Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2009, Page 10

Gavin Lucas
nifícant presence of collecting and work-
ing walrus ivory in medieval Iceland,
probably for export. Pierce suggests that
the greater importance of the walrus
trade in Greenland has overshadowed a
recognition of its presence in Iceland,
and argues for further research into this
issue. The fifth and final paper adds to
the small but conclusive evidence for
cereal cultivation in the fírst centuries of
settlement of Iceland. The paper by
Heather Trigg et al. presents new discov-
eries of barley found in probable animal
dung from the settlement period midden
of Reynistaður in Skagaljörður; its pres-
ence in dung suggests animals may have
been grazing close to barley fields.
In conclusion, the editor hopes that
this latest selection of archaeological
research on Iceland will both stimulate
thought and offer the reader a glimpse
into the diverse and ever growing field of
archaeology in Iceland. It might also be
remarked in closing, that this issue marks
the lOth anniversary of the joumal’s
foundation and although it got off to slow
start and we still occasionally run a little
late (!), it is important that the joumal
now has an established annual edition.
My hope is that this will continue to be so
- and perhaps may even one day mn to
more than one issue per year. There is
certainly enough research being con-
ducted annually to warrant such a growth,
so I will use this opportunity to remind
our readers to be more active in submit-
ting their own contributions and thus
play a part in the development of archae-
ological discourse in Iceland.
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