Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1998, Qupperneq 271

277
Insect Faunas at Landnám:
a Palaeoentomological Study at
r"jørnuvík, Streymoy, Faroe Islands
Skordýrafauna í landnámstíð: ein fornskordýrafrøðilig rannsókn í
Tjørnuvík í Streymoy
Paul C. Buckland1 and Mark H. Dinnin2
1: Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, Sheffield University, Northgate House, West Street,
Sheffield S1 4ET, England; Phone: +44 114 222 2913, Fax: +44 114 272 2563,
e-mail: P.Buckland@sheffield.ac.uk
2: School of School of Chemistry, Physics & Environmental Science, University of Sussex, Brighton, BNl 9RH.
Úrtak
Útgrevstur fram við har, sum Jóhannes Jóhansen kann-
aði flogsáð í Tjømuvík, gav ein parallella røð av roynd-
um til greining av steinrunnum skordýmm. Hesar vístu,
at sløgini vóru vorðin nógv fjølbroyttari stutt eftir, at
flogsáðfrøðilig prógv eru um landnám. I faununi eru
fleiri sløg, sum mugu vera komin við teimum fyrstu nið-
ursetufólkunum.
Abstract
Excavation alongside the site of pollen research by Jó-
hannes Jóhansen at Tjørnuvík on Streymoy provided a
parallel series of samples for fossil insect analysis.
These showed a significant increase in species diversity
shortly after the palynological evidence for landnám.
The fauna includes several species which must have
been introduced with the first settlers.
I ntroduction
The village of Tjørnuvík lies at the north
end of Streymoy, at the end of a short fjord
facing north-eastwards towards the open
Atlantic (Fig. 1). The settlement is sur-
rounded by steep slopes, with the Tertiary
basalt lavas being much in evidence be-
neath a sparse vegetation cover, and to the
south these rise in a series of steps to the
peak of Hægstafjall at 469m a.s.l. (Fig. 2).
Only a limited amount of hayfíeld is avail-
able, on the flat land at the head of the fjord,
and this is supplemented by small banked
fields rising to 120m a.s.l. Beyond the lim-
its of the hayfields, the area is heavily
grazed by sheep. The modern farms cluster
along the north-west side of the fjord, at the
end of a cobble storm beach. At the south-
east end of this beach, during road building
in 1955, a group of Viking graves had been
uncovered (Dahl and Rasmussen 1956),
and in 1968 and subsequent years the late
Jóhannes Jóhansen used the peat deposits
beneath the adjacent hayfield as a source
for pollen and macrofossil studies of the
Fróðskaparrit 46. bók 1998: 277-286