Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2015, Page 48

Elín Ósk Hreiðarsdóttir, Guðrún Alda Gísladóttir,
Kristborg Þórsdóttir And Ragnheiður Gló Gylfadóttir
10 mm
Figure 7. A VikingAge bead found with other
objects on the earliest farmstead of Stóra-Hof. The
farm was later moved twice. Thefarm is mentioned
in Landnámabók and other 13th century texts.
These stray finds from thefarm mound represent
independent evidence ofVikingAge occupation.
Photo: Elín Ósk Hreiðarsdóttir.
the earliest references to each farm. Addi-
tionally the locations of the farms, the size
and quality of the land and their earliest re-
corded tax-value was analysed in order to
classify each farm as a primary or second-
ary settlement. Other information gathered
in the survey was used when available such
as if there was a recorded church within the
farm property (which usually suggests that
the farm was established already in 950-
1200) and if pagan burials had been found
within the property boundaries - an indi-
cation of Viking Age settlement. Artefacts
from eroding sites (discussed in more de-
tail below) provided the best evidence for
dating. Due to the extensive erosion around
Hekla, there are substantial numbers of ar-
tefacts that have been recovered from erod-
ing sites and donated to museums since
the early 19th century. However, little was
known about the quantity or nature of this
assemblage before this study. The scope of
the artefact study was limited to gathering
data that could shed light on the assem-
blage size, artefact composition and dating
potential. Thus it mostly depended on the
descriptions and interpretations of those
who registered the artefacts into the mu-
seum catalogues and only a few items were
examined first-hand for this project.
More than one thousand curated arte-
facts originate in Rangárvellir. The artefacts
are of various types and all were taken into
consideration. The majority are modern
(19,h/20th century) and mostly consist of
donated items, often personal objects from
individuals or estates. The remaining finds
from Rangárvellir largely come from erod-
ing farms and middens.
There are many problems working with
fragmented find assemblages like the one
from Rangárvellir. One concern is the lack
of contextual information which charac-
terises stray finds from eroding sites. Such
sites do not represent sealed contexts,
which limits their research value; but it
does not make it entirely useless for inter-
pretation and research. Some artefacts can
give valuable information on their own;
they can for example help to date a site or
give clues about the potential status of the
farm or the activity that took place there.
Of the 149 abandoned farms in the area,
38 have recorded finds. Out of the ca. 625
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