Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2010, Page 106

VÉRONIQUE FORBES, ALLISON BAIN, GUÐRÚN ALDA GÍSLADÓTTIR AND KAREN B. MILEK
can allow for some reconstruction of the
local landscape. Half of the outdoor fauna
found in the archaeological contexts are
associated with grassy fields. The pres-
ence of Patrobus septentrionis, a common
species in wet meadows (Larsson & Gígja
1959, 29), and of beetles preferring drier
soils, such as Notiophilus aquaticus,
Amara quenseli, Trichocellus cognatus
and Byrrhus fasciatus, indicate a local
environment that included the dry heaths
and wet meadows that continue to charac-
terize the landscape of Vatnsfjörður today.
The abundant Calathus melanocephalus,
an indicator of unimproved pastures and
unmanaged land in Iceland (Gudleifsson
2005), suggests that the grassland around
Vatnsfjörður in the late 19^ and early
20th century was probably unfertilized
and poorly drained. At the same time,
members of the Dysticidae or water bee-
tles suggest the close proximity of ponds,
lakes, bogs or other stagnant waters. This
reconstruction of Vatnsljörður’s suixound-
ing environment in the 19^ and early 20^
century is similar to its current setting.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the analysis of insect
remains from late 19^ and early 20^
century archaeological deposits at
Vatnsfjörður has generated new informa-
tion pertaining to the occupants’ daily
life, contributing to the interpretation of
domestic activities and living conditions
on the site.
The entomological analysis con-
fírmed the use of some rooms, such as the
appropriately named “midden room”,
which was used to dispose of refuse by
the occupants ofthe 1884-1906 dwelling
house. After the abandonment of the
dwelling in 1906, one of the rooms was
used as a hay store, and then subsequent-
ly as a smithy. It is possible that this
room, as well as the cellar, had multiple
functions and the presence of insects
associated with dung and food products
further supports this idea. It also appears
that in the late 19^ and early 20^ centu-
ry, the inhabitants of Vatnsfjörður used
this cellar to store animal products which
very likely included eider down, and per-
haps dried físh, mutton and/or puffins.
The identification of Sitophilus oryzae, a
granary weevil, also suggests the inhabi-
tants were storing cereals. As the
Icelandic climate is too cool for this
insect to survive outside grain stores, and
barley could not have been cultivated in
the Westfjords, the presence of this grain
pest is evidence that the inhabitants of the
site were able to purchase imported cere-
als, which would have been available
from the Danish merchants based in near-
by ísafjörður.
The presence of the occasional human
louse (Pediculus humanus), and of a
large number of insects associated with
decaying organic matter in the occupa-
tion deposits, indicates that sanitary con-
ditions were rather poor in the late 19^
and early 20^ century. Nevertheless, it is
important to stress that the sanitation
standards of that time were different from
those of the present day and that sanitary
conditions at Vatnsljörður do not appear
have been worse than elsewhere in the
country. Some pests of stored products,
beetles associated with mouldy hay, and
a relatively large number of fleas, further
suggest that the storage conditions in the
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