Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1991, Side 14

18
THE BURIAL SITE OF VIÐ KIRKJUGARÐ
Fig. 15. Some of the graves excavated at Tjørnuvík. Photo: S. Dahl 1959.
establishes a termini post quem for Grave
K5A, and is not of importance as such, for
the dating of the site as a whole.
One of the relative dating methods avail-
able to us, is the radiocarbon dating of
animal bone samples recovered from an ash
layer excavated in 1990. The ash layer lies
west of the burials, and is possibly affiliated
with a layer, likewise of ash, found within
the actual burial site and cut by Grave J6B.
Alternatively, dates could be obtained direct-
ly from the skeletal material, if this is found
suited for C-14 dating.
As described above, grave-goods were
recovered from a number of the graves. On
the whole, grave-goods are commonly seen
as indicating heathen burial custom. How-
ever, it is important in this respect that we
distinguish between on the one hand regular
grave-goods such as tools, weapons and
household utensils and on the other hand
items of a more personal nature and those
belonging to the buried person’s dress.
Wherever Christianity was adopted, the
custom of burying the dead with items of
any kind, was gradually abandoned. How-
ever, emphasis must be placed on the word
gradually, as local variations occured in
different parts of Northern Europe with
transitional periods combining heathen and