Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2005, Page 100

Garðar Guðmundsson, Gavin Lucas, Hildur Gestsdóttir and Sigríður Þorgeirsdóttir
broad base, straight sides and a pitched
top, to a regular polygon (either hexago-
nal or octagonal, Types 1, 2 and 4), this
change occurring over the 19th century.
There is no doubt that further
research is needed here, and that it is only
archaeology that can provide the answer,
through stratigraphically controlled exca-
vations of churchyards. The best - and
only comparable study - is that of the
cofftns from Skálholt (Eldjárn 1988:
138-42). Although these are elite burials,
the sequence Eldjám describes more or
less confirms that given here.
Summarizing Eldjám, there were 3 phas-
es/types at Skálholt:
A - dated c. 1650-1720 - a simple box
coffin of four sides, usually narrowing
towards the feet, but sometimes just rec-
tangular. Secured with iron and/or wood-
en nails, and fítted with iron handles. The
earliest dated example is from 1696, the
latest from 1707, but Eldjám says that
this type is the principal form represent-
ed in the pre-1650 graves at Skálholt and
probably has medieval origins.
B - dated to c. 1700-1850 - aroofed cof-
fin, either with a domed roof (Bl) or
more commonly a hipped roof (B2), and
narrowing towards the feet. Also secured
with iron and/or wooden nails, and with
iron handles. This type, Eldjám says is
probably the same as Jónasson's “lantem-
shape” (i.e. Hólskirkja Type 3); the earli-
est known example is from 1707 and the
type probably continued into the mid-
19th century.
C - dated to c. 1730-present - a hexago-
nal coffin, usually elaborately made with
flaring sides and finely planed and
moulded planking (see Fig. 13;
Hólskirkja Type 1). As with other types,
it narrowed towards the feet. No iron
handles were found on any of these
coffins, but many had velvet or silk lin-
ings, were blackened and had various
decorative, chiefly pewter or silver
shields.
Eldjám is clear that the chrono-
logy at Skálholt needs to be read in terms
of both intemal variation within Iceland
according to status and more generally,
extemal variation within the Nordic/
Scandinavian world. He suggests for
example that Type C may not have
become common among all sections of
the population in Iceland until the mid-
19th century but, moreover, the type first
emerged in Scandinavia in the later 17th
century - the earliest example from
Sweden dating to 1636 (Eldjám 1988:
142). At Hólskirkja, only Eldjám's types
B(2) and C were identified from the
excavated test pits, which are equivalent
to Types 3 and 1 respectively, and sup-
ports the dating of the Hólskirkja burials
as principally 19th-early 20th century.
Types 2 and 4 were not found at Skálholt
but it seems likely that both were con-
temporary with Type 1, perhaps as
cheaper versions.
In ending, it is worth making
some remarks on coffin fumiture. The
excavated coffíns generally were
lined/stuffed with wood shavings - a fea-
ture also mentioned by Jónasson, as was
the blackening of coffms (ibid.: 304-5):
many of the excavated coffins at Hóls-
kirkja were stained black. Apart from the
carved crosses and leatherwork, there
was no other decoration, and there was
no evidence of painted crosses although
these would have probably come off in
the soil over time. Little survived of tex-
tile, but in coffin 7.1, the infant was cov-
98