Mapping and registration on Bjarneyjar, Iceland PDF

Preview

Summary

RAPPORTER FRÅN REGIONAL ARKEOLOGI 1 Mapping and registration on Bjarneyjar, Iceland Per H Ramqvist 2 Iceland RAPPORTER FRÅN REGIONAL ARKEOLOGI 1 Mapping and registration on Bjarneyjar, Iceland Per H Ramqvist Utgivare: Regional Arkeologi, Mitthögskolan, Örnsköldsvik Redaktör: Per H Ramqvist Örnskölds...

Description

2

RAPPORTER FRÅN

REGIONAL ARKEOLOGI

1

Mapping and registration on Bjarneyjar, Iceland

Per H Ramqvist

Iceland RAPPORTER FRÅN REGIONAL ARKEOLOGI 1

Mapping and registration on Bjarneyjar, Iceland

Per H Ramqvist

Utgivare: Regional Arkeologi, Mitthögskolan, Örnsköldsvik Redaktör: Per H Ramqvist Örnsköldsvik 2002

Content Introduction Maritime vs agrarian The influence of Christianity, towns and the formative states Important problem areas to be investigated The landnam phase The Hansa phase c. mid 13th century The first half of the 17th century Historical records The archaeological sites Langenes Leirvik Bjarneyjar The historical record The trial excavation 2000 The registrations 2000 Method of registration Results of the registration and mapping Heimaey (Home Island) Búðey (Fishing-shed island) Hólmí Torfey and Höfði Vatnsey Final comments Addendum References APPENDIX 1

1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 7 9 9 10 11 13 18 20 22 23 23 23 24 25

MAPPING AND REGISTRATION ON BJARNEYJAR, ICELAND

MAPPING AND REGISTRATION ON BJARNEYJAR, ICELAND

by Per H Ramqvist

Introduction

Maritime vs agrarian

In the project ”Fishing communities of the North AD 800-1800” we made mappings, registrations and trial excavations during the period June 25th - July 3rd 2000 on the island group of Bjarneyjar in Breidafjórdur, NW Iceland. To study the relation between fishing and agriculture in maritime economies of the North Atlantic room, the project are conducting archaeological excavations on three sites. Apart from Bjarneyjar also in Langenes in Västerålen, North Norway and in Leirvik on Eysturoy, in the Faeroes are beeing excavated. The members of the project are:

In northern Scandinavian coastal communities the catch of marine mammals and fishing have been archaeologically documented back to the Mesolithic Period. These activities were part of the economic adaptation also through the Iron Age and the Medieval Period. In the Faeroes and Iceland as well as in the southern part of North Norway (Hålogaland), society has been defined as mainly agrarian and the use of marine resources has been regarded as economic supplements, necessiated by marginal conditions for farming. The large commercial fisheries in the High Middle Ages has been seen as a way of maintaining an agrarian consumption by trade. The weak point of this reasoning is that ideas about the character of the subsistence economy before the large scale trade, are rather vague. In North Norway the commercial production of dried cod, with export to different markets in Europe, was initiated at the latest in the 1100s and developed to an important economic activity in the 1200s. During the Late Middle Ages the Icelandic economy also became strongly involved (Þór 1996) and the same tendency is known from the Faeroes, but only lasting till c. 1600 (Joensen 1996). The demand for dried cod was created by the growth of towns in Europe and also by the fast regulations of the Catholic church which allowed ”white flesh” to be eaten. Especially German tradesmen (the Hanseatics) took hand over the fish trade, bringing cereals in return for the dried fish (Dollinger 1970).

Reidar Bertelsen, University of Tromsø, Department of Archaeology (Univ. i Tromsø, Institutt for arkeologi) Alf Ragnar Nielssen, University of Tromsø, Department of History (Univ. i Tromsø, Institutt for historie) Jon Th. Thór, The Icelandic Centre for Fisheries History Research (Hafrannsóknastofnunin) Símun V. Arge, The National Museum of The Faeroes (Føroya Fornminnissavn) Per H. Ramqvist, Mid Sweden university, Regional Archaeology, Örnsköldsvik (Regional Arkeologi, Mitthögskolan, Örnsköldsvik) Reinhard Mook, University of Tromsø. Department of Archaeology (Univ. i Tromsø, Institutt for arkeologi).

Nielssen and Thór are historians and Bertelsen, Arge and Ramqvist are archaeologists. Mook is climatolog and will in the project study the drying of cod with different techniques and compare the results for North Norway, Iceland and the Faeroes. It is quite possible that the climatic conditions for drying cod on these three places are quite different.

1

RAPPORTER FRÅN REGIONAL ARKEOLOGI 1

The influence of Christianity, towns and the formative states Around AD 1000 the Nordic region was marked by three major changes. Christianity replaced the regional domestic religions. The new religion was universal, but it had its cultural roots in the East Mediteranean, and it carried a cultural rucksack from the agrarian Central Europe to the shores of the Baltic and the North Atlantic. Christian culture became dominant also in the Nordic societies and did soon influence and regulate everyday life. The cooperation with the church was also a very important factor in the establishment of kingdoms and state organizations in the Nordic area during this period. The emergence of the first towns and the dynamic development of urban societies in southern and central parts of the Nordic region also went hand in hand with the development of the new political and cultural institutions. A number of scholars have studied the emergence and influence of the international economy, trade and new markets which became one economic basis for the kingdom and the church. The surplus of agrarian production was by far their most important source of income. But the economic development gave room for a wide range of specialized new economies, among them the commercial fisheries (cod and herring) and whaling. There are, however, no comprehensive studies of the cultural influence that must have been the effect of the everyday contact between the new dominant institutions and the coastal population.

Important problem areas to be investigated If we see the maritime economies of the North Atlantic in a long-term perspective it is of importance to study the European development concerning trade and politics. Therefore we have chosen three key periods of study to compare the local reflections during each phase. Apart from

2

these key periods there should of course be possible to study other periods that perhaps not were important for the whole area. One such example is the plague during the mid 14th century. That had probably most impact at the Norwegian site.

The landnam phase The first phase is the so-called landnam phase on Iceland and the Faeroes, i.e. c. AD 600-1000. The older part of that interval is due to much discussion in Iceland (cf. Hermanns-Audardóttir 1989). The European context during that period is complex and in SW-Norway there were large political changes. The settlement structure underwent large structural changes and possibly some emigrants found their way to the Atlantic islands. During the period AD 700-750 the first Scandinavian town emerges in Denmark (Ribe and Haithabu), Sweden (Birka) and probably also in Norway shown by the new excavations in Kaupang. During this period an international trade system was established, involving the Scandinavian areas. Effects of that is found on regional and local levels of the societies (Ramqvist 2001). During the 9th and 10th century AD the first Christian cemeteries were established (and probably also churches), meaning that the first(?) mission from Hamburg clearly have got at least some results among, in front of all, aristocratic families in W Norway. It is clearly a connection between the trade system and the change from Asa-faith to Christianity.

The Hansa phase c. mid 13th century In what way was the big change in international trade reflected in the local sites like Langenes, Leirvik and Bjarneyjar? It should be possible at the excavations to detect when and if the sites participated in the intensive fishing activities taken place during the 13th century. During this period at least two kinds of fishing communities developed in North Norway; seasonal fishing stations and permanent fishing villages (Nielssen 1981).

MAPPING AND REGISTRATION ON BJARNEYJAR, ICELAND

One of the main reasons for the increasing demand of dried cod was the growing towns in Europe and the fast regulations of the catholic church which allowed ”white flesh” to be eaten.

shown that the Langenes fishing station during the 30-year war decreased in population from 60 families 1620 to only 4 families 1680 (Nielssen 1996).

The first half of the 17th century

Historical records

This period was characterized by long European wars. How did that affect the development of the fishing sites in the North Atlantic area? It has been

Since the project is an interdiciplinary project also historians participate. They are Alf-Ragnar Nielssen from Tromsø university and Jon Th. Thór from the ”Icelandic centre for fisheries history research”

Fig. 1. The boat landing-places (No: stö) along the shore at the fishing station at Langenes, Västerålen, Norway. Photo: Reidar Bertelsen.

3

RAPPORTER FRÅN REGIONAL ARKEOLOGI 1

Fig. 2. The church remains at Uppistovubeitinum on Eusteroy in the Faroes. Photo: author.

in Reykjavik. Since all three archaeological sites have continuity from the Late Iron Age up until today, we have a very unique opportunitu to compare the archaeological results with the historical records.

The archaeological sites Langenes I will just briefly mention the sites under investigation before I go into a closer presentation of the results from the registrations at Bjarneyjar. The North-Norwegian site Langenes (Fig. 1) at the northern part of Langøya in Vesterålen was already during 1995-1996 object for some trial excavations by Reidar Bertelsen, Tromsø university and a team part of the North Atlantic Biocultural Organization (NABO). The fishing station in Langenes is the biggest in North Norway and comprises an area c. 1,5 hectar. The site consists of four ”mounds” with up to 2 meter thich layers and between them layers up to 0.5 meter thick. The investigations showed that it have had a continuos settlement during the two millennia

4

with a large proportion maritime debris. The site is extremely well suited for long-term study and the historical record from the Langenes site is good with the first taxation lists from 1567.

Leirvík The site is situated on Eusturey in a landscape well suited for agriculture and fishing. Four sites from the landnam phase is found in the vicinity of which two lies by the sea and two up to 300 m away from the sea. Two of the sites is earlier excavated (Arge 1997) and the one at Toftanes (Fig. 3) by the sea is perhaps most well known (Stumann Hansen 1989). From the site Uppistovubeitinum, not yet completed excavations have shown settlements from the Medieval Period (Arge 1997). Uppistovubeitinum lies away from the water and close to the settlement there is the remains of a small church (Fig. 2). It is of great importance to finish the excavations at Uppistovubeitinum to see if we have two economicallay different sites so close as Toftanes and Uppistovubeitinum.

MAPPING AND REGISTRATION ON BJARNEYJAR, ICELAND

Fig. 3. The excavated Viking Age house foundation in Toftanes on Eusteroy in the Faroes. Photo: author.

Bjarneyjar The island group of Bjarneyjar is situated in the middle of Breiðafjörður c. 23 km N of the town of Stykkishólmur on the mainland of Iceland. The group consists of several smaller and bigger islands. The central islands, that also are covered with soil, are (Figs. 4-5): Heimaey Búðey Torfey Hófði Innri-Hólmi Ytri-Hólmi Vatnsey Sinuhólmi Ytri-Hvanney Innrí-Hvanney

These are the islands (except Sinuhólmi, YtriHvanney and Innrí-Hvanney) on which we conducted registrations. Concerning the Hvanney

island, Reidar Bertelsen later in 2002 found several possible cairns, that can be graves (se page 23f). There are also other smaller skerries like Selsker that have no vegetation cover and which we did not visit. Since the tide is large here it is at low tide possible to walk across all of the islands mentioned and the difference between low and high tide is about three meters. The islands Heimaey, Torfey, Innri-Holmi and Ytri-Holm form an almost parallel line with the two islands Hófði and Búðey. The narrow channel between the two island groups is at high tide at most 200 meter and they protect each other from winds from almost every direction. There are several natural landing places for rowing boats along the channel. The highest of the islands is Torfey (c. 12 m a s l), while Búðey, Heimaey and Hófði at most reach 10 m a s l. The ridge-formed Holmi islands reach at their crown c. 6 m a s l. Especially in the

5

RAPPORTER FRÅN REGIONAL ARKEOLOGI 1

Fig. 4. Map showing the position of the island group of Bjarneyjar in Breiðafjörður and in relation to the mainland of Iceland.

NW part of Torfey; the N and NE parts of Heimaey and the NE and E part of Hófði, there are very steep rocks, which in seasons have a very rich bird life. Large colonies of cormorant and several species of gull breed there. On sheltered places the grassgrown parts of the islands, lots of eider find their homes during the spring and parts of the summer. In the vicinity of the islands there are good

6

fishing banks and the soil covering large parts of the mentioned islands is fertile brown earth. Therefore the islands show a rich variety of possible natural resources; farming, livestock, fishing, seamammlas, eggs and eider-down from the sea birds. Theoretically, the resources possible to exploit with surplus is the marine resources and during seasons the sea bird products like eggs and eider-down.

MAPPING AND REGISTRATION ON BJARNEYJAR, ICELAND

Valabjörg

Fig. 5. Map showing the individual islands in the island group of Bjarneyjar. The shape of the islands are aproximative (due to tide and mapping inaccuracy). There are many names used by the local populations and historically, but in this presentation I try to use the names on the map, even though they may not always be the correct ones. Ytri-Hvanney and Innrí-Hvanney are placed directly east of Hófði.

The historical record No earlier excavations have been made on the islands. Bjarneyjar is mentioned a couple of times in the Saga-literature, but not in the Book of Settlement (Landnámabók). It is mentioned in the Laxdæla saga and in the Njal´s saga. In the first mentioned saga which tells about the period 8901073, this sentence is said:

The fishing station called Bjarneyjar is situated in Breiðafjörður. It consists of many rich islands situated close to each other. At that time many people went there for the fishery. Therefore they were populous at all times of the year.

The mention is short but tell us that it can be expected to find late Viking Age activities on the islands, wether permanent settlement or so called outstation is unclear. 7

RAPPORTER FRÅN REGIONAL ARKEOLOGI 1

Fig. 6. Panorama showing most of the islands of Bjarneyjar. The five photos taken from Höfði. Photo montage by: author.

But there is also a very interesting story in the Laxdæla saga about Torkel Eyolvsson living at Helgafell on the mainland close to present day Stykkishólmur.The story should have happened in the early 1000s. Torkel wanted to build a church at Helgafell and sailed to Norway for timber. In Trondheim he recieved a gift from king Olav corresponding the same amount of timber as the timber church in Trondheim that the king now was building. The king thought that Torkel was a bit unwise to build a church as big as the one in Trondheim. Torkel did not agree and went back to Iceland and Hrutafjord, where he left the timber over the winter. On the next oster thursday he start transporting the timber on a ”ferry”. They sailed in bad weather until they came to Bjarneyjar. People saw the ”ferry” from the shores of both sides when a sudden wind gust turned the vessel upside down. There Torkel drowned and all his men with him. The timber flowed around the islands. This story tells us that an unexpected amount of timber can be found around 1000 AD on the islands of Bjarneyjar, could have a very welcome contribution in the form of building material. The text in the Njal´s saga tells about a man called Torvald Osvivrsson living in Meldalfellstrand. He was rich and owned the islands Bjarneyjar in Breiðafjörður. From there he recieved

8

(or fetched) dry fish and flour. In a struggle with Tjostolv, Torvald was killed there and it is said that when Tjostolv arrived all the people had rown away from the islands. From this early documents it can be concluded that the islands of Bjarneyjar were exploited since at least AD 1000, probably already during the 10th century. During the first settlement period it is however uncertain if there were any permanent settlement or if the islands were sesonally used for fishing, sea-mammal hunting and sea-bird exploitation. But the indication in Njal´s saga that Torvald fetched flour there, is probably a sign of that there was a permanent settlement with agriculture and livestock. Why should he store flour produced on the mainland so far out on the islands? For the later parts of the history Jon Th. Thór (2000) has made a summary. The Medieval and the sources of the 1600s are few but recognize Bjarneyjar as an important fishing station. The first written record of permanent year-aound living on Bjarneyjar derives from two Frenchmen that 1659 are reported to have built a house for themselves and lived there the following winter. These ”foreigners” must have had predecessors on the site. Jon Thór says that the first register of Iceland was put together 1703 and by that time the islands

MAPPING AND REGISTRATION ON BJARNEYJAR, ICELAND

then were owned by the church at Surbær. At that date 8 tenant farms was mentioned, 4 on Heimaey and 4 on Buðey. Also 4 peasant houses was mentioned, 1 on Heimaey and 3 on Buðey. It is also mentioned that Heimaey had 14 fishermen´s huts and Buðey 4. In the winter season the peasant houses were so cold that the inhabitants had to move into the tenants houses. The total population of these homes was 62, but there was 50 boats operating in the islands during the high season (mid-April - late June). Since the boats were of different sizes, but normally with a crew of 3-7 people, the total population in high seasons probably were c. 300-350 individuals on the islands. During this time Bjarneyjar was the largest fishing station among the Breiðafjörður islands. Through a small-pox epidemic 1707, which killed c. 1/3 of the population, there was a decline in fishing activity around Bjarneyjar, but nevertheless in 1840 c. 75 individuals were still living there. During the early 20th century the fishing around Bjarneyjar declined permanently, most probably depending of the arrival of motor boats, allowing fishers to stay on the mainland of Iceland. In 1947 the last family left the islands. Today the the islands are owned by an organization of local people.

The trial excavation 2000 Mappings, registrations and trial excavations were conducted during the period June 25th - July 3rd 2000 on the island group of Bjarneyjar in Breiðafjórður, NW Iceland. The trial excavation was conducted by Mjöll Snæsdottir and Garðar Guðmundsson from Fornleifastofnun Islands in Reykjavik. Ragnar Edvardsson and Clayton Tinsley from City university of New York also participated, as did the daughter of one of the owner of the islands Driva Fredriksdottir. Three smaller trenches were opened. Two of them concerned farm mounds, one on Heimaey and the other on Búðey (see Figs. 15 and 17). The third trench was through the walls of a supposed timber building on Torfey (T1 on Fig. 21). The results from the trial excavation is presented in a separate report by the leader of the excavation Mjöll Snæsdottir.