Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2013, Page 58

MAGNUS HELLQVIST
increased drastically, so also has the
material available for comparison between
studies. The number of studies in various
archaeological deposits and features in
Iceland has also increased during the last
ten years, with a greater diversity of
authors compared to the earlier studies
that are dominated by Buckland (e.g. see
references in this article) and later also
with others (e.g. Buckland et.al., 2008,
Vickers et.al. 2011, Buckland et. al.,
2012). Consequently the method is more
of an accepted routine method during
excavations today (e.g. Hellqvist, 2001,
2002, 2003, 2004; Konradsdottir, 2008,
2009, 2010, 2012). A more complete
compilation of previous publications will
be presented in Forbes (in prep.).
The interdisciplinary project at Hólar
has been ongoing since 2002. The
excavation has worked through the most
recent topsoil layer, dated to the 19th
century to earlier deposits, and has
presented opportunities for detailed study
of changes to the settlement and
buildings. The excavation is divided into
several areas (A-E), the largest area being
D (Fig. 2) with most of the remnants of
buildings, and E, a trash midden deposit
overlaying forrner buildings. From the
start of the excavation at Hólar, there have
been excavations on other sites and
landscape inventories in Hjaltadalur as
well as in Skagafjördur. Two examples are
the rescue excavations at the old
settlement in Keldudalur, dating to at least
the lOth century (Traustadottir & Zoéga,
2007), and the continuous excavation at
the old harbour situated at Kolkuos, dating
back to at least the llth century
(Traustadottir, 2009) (Fig. 1).
The Episcopal see Hólar and the
excavated associated settlements present
an extraordinary situation. There is
continuity at the same locality, usually
through remnants of houses built on
houses from the end of the 19th century,
and back in time, with little change to the
settlement’s spatial distribution in the
area. The Episcopal see Hólar celebrated
its 900-year anniversary in 2006; thus,
continuity at the site dates to the 12th
century, but there are also settlement and
house remains dating back to at least the
llth century. In this article, I discuss the
problems and possibilities of using results
from beetle remains (Coleoptera) as
exemplifíed by samples from post-
medieval house floors from house
remnants in Hólar, collected during the
excavation period 2002-2003.
The aim of the analysis was to interpret
the environmental conditions, the relation
between the settlement and surrounding
nature, and the indoor environment of the
buildings, and to compare the different
houses within the settlement.
‘Synanthropic’ insect species specialised
or connected to human settlements, are of
special interest. In some cases, they
provide information about adaptations to
changes in the environment or the climate
in Iceland; several beetle species are
bound to human settlements and
environment, and are not capable of
surviving in the natural surroundings.
Methods and sampling
The excavation started on a large scale
during 2002 and uncovered the upper part
of the settlement remains, in this early
stage of excavation dating from the
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