Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2013, Page 94

GUÐRÚN ALDA GÍSLADÓTTIR, JAMES M. WOOLLETT, UGGI ÆVARSSON, CÉLINE DUPONT-HÉBERT,
ANTHONY NEWTON AND ORRI VÉSTEINSSON
Figure 14. A sketch map of the ruins located beside flshing lodges near Svalbarðsá.
outbuildings. Most of the ruins have
walls still standing to a good height. It was
not possible to define substantial
occupational deposits nor fmd tephras
with the core. As no clear evidence of
stratified archaeological deposits was
detected, the site’s potential to support
research into pre-19th century settlements
seems limited.
Veiðihús site, adjacent to
modern fishing lodges
Two late 20th century fishing lodges are
located at the confluence of the
Þorvaldsstaðaá stream and Svalbarðsá.
Behind the older lodge is a small mound,
richly vegetated, with ambiguous turf
forms, possibly mins, on its summit. The
mound measures 10 x 8 m and resembles
the Þorvaldsstaðasel min, which had
locally been considered to be an old
haystack. Soil-core tests showed no
stratigraphic distinctions or stacked turf
blocks suggestive of building episodes,
nor ash or charcoal traces indicative of
floor deposits or middens. As well, no
tephras were observed, and so the age of
the stmcture, if artificial, remains unclear.
Based on its form and the lack of traces of
occupation, the site appears to be a
haystack built atop a natural mound.
Hjálmarvík
Hjálmarvík has been visited by the project
every year since 2009. The rounded farm
mound, modified by Sigtryggur
Þorláksson and his bulldozer in the mid
20th century, is a subtle landscape feature
except for the bright green grass
indicating the presence of underlying
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