Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2011, Page 88

DOUGLAS J. BOLENDER, JOHN M. STEINBERG AND BRIAN N. DAMIATA
which has resulted in significant
farm-mounds - even when the depth of
those mounds is not immediately apparent
in the contemporary topography (cf.
Vésteinsson 2010). For example, the small
farm of Grófargil, originally a dependent
farm of Stóra-Seyla, is marked by a small
20th century min in an otherwise flat
homefield. Excavation around the min
revealed approximately 2 meters of
accumulation, primarily ash midden,
which dates back to the 1 lth century.
Of the 22 farms in the survey area, only
two have farmsteads that relocated. At
these farms, the original Viking Age
farmstead sites were not apparent on the
contemporary surface nor were they
known to local informants or recorded in
place name inventories. One significant
consequence of this is that incidences of
farmstead relocation may not be apparent
in surface surveys and that dating the
establishment of visible farm-mounds may
not provide an accurate date for the
establishment of the farm itself. Using the
establishment dates for the farm-mounds
at Glaumbær and Stóra-Seyla would have
resulted in a significantly skewed
settlement pattem, one in which small
dependent farms would have predated
major settlement estates. This is likely to
be tme in other regions, especially in
lowlands that have experienced significant
soil accumulation and modem farming
activity such as plowing and field
smoothing.
The original settlements at Stóra-Seyla
and Glaumbær appear fairly typical of
other Icelandic Viking Age farmsteads
consisting of longhouses, middens, and
outbuildings. Large open area excavations
were conducted at both sites; however
these were generally limited to the removal
of post-Viking Age aeolian accumulations
and later buildings to expose Viking Age
walls, and to place test trenches. Extensive
geophysical surveying including
electromagnetics, resistivity, and ground
penetrating radar (GPR) revealed the basic
architectural layout of the farmsteads.
Stóra-Seyla
Stóra-Seyla is one of the earliest farms in
the Langholt region and arguably part of
the original settlement of Iceland.
Tephrochronology and radiocarbon dates
indicate establishment during the late 9th
or early 10th century (table 1). The original
farmstead (Lower Seyla) was located on a
narrow ridge that is lower in elevation than
the medieval farmstead (Upper Seyla) but
slightly above the wetlands of the current
valley bottom (figure 2). The two sites are
separated by about 80 meters of steep
hillside where little cultural material has
been recovered in the cores. Test pits in the
wetlands to the east of the older, lower site
indicate that there was significant alluvial
deposition and substantial bog growth
after the deposition of the Hekla 1104
tephra. Now situated abutting wetlands,
the original site may have been more
riparian.
Lower Seyla was occupied for well
over 100 years (probably closer to 200
years) and has a relatively complicated
architectural history when compared to
many other single-phase Viking Age
farmsteads. There are at least four
structures that have domestic íloors with
substantial buildups of compressed ash
and other materials. Two of these
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