Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2009, Page 18

Adolf Friðriksson
Figure 6. Gravefield
“C" in Berufjörður,
NW-Iceland. (From
Bruun 1928).
other (nine) graves follow a NE-SW ori-
entation. It is interesting to note that, in
contrast to the other graves, this was a
child's grave (see also Callow 2006).
There may have been a particular reason
for this arrangement, but as the whole
site had been plundered before excava-
tion, and has now been levelled and
transformed into a golf course, it is dif-
ficult to offer a detailed analysis or inter-
pretation.
The most common “design” of an
Icelandic cemetery is simply linear, with
graves lying from end to end, in a row.
Even the smallest grave fíelds, i.e. with
only two graves, are consistently arranged
in this manner, such as those recently
excavated in Saltvík and Kálfskinn (Fig.
5), N-Iceland between 2003 and 2005.
Presuming that there were no further
burials at these sites, the total length of
these cemeteries is c. 13 and 18 m
respectively. A pagan cemetery in
Keldudalur, N-Iceland which was uncov-
ered in 2003, had 4 graves and was 20 m
long (Guðný Zoega 2008, 9-12). Grave
field C in Berufjörður, NW-Iceland is c.
55 m long, with c. 5 graves (Fig. 6). A
recently identifíed row cemetery at
Kumlholt, N-Iceland, with c. 6 barrows
in a line, is c. 70 m long (Fig. 7). Grave
fíeld D in Berufjörður is also linear, but
has two parallel lines of c. 8-10 graves,
and is c. 80 m long (Fig. 8). Laugarbrekka
in Snæfellsnes, W-Iceland, is perhaps the
longest row cemetery known in Iceland
so far, c. 90 m long, and appears to be
divided into two groupings. However,
detailed description of that site is want-
ing.
The second type of cemetery which
can be identifíed in Iceland is the one
where the graves are closer together and
form a group or a cluster. Within each
group the graves are more or less lying in
short parallel lines of 2 or 3 graves. The
largest known clusters are those of Dalvík
and Ytra-Garðshom (see Figs. 2 and 4
above). It is also interesting to note, that
in both these cases, especially that of
Dalvík (note A, B, and C on fíg. 2) one
can discem possible group formations
within the cluster. The most recent dis-
covery of a cluster cemetery is that of
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