Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2011, Page 92

DOUGLAS J. BOLENDER, JOHN M. STEINBERG AND BRIAN N. DAMIATA
Glaumbær is the most anomalous farm
in the survey area in terms of the overall
settlement pattem. Unlike other farms that
are consistent with the interpretation of a
region-wide process of land division with
ever smaller fanus, filling in the interstitial
areas between earlier and larger farms,
Lower Glaumbær is too large, too late, and
too close to its nearest neighbors. The
earliest evidence for domestic occupation
dates from the late lOth or early llth
century. Other farmsteads established
during this period are all significantly
smaller than the farmstead at Lower
Glaumbær. At approximately 7100 m2 it
similar in size to the earliest farms in the
area (see table 1). The farm also has a
distinctly curious relationship with its two
neighbors: Marbæli and Meðalheimur.
These two farmsteads, located to the north
and west of Glaumbær, were established
significantly before Lower Glaumbær;
radiocarbon and tephra evidence suggests
early in the 10th century. They are both
large farmsteads in the Viking Age and fit
well with the spatial distribution of the
other large farms from that time period.
But when these two farms enter the
historical record Glaumbær was a parish
center and one of the most prominent
farms in the region whereas Meðalheimur
was a dependent farm belonging to the
Glaumbær estate (Pálsson 2001:267).
Like Lower Glaumbær, Meðalheimur
is unusual in a number of ways. It is the
only known farmstead located on the crest
of Langholt, approximately 1300 meters
away from the main line of farmsteads.
The pre-1104 deposits are extensive,
covering approximately 4600 m2 (table 1).
The anomalous history of Glaumbær
and Meðalheimur present a problem of
historical explanation. It could indicate an
earlier and more dramatic relocation of the
farmstead from its original location high
on Langholt (Meðalheimur) to the Viking
Age location along the main strip of farms
on Langholt, perhaps a scenario similar to
the one that Vésteinsson (1998) suggests
for early farms that chose easily
developable land over intensifiable land.
After the move, the old farmstead at
Meðalheimur simply may have been
reincorporated into the farm property as a
dependent farm. This possible relocation
illustrates one of the practical
complications in identifying farmstead
relocations in the archaeological record.
The two farms are separated by over a
kilometer, about the same spacing as other
early farms in the survey area.
Furthermore there are no clear property
boundaries that indicate the extent of the
property belonging to either Glaumbær or
Meðalheimur during the Viking Age. To
further complicate matters, there is no
clear evidence of abandonment at
Meðalheimur until the late 17th century.
Altematively, Glaumbær may
represent the potential impact that land
sales and transfers could have on
settlement pattems. In the Saga of the
Greenlanders, Þorfinnr Karlsefni and his
family, Guðríðr far-traveler and son
Snorri, spent a year in Norway after the
failed venture in Vinland and then retumed
to Iceland, and bought the land at
Glaumbær (Hreinsson 1997, vol. 1:32).
Regardless of the historical accuracy of the
account, it raises the possibility that farms
could undergo significant changes in
status. Of course, Glaumbær may simply
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