Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2013, Page 37

EXPLOITATION OF WILD BIRDS IN ICELAND FROM THE SETTLEMENT
PERIOD TO THE 19TH CENTURY AND ITS REFLECTION IN ARCHAEOLOGY
coast of Iceland in the beginning of the
16th century with a large net which was
strung up on poles and held up with a
large rope. The ground beneath the net
was baited with hay so the geese would
gather in large groups beneath it to feed,
as natural vegetation was still scarce.
When a large enough group had gathered
under the nets, the rope was loosened so
the net fell on top of the flock. This way
hundreds of birds could be caught in only
one go. While they are not mentioned it is
not unlikely that Bamacle geese and
White-fronted geese were also caught in
this way (Petersen 1998, 66-73). When
Greylag and Pink-footed geese were
moulting in the highlands and heaths they
were often herded in large numbers into
small folds built of rocks and killed, either
with a twist of the neck or wooden clubs
(Oddsson 1942, 85-86; Anonymous 1971,
7; Snæbjömsson 2001, 29; ÞÞ 6307).
They were also hunted in a similar way as
swans, e.g. at Þjórsárver, which is one of
the best-known places that geese frequent
while moulting (see Scott and Fisher
1954). A few geese folds can still be found
in there (Steindórsson 1941, 17; Scott and
Fisher 1954, 93-95 and fig.8; Anonymous
1971, 7). It is unclear how many swans
could be caught in total during the
moulting season before the arrival of the
gun. Judging from the descriptions of a
farmer in Hálsasveit, bom at the
beginning of the 20th century, at least 30
swans could be hunted in one season
before guns became available (ÞÞ 6699).
Another source tells of a man in the
beginning of the 1900s shooting about
800 swans over one winter (KB 1963,
729), which suggests that swans were
plentiful, at least in some areas. As large
numbers of swans and geese were clearly
being slaughtered every year this suggests
that their bones would be expected to
appear in middens where they were
generally being exploited (table 1).
According to Lámsdóttir (2011, 407)
Bmun found large amounts of swan bones
at Eyvindarver in the centre of Iceland at
the end of the 19th century and thirty swan
bones were found in late 15th and 16th
century contexts at Skriðuklaustur
(Hamilton-Dyer 2010,4) along with a few
goose bones. Bones fforn geese and swans
were also found in Pálstóftir, a Viking
Age shieling at Kárahnjúkar (Lucas 2008,
92), and it was suggested that this could
mean possible procurement of bird meat
for the main farm at Valþjófsstaður. A few
swan and/or goose bones were also found
at Gásir (14th c. contexts) in Eyjafjörður
(Harris et al. 2008, 112), at Bessastaðir in
Álftanes, in Aðalstræti 10 (late 17th-early
18th c.) in Reykjavík and at Svalbarð
(early llth century to the early modem
period; Hambrecht 2009, 9, 11 and
20-22), at Vatnsfjörður (lOth c. to the
present; Edvardsson and McGovem 2005,
27-28) and in lOth century contexts at
Hrísheimar, Sveigakot, Hofstaðir and
Selhagi in the Mývatn district (McGovem
et al. 2007, 43; Lucas ed. 2009, 222-225).
The largest collection of goose bones
excavated so far was found at Stóraborg in
South Iceland dating from early modem
contexts back to the medieval period. The
largest group was unclassified bones
belonging to either geese or swans
(Anserinae sp.) and a few smaller bones
were classified as being from migrating
Bamacle geese and an unidentified black
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