Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2009, Page 19

SOCIAL AND SYMBOLIC LANDSCAPES 1N LATE IrON AGE ICELAND
Ingiríðarstaðir in NE-Iceland (Fig. 10),
which probably contains more than 10
graves.
Why are there these two types? Is it a
reflection of dissimilar groups, different
origins of people or perhaps a shift in
burial tradition? The full answer will not
be provided here, but it is interesting to
note, that within the clusters there are the
short rows of graves. Perhaps cemeteries
began as single lines, which then were
doubled and multiplied. Sílastaðir
(N-Iceland) could be an example of a clus-
ter in the making (fig. 11), and perhaps the
one excavated at Lyngbrekka
(Daðastaðaleiti, NE-Iceland) in 2005 to
2007 as well (fig. 9). But why then did
some cemeteries continue to be built up in
linear form instead of turning into clusters
of graves? Idiosyncratic preference, old-
fashioned attitudes? Different social
groups, changes of status or political cli-
mate? Whatever the reason, cemeteries
are symbolic, man-made landscapes. What
is particular for Icelandic cemeteries from
this period is that the first settlers were
also the first to establish these new
emblems of social groups in a landscape
which had hitherto remained uninhabited.
There were no earlier mounds or barrows
of previous inhabitants in the island to be
reused. Suitable location for dwellings
and farming, had to be established as well
as the burial ground for the dead. The suc-
cess of these new settlements was not only
dependent upon choosing appropriate sub-
sistence strategies in a new land, but also,
conveying the right messages to their
(new) neighbours, community and pas-
sers-by.
Conclusions
Ancient grave fields are a challenging
topic: graves and grave goods are unique
Figure. 7. A sketch of a row burial Jield in
Kumlholt, S-Bakki farm in Eyjafjörður
N-Iceland.
Figure 8. Cemetery D in Berufjörður,
NW-Iceland (Mapped by James Taylor and
Freya Sadarangani in 2003).
evidence for archaeological inquiry, giv-
ing access to a great variety of entities
which may help to understand past socie-
ties. However, the progress in working
on Iron Age society in Iceland is thwarted
by the fact that the great majority of
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