Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2011, Page 87

FARMSTEAD RELOCATION AT THE END OF THE VIKING AGE.
RESULTS OF THE SKAGAFJÖRÐUR ARCHAEOLOGICAL SETTLEMENT SURVEY
new. For the moment, we leave aside the
broader question of what might be called
farmstead reorganization and its
relationship to farmstead relocation, while
acknowledging that the more obvious
examples of farmstead relocation may
represent a limited dimension of a much
larger question of changing spatial
practices on Viking Age farms.
The Langholt Region in the
Viking Age
The survey focused on Langholt in
Skagafjörður, a long (10 km) low hill
running south-north parallel to the valley,
and an adjoining area to the north
including the prominent estate at
Reynistaður. The area is geologically
similar and farms generally have access to
the same range of resources: low-lying
wetlands along Héraðsvötn on the east, a
drier rise approximately 10-40 meters
above seas level on which almost all of the
fannsteads are situated, and expansive
pastureland to the west that follows the rise
of Langholt up and over to Sæmundarhlíð.
The one exception to this pattem is
Meðalheimur, which was located west of
Glaumbær near the crest of Langholt.
Communal grazing lands are located in the
highlands to the west. Much of the area
was probably wooded at the time of
settlement but cleared by the early llth
century (Einarsson 1961, 1963; Hallsdóttir
1996; Trigg, et al. 2011).
In general, the survey results confonn
to the historical account of the settlement,
beginning in the late 9th century - there is
no evidence of occupation under the
Landnám tephra dated to AD 871 ±2
(Grönvold, et al. 1995). The process of
farm creation followed a regular pattem as
smaller farmsteads infilled the spaces
between earlier and larger farmsteads
(figure 1). Almost all farms in the survey
area, including all historically identified
full farms, were established by the end of
the llth century, and the majority was
established by the end of the 10th century.
Only a small number of historically
identified dependent farms (Geitagerði,
Jaðar, Kjartanstaðakot) were established
after the Hekla 1104 emption. Most of
these appear to date from the early modem
period.
In the survey area there is no evidence
that any full farms were ever permanently
abandoned prior to the 20th century and
most farms appear to have been occupied
more or less continuously from the time of
their original establishment. There are a
number of small sites dating to the Viking
Age with domestic refuse - ash, charcoal,
bones, turf - that were abandoned.
Currently we know little about these sites
or if they represent separate farms or
special activity areas belonging to another
farm. These sites are quite small compared
with the other Viking Age farmsteads (<
1000 m2) and are roughly the same size as
the post-1104 dependent farmsteads. In
each case, these possible domestic sites are
relatively close to established farmsteads
(ca. 100-400 meters), a distance also
similar to the later dependent farms. They
may represent cottages, failed dependent
farms, or the presence of multiple
households on the same farm but they are
unlike the other known farmsteads from
the Viking Age.
Almost all of the farmsteads are
located where they were first established,
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