Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2015, Side 55

Abandoned Settlements at the Foot op Mt Hekla
close to Hekla. This research will answer
several crucial questions in the coming
years about the establishment, develop-
ment and abandonment of the settlement
of Rangárvellir. The investigation will not
only throw light on the history of the dis-
trict but will also contribute to the more
general study of volcanic impacts on settle-
ment and human-environmental interac-
tion in general.
Acknowledgements
The initial survey work this article is based
on was conducted on behalf of the local
community of Rangárþing Ytra. Without
that work we would have limited knowl-
edge about the eroding settlements in
the area. The pilot study was funded with
grants from Þjóðhátíðarsjóður, Fornleifa-
sjóður and Menningarsjóður Suðurlands
for which the authors are grateful. The au-
thors would like to thank Skógasafn and
the National Museum for granting access
to material from Rangárvellir and Þórður
Tómasson for information about stray
finds in the area. Ihey would additionally
like to thank other team members for their
contribution, Oscar Aldred for producing
maps and Orri Vésteinsson for useful com-
ments. The article has also benefitted from
the valuable insights of and comments
by Gavin Lucas. The authors would like
to thank them as well as the anonymous
reviewers.
References
Aldred, Oscar, Elín Ósk Hreiðarsdóttir,
Guðrún Alda Gísladóttir, Kristborg
Þórsdóttir, Orri Vésteinsson & Ragn-
heiður Gló Gylfadóttir 2012, í sambúð
með óvcerum granna: forkönnun á
ástandi, aldri og eðli eyðibyggðar í
nágrenni Heklu, FS482-11011, Reykja-
vík: Fornleifastofnun íslands.
Arnalds, Andrés 1988, ‘Landgæði á íslandi
fyrr og nú’ Grœðum Island. Landgrœðsla
1907-1987, Reykjavík: Landgræðsla
ríkisins, 13-32.
Biskupasögur I, Copenhagen: Hið íslenzka
bókmenntafélag 1858.
Bruun, Daniel 1897, Fortidsminder og Nu-
tidshjempaalsland. Orienterende LJnder-
sogelser Foretagne i 1896, Copenhagen.
Diplomatarium islandicum eða íslenzkt forn-
bréfasafn I-XVI, Copenhagen/Reykjavík:
Hið íslenzka bókmenntafélag 1857-1972.
Dugmore, Andrew J., Mike J. Church,
Kerry-Anne Maris, Thomas H. McGov-
ern, Sophia Perdikaris & Orri Vésteins-
son 2007, ‘Abandoned farms, volcanic
impacts, and woodland management:
Revisiting the “Pompeii of Iceland”.’
Arctic Anthropology 44(1), 1-11.
Edwald, Ágústa 2008, Aðalskráningfornleifa
í Rangárþingi ytra. Áfangaskýrsla I,
FS379-06191, Reykjavík: Fornleifa-
stofnun Islands.
Egilsson, Jón 1856, Biskupa-annálar Jóns
Egilssonar. Safn til sögu íslands. Vol. I.
53