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Parent Project: OITIS

The Operation of International Trade in Iceland and Shetland c. 1400-1700
The project will examine the development, operation and impact of European trade in two areas in the north Atlantic - Iceland and Shetland. In the early 15th century both were part of the Danish kingdom but, with the pledging of Shetland in 1469, it passed to the kingdom of Scotland, and led to the opening of trade to Hanse merchants. The lifting of Danish restrictions on Icelandic trade in 1490 had a similar effect. The period of trade extended in Shetland until ca. 1700, while in Iceland the restriction of trade to licensed Danish vessels in 1602 marks a similar endpoint. By far the largest item of trade from both islands was stockfish which was purchased from local fishermen who operated in small vessels inshore. English fishing vessels worked the offshore waters. Our aim is to examine selected places of trade between merchants from the south and the sub-Arctic populations to elucidate the method of operation of commerce. The objective will be to survey and classify trading sites in Iceland and Shetland during the period ca. 1400-1700. Sites will be identified using historical sources and place-names, and located in the field using the normal archaeological techniques of aerial photography and field inspection of earthworks. The survey will be undertaken using differential GPS to map the sites in relationship to the local topography with the further objective of identifying sites for future investigation by excavation.
Everley Broch The site of Everley Broch, situated in Caithness, is composed of a Middle Iron Age broch and a Late Norse house. This project aimed to study the human/plant interaction on the site and see its evolution through time. The archaeobotanical assemblage shows that hulled barley was the main staple crop cultivated in both periods. The Late Norse assemblage also indicates the introduction of cultivated oat and flax as well as a general intensification of the agricultural production. The archaeobotanical assemblage, combined with some pollen analysis, indicates that the local environment around the site was free of dense woodland. Regarding the wood procurement strategies, local gathering, short-distance timber trade within the mainland and collection of driftwood are attested. It is proposed that a long-distance trade network within the Scottish mainland or Scandinavia was established during the Norse period as a fourth wood supply strategy. Everley Broch macroplant remains indicates that the broch was housing farmers with a subsistence-based economy. The Late Norse household however proposes a wealthier economy with three cultivated plants and the establishment of a long-distance trade network. Within a wider Atlantic Scotland framework, Everley Broch follows the general agricultural patterns observed elsewhere. The main wood procurement strategy is similar to the other sites of Caithness and Sutherland, but differs slightly from the ones seen in the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland islands. As Everley Broch is located on the Scottish mainland where more timber is available, it is believed that driftwood was not as important as for the other sites of Atlantic Scotland.
Parent Project: Heart of the Atlantic

Heart of the Atlantic: cultural landscapes of Sandoy, Faroe Islands
This inter-disciplinary project investigates the changing cultural and natural landscapes on the island of Sandoy, from first settlement to modern time. Archaeological investigations are focusing on the extensive excavations at Undir Junkarinsflötti, Á Sondum and Vid Kirkjard in the village of Sandur. Principle funding bodies: Anadarko (Faroes), Faroese Research Council (Faroes), Leverhulme Trust (UK) and National Science Foundation (US).
Undir Junkarinsfløtti Excavations of this extensive coastal erosion site occurred between 2003 and 2007.
Parent Project: Dog Island Environmental Archeology

Landscape and Subsistence of Dog Island, Labrador
This ongoing project has been conducted since 2005 and survey and excavations at six sites, Oakes Bay 1 (or Parngnertok HeCg-08, Koliktalik 6 (HdCg-23), Evilik Bay (HeCg-04), September Harbour (HdCg-15), and Itibliarsuk (HdCg-57). Field seasons in 2005, 2006 and 2007 were conducted by field crews directed by Jim Woollett (Universite Laval) in with collaboration with Cynthia Zutter (MacEwan University) and Najat Bhiry (Universite Laval).
Parent Project: The Norse Settlement in the Vatnahverfi Region, South Greenland c. AD 985 - c. AD 1450

Greenland - The Vatnahverfi Project - Settlement, economy, and depopulation.
The aim of the programme is to discuss landnam (landtaking) strategies and the later depopulation in the light of the interplay between the two economic spheres of the Norse Greenland Economy: subsistence based on the resources of the local, settled area in South Greenland and foreing long-distance trade based on the North and East Greeland resources. Identity, mobility, communication and human strategies are key concepts and focus are on the interaction between humans (action), systems (structure) and environment. Status Nov. 2009: Except from a few all Norse sites in the Vatnahverfi region have been GPS Surveyed and excavations have been carried out in middens at several farms. A dating programme of the farms in the area has been initiated. xxxx Publications: Madsen, Christian Koch: Får, geder og folde i det norrøne Vatnahverfi. Grønland 1 2008:4-14 Møller, Niels Algreen & Christian Koch Madsen: Med friske skridt i forgængeres fodspor. Grønland 5-6, 2007:306-314 Jane Benarroch: I nordboernes Fodspor (in the footsteps of the Norse). Polarfronten 1/2008 Bishop, Rosie R., Mike J. Church, Andrew J. Dugmore, Phil Clogg, Christian Koch Madsen & Niels A. Møller: Palaeoenvironmental Investigations at Ø69, Greenland. Submitted to JONA – Journal of the North Atlantic. Uffe Wilken: Mobile nordboer. Polarfronten 1/2010:8-9
Parent Project: Norse Greenland dietary project

Norse Greenland dietary project - Norse Greenland isotope project
An initial study of the d13 C values for human bone collagen of 27 Norse Greenlanders in the late 1990's suggested a change in the Norse diet from predominantly terrestrial food to predominantly marine food. The shift may indicate a change in diet; the question left open in the limited initial isotope study was however whether the change in diet is a reflection of altered subsistence strategies or altered farming practises. Furthermore, the first study did not convincingly answer the question as to whether the shift in diet occurred gradually over time or within a few years – and in the last case: when? Also, the limited study did not answer questions such as dietary differences between the two Norse settlements, between individual farms, between the sexes and what kind of marine food was digested. Distinguishing local born from foreign (immigrants?) people is yet another matter of discussion. This new study includes 437 samples. 183 samples are from human bones - 118 are Norse and 65 are Inuit – and 254 samples are from animal bones. The samples are from 19 Norse sites (= farms), 13 are from the Eastern Settlement and six are from the Western Settlement. For comparison, we have also included samples of both humans and animals from 22 Inuit sites. Manuscripts submitted to Journal of the North Atlantic fall 2009.
Ruin site Ø47 Bishop's see Gardar
Oddstaðir The site of Oddstaðir farm ruins nowadays belong to the land owned by Öxnhóll farm, once a church farm. The 2009 Midden excavation yielded well preserved animal bones and was sampled for environmental analyses. Tephra analysis and C14 data may confirm an early medieval occupation and 17th Century abandonment of the site. As at Skuggi, several beads were found in 2009 and were analyzed by Elín Ó. Hreiðarsdóttir. This report is part of the 2009 GHP Field Report. A faunal report will be produced in 2010.
Myrkárdalur The highland site at Myrkárdalur contains several ruins, and the early farm ruin is clearly visible: several rooms are connected through a central corridor, reminiscent of medieval houses from Greenland. A landslide in the 14th Century destroyed part of the farm and the occupants were forced to move further west, where several more recent ruins are located (sources cited in Hreiðarsd. 2008:178). Myrkárdalur was abandoned in 1955 and the land has since been used by the nearest farm, Myrkárbakki. Midden trenching at different locations in 2008 and 2009 has resulted in a small amount of faunal remains and artefacts, dating the contents to the 17th/18th centuries in trench 1 and the 16th/17th centuries in trench 2.
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