were chosen partially because the oldest fish- ing sites mentioned in the written sources are located in these areas and also to see if there were any differences between the 58
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Archaeologia Islandica

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