Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2015, Page 25

Surveying The Assembly Site And Churches Of Þingeyrar
The northern half of the dómhringur
appears as a near-perfect semicircle with
a diameter of approximately 31 m in the
resistivity data, whereas the southern half
has a rather compressed shape. Indeed,
the dómhringur does not appear very cir-
cular on the surface either. As the surface
model demonstrates, the ring is rather
oval-shaped, measuring 24 m across from
north to south and 27 m from east to west
at the top of the bank. The bank is more
prominent in the north and south, whereas
the east side shows a remarkably straight
edge on the outside. Zoéga et al. (2006,
29-30) identified a small rectangular ruin
measuring approximately 3x2 m appar-
ently built into the south-eastern side of
the dómhringur bank. The surface model
indeed shows an extension with a central
depression in this area, which might be
the remains of a building. However, the
resistivity survey does not yield evidence
of (stone) wall remains. The alleged ruin
merely appears as a protruding area with a
low resistance similar to that of the interior
of the dómhringur.
The bank of the dómhringur has a
slightly higher resistance than the interior
but does not present a distinct individual
anomaly. A narrow, linear anomaly can
be observed along parts of the ridge. This
anomaly corresponds to a shallow gully
with sparse grass cover at the surface,
which is probably a result of visitors walk-
ing along the bank, damage by hay-making
machines and water erosion at the top of
the bank.
A closer look at the interior of the
structure reveals four very subtle, positive
anomalies that mark the corners of a rec-
tangle measuring approximately 12.5x9
m. Apart from these features, there are
no indications of any structure inside the
dómhringur. At this stage, it is difficult to
interpret these vague anomalies, which do
not necessarily represent anthropogenic
features. On the other hand, it needs to be
borne in mind that the remains of build-
ings made of turf and wood are hard to
detect by resistivity measurements. It is
therefore possible that the four anomalies
represent the corner posts of a building, or
the foundations thereof.
The dómhringur is surrounded by a
number of large and rather strong, posi-
tive anomalies. Similar anomalies were en-
countered throughout the northern half of
the survey area. They are most likely caused
by shallow bedrock outcrops. Neverthe-
less, it cannot be excluded that some rep-
resent manmade features or the rubble of
buildings partly built of stone, which holds
particularly true for those areas where a
stronger anomaly is encountered with 50-
cm than with a 1-m probe separation.
Two areas of high resistance outside the
dómhringur deserve closer attention. To the
north and east, the dómhringur is flanked by
a remarkable linear anomaly. It constitutes a
right angle stretching approximately 20 m in
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