Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2010, Page 102

VÉRONIQUE FORBES, ALLISON BAIN, GUÐRÚN ALDA GÍSLADÓTTIR AND KAREN B. MILEK
very high number of fleas in buildings
where eider down was being dried and/or
stored in the present day at Vatnsfjörður
and Æðey (also located in the
Westfjords). Furthermore, the presence
of Ptinus tectus indicates that it is also
possible that the inhabitants of
Vatnsfjörður used this room to store dried
or salted físh, smoked puffin meat or
mutton (see Larsson & Gígja 1959, 168-
169). Fish hooks were also found in the
deposit, suggesting the storage of fishing
equipment. The presence of ten sheep
keds also indicates that sheep skins were
amongst the stored products or that wool
processing was carried out in the cellar or
in its vicinity.
Specimens of T. unicolor have been
found in other early modem floors and
midden deposits at the Icelandic sites of
Bessastaðir (Amorosi et al. 1992, 181),
Nesstofa (Amorosi et al. 1994, 74),
Reykholt (Buckland et al. 1992), and
Skálholt (Konraðsdóttir 2006), though
never in such abundance. It has been
recorded, sometimes in high numbers, in
British sites (e.g. Hall et al. 1980;
Kenward et al. 1995), where it is consid-
ered to be a typical component of the
fauna found in house floor deposits, and a
good indicator of long-lived buildings
because of its poor dispersing capacities
(Kenward 2009, 308-310). Thus, the pres-
ence of many specimens of this spider
beetle in occupation deposits from the cel-
lar, as well as the absence of stratigraphic
divisions within the floor layer, might be
the result of a rather long and continuous
occupation. As stated earlier, the cellar
was in use as part of the 1884-1906 house
and probably after this date, as suggested
by the results of the site excavation
(Ævarsson & Gísladóttir 2008) and docu-
mentary evidence (Þorsteinsson 2006).
■ Fauna associated with mouldy hay
□ Dung feeders
□ Pests of stored products
■ Outdoor fauna
B Fauna associated with organic matter
□ Ectoparasites
Figure 12. Comparison of the distribution of insects from context A-E according to their
ecological preferences.
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