Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2005, Page 62

Ragnar Edvardsson
have been identified at various fishing
stations and were used for two separate
activities. The fírst, circular in shape and
made of stone, held winches that were
used to drag the boats up from the sea.
The second type were used for spreading
out fish, both to dry the físh for stockfísh
and also for saltfish after salt had been
introduced into Iceland in the 18th
century.
The físhing stations varied in
size. The largest one, Skálavík, had 12
booths, Slétta also had 12, but the booths
there were much smaller. Kálfavík in
Önundarfjörður had 9 booths. The small-
est stations recorded were in the
Kaldrananes district where the stations in
general had no more than 5 booths.
To date, archaeological excava-
tions have been made on three físhing
sites in Vestfirðir: (1) Akurvík in the
Árnes district of Strandasýsla; (2) Saura-
tún in the Kaldrananes district of
Strandasýsla; and (3) Skálavík in the
Bolungarvík district of ísafjarðarsýsla.
Results of the Akurvík Excavation and
Analysis
The Akurvík excavations were mainly
focused on the midden (which consisted
of físh by-products) at the site but 4-5
booths were also recorded. All the booths
were small in size, measuring no more
than 4 x 3 m each and with an entrance
facing the sea. The site seems to have
been seasonally occupied. Radiocarbon
dates collected from selected units sug-
gested that the site had been occupied
from c.a. AD 1200-1440. The radiocar-
bon samples also showed a peak in the
llth century, which suggests that occu-
pation on the site may have begun earlier
(Amundsen, et al. in press, 3-4).
The físh assemblages from
Akurvík, dated to the 13th-15th cen-
turies, show a clear concentration on cod.
However, the assemblages dated to the
earliest occupational phase showed a
slightly different pattem. In the earliest
phase there was more diversity of species
and less emphasis on a certain size of
cod. The pattem noted in the 13th-15th
centuries is similar to the medieval com-
mercial fisheries in Norway and also
similar to the modem commercial pattem
in Iceland. This specialization reflects a
medieval commoditization that is the
result of a demand from European mar-
kets for a special fish product, stockfísh.
This fish product had to meet certain
standards set by European merchants and
in this case cod of a certain size of. Thus,
Icelandic fishermen targeted a species of
cod of a certain size for export to foreign
markets (Amundsen et al. in press).
Results of the Sauratún Excavation
and Analysis
The Sauratún site is approximately 20
km south of the Akurvík site. At
Sauratún, 5 small booths were visible on
the surface as well as a small boathouse.
The excavation was focused on one of
the visible booth stmctures. This stmc-
ture had been dug into a slope and only
had walls on three sides. The side facing
the sea was open and more than likely
was the entrance into the stmcture. All
walls were made of stones and earth. The
upcast, from where the stmcture had
been dug into the slope, was used for
wall material. The stmcture did not seem
to have had a permanent roof as no post-
holes or postpads were recorded during
the excavation. All the evidence suggest-
ed a small subterranean feature, with no
roof, thus in all probability during occu-
pation a tent had been erected over it. In
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