Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1991, Page 7

THE BURIAL SITE OF VIÐ KIRKJUGARÐ
11
Fig. 7. A segment of the old churchdyke has been re-
moved, revealing the presence of an older stone fea-
ture — possibly the remains of an older dyke. Photo:
N. Hartmann 1989.
western end was clearly defined by the lar-
gest stone of all, measuring all of 70 cms in
length. The eastern end, on the contrary, was
somewhat less distinct and marked by the
presence of 1-3 larger stones. East of the
grave lay a stone that had probably been
placed as a marker in order to avoid any
overlapping of the graves.
Surprisingly, the body had not been in-
terred within the supposed stone cist, but in
a rounded rectangular pit ca. 30 cms below
the bottom level of the stone frame. In other
words the function of the stone setting was
only to mark the presence and position of
the actual burial.
Along the whole southern length of the pit
a distinctive, narrow, dark-colored impres-
sion was recorded, interpreted as the remains
of a wooden frame. A similar impression was
recorded along the northern side of the pit.
However, the discoloration was here regis-
tered at a higher level and further could not
be followed the whole length of the pit. It
seems likely though, that the body had been
buried in a simple wooden frame-coffin. No
traces of a lid or stone cover were found.
In the pit had been buried a young man
around 18 years of age and ca. 180 cms tall.
The dead man had been laid on his back and
had been given his dagger, around which sil-
ver thread was found entwined. The dagger
had, in all probability, been sheathed and at-
tached to his leather belt, fragments of
which were recovered. A fragmentary strap-
end was also found, shaped as an animal
head with ears, eyes and nose. The corners of
the mouth were also indicated. A piece of
leather was found rivetted to the opposite
end. During conservation the remains of a
small pouch or purse were recovered, possi-
bly a woven pouch containing a leather
purse. Within the pouch lay three sets of
plain lead weigths - each set consisting of a
circular and a rectangular weight. In addi-
tion, the pouch contained three small frag-
ments of silver as well as a number of cor-
roded bronze fragments. One of these was
decorated with an interlaced motif. Finally,
several small iron bits were found near the
skeleton’s stomach region.
Grave J6C
On the surface, J6C consisted of a 1,9 meter
long and 56 cms wide setting of water-worn
stones. The western end of the feature had