Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2011, Page 76

SIGRID CECILIE JUEL HANSEN
must at all times have been relatively
inaccessible (Hansen 2009, 89). The only
exception is the pre-Christian burials,
which not surprisingly, contained whole
usable whetstones, even very large
examples in excellent condition.
Conclusion
The aim of my research on whetstones was
twofold: to establish a general overview of
the Icelandic whetstones collection, and to
explore how or if this information could
add to our knowledge of Iceland’s role in
the North Atlantic trade networks. The
analysis showed that during the settlement
period, the variety in geological sources
for the stones were more numerous than in
the subsequent periods. This indicates that
contact with the early Icelanders sustained
substantial contact with the homelands and
the flow of new commodities to the
country was potentially continuous,
though not necessarily sufficient to meet
the demand. It is important to remember
that several natural resources were
different in Iceland than in the homelands
of the settlers and that people probably
brought with them the necessary
equipment from their homelands to start
their new life in Iceland. This also includes
whetstones, meaning that the variation in
stone types is expected to be larger in the
earliest contexts as people presumably
came from various areas in Scandinavia
and the British Isles with access to
different stone types.
At the same time the analysis also
clearly shows that the source material in
the Icelandic whetstone collections in
general has higher proportions of the
Norwegian Eidsborg schist type than
reference collections from the
Scandinavian homelands and British
colonies throughout the settlement and
early medieval periods. When the export
in the Eidsborg schist became organized
towards the early medieval period, this
stone type took over the Icelandic market
almost completely. In addition the local
Icelandic stone type dolerite starts to
appear in collections, which could either
be simply due to adaptation to local
resources or, maybe more pJausibJy,
reflect a lack in stable trade and contact
forcing the Icelanders to use less desirable
but locally available material. Although
the need for new whetstones was not
great, it was constant and demand could
rise quickly if new material failed to be
supplied. The fragmentation rate also
indicates that there must at all times have
been a relative lack of good whetstone
material in Iceland, which was not
necessarily urgent, but very consistent.
The result of this research is in line with
previous knowledge about trade in the
Viking Age and early medieval period,
but the lack of comparative material from
rural sites abroad limits the possibility to
use the Icelandic whetstone research more
comprehensively. Therefore, studies of
whetstones from a greater variety site
types, including rural sites, across the
western Viking world would greatly
improve our potential for understanding
the Icelandic whetstone collections. This
might enable us to construct a clearer
picture of Iceland’s placement and role in
the wider trans-Atlantic trade in basic
commodities.
74