Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2013, Page 13

BUILDING AND KEEPING HOUSE IN 19TH-CENTURY ICELAND.
DOMESTIC IMPROVEMENTS AT HORNBREKKA, SKAGAFJÖRÐUR
ruin had well preserved stone and turf
walls and the limit of the farm house and
its intemal organization was clearly
visible frorn the surface (Fig 2). The farm
min, which is on the east edge of the home
field, is approximately 23x13 m, with the
long axis oriented north-south. It has one
entrance from the west and is divided into
six different rooms. A boundary wall mns
north-south about 3 meters to the east of
the min, it is just over 160 meters long and
to the south it forms the eastem wall of a
ruined sheep house. The domestic midden
is behind the boundary wall, directly east
of the ruined famihouse. Two rooms in
the northem end of the min were chosen
for excavation, the cattle byre and the
kitchen. A 3x2 m2 trench was also dug
into the midden deposits east of the min.
All midden deposits and occupation
surfaces at Hombrekka were sieved
through a 3 mm mesh for the retrieval of
artefacts and faunal remains. The artefacts
were analysed by Agusta Edwald at the
Site Phase Description Period1 Households
Phase 1 The oldest phase excavated. The cattle byre has been enlarged from an earlier phase and the partitioning wall between the byre and kitchen is much thinner and the corridor between the rooms in accordance shorter. c. 1850-1870 1. Jóhannes Skúlason & Guðrún Símonardóttir. 2. Árni Bjarnason & Kristín Guðmundsdóttir 3. Sigurður Jónasson & Þuríður Ólafsdóttir.
Phase 2 Second oldest excavated phase. The cattle byre and the corridor between it and the kitchen is open. c. 1870-1900 1. Páll Gunnlaugsson & Nanna Jónsdóttir, followed by Nanna's father Jón Jónsson and Helga Benediktsdóttir. 2. Sölvi Kristjánsson & Sigurbjörg S. Guðmundsdóttir, followed by their daughter Anna Sölvadóttir and her husband Sveinbjörn Sveinsson
Phase 3 The corridor between the kitchen and the cattle byre has been blocked. The drain in the byre has been filled up and a door created out of the room to the north. It is possibly used as a storage room. c. 1900-1937 1. Sveinbjörn Sveinsson & Anna Sölvadóttir 2. Þorsteinn Jónsson & Sigríður Sigurjónsdóttir 3. Jón Jónsson & Kristín Sigurðardóttir
Phase 4 The farm has been abandoned and its roof and walls have collapsed. >1937 Abandoned
Table 1 Phases and Households at Hombrekka
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