Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1958, Blaðsíða 139
Toftarannsóknir í Fuglafirði
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Although this type of house, the Hall, is regarded as the Scandis
navian house of the viking period7, and there are now 2 almost
identical specimens in the Faroes3, it is not expedient, without further
proof, to make use of the type as a basis for dating, the more so
because in this house we have proofs fairly positive that the same
building was used permanently for rather a long period, which even
the difference in level of about 0.3—0.4 m between the floor and fire*
places seems to show. In the floor level of house VII there is a long*
fire, 3.5 m in length, 0.5—0.9 m across (fig. 3 and fig. 4; No. 2), below
it a fireplace, 2.2 m long, 0.75 m across (fig. 4; No. 3), above a long*
fire, 4.75 m in length, 0.65—0.75 m across, with an ashspit in the middle,
belonging to house VIII (fig. 2 and fig. 4, No. 4).
As an addition and parallel to the west wall there is a room, 5.5
m long, with a broad fireplace, 2.25 m long, 0.75 m across, and a
pitched Iloor, which owing to special circumstances has been only
partly examined (house VI).
The archaeological finds are so common and their condition of
preservation so poor that they are difficult to date exactly. All the
same vessels of soapstone8 with perpendicular sides (house VII, 9)
and tools with Latin crosses cut in (house VII, 8) seem to speak for
a dating to somewhere in the Middle Ages. The circumstances of finding
contradict rather distinctly a laler dating.
Of finds in house VIII pointing towards an earlier dating the follow«
ing are to be pointed out: Bowbshaped vessels of soapstone, of these
1 or 2 similar finds in e. g. Trelleborg11, pl. XVII, 2, (house, VIII, 2);
yellow, blue, and green glass beads (house VIII, 18), see Kvívik3,
p. 29, fig. 12.; moreover, board with ribbon ornament (hous VIII,
12), fig. 8; sinker with ribbon ornament (house VIII, 17), fig. 9; most
likely hilt of toy sword (house VIII, 11), fig. 7. Although the ribbon
motifs were used for a very long time, partly in this country too, the
circumstances of finding and composition of finds compel to an early
dating, most likely the beginning of the Middle Ages.
The ribbon motifs, in all probability originally Celtic»Norse6,12,16.17
together with the characteristic type of house,7,11,13 indicate contact
with the British Isles, or direct settling from there, a circumstance to
which the results of the linguistic studies of Chr. Matras9 and the
brooch with ribbon ornament from Tjørnuvík5 bear witness.
On the whole, this investigation is a valuable supplement to the
results at Kvívík3.
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