The Hofstaðir Archaeofauna

Summary

Early stages of the investigations at Hofstaðir directed by the Archaeological

Institute Iceland revealed that substantial amounts of well-preserved animal bone

were present in contexts throughout the site, with a major concentration in the fill

of the large sunken featured structure G. The site directors kindly involved the

NABO zooarchaeologists (led through various seasons by Tom McGovern and

Sophia Perdikaris), and the zooarchaeology team was able to participate directly

in the field excavations from 1996 onwards. The modern open area excavation of

this major Viking Age hall and its associated buildings offered a unique

opportunity for North Atlantic zooarchaeology, allowing comparisons of bone

assemblages from fully excavated middens and structures and the combination

of horizontal and vertical stratigraphic perspectives on the interpretation of site

formation processes. The close cooperation between excavators and specialists

continued from fieldwork through post-excavation analysis, and has

unquestionably improved the quality of this report.

The analysis and interpretation of the Hofstaðir archaeofauna has also greatly

benefited from comparative zooarchaeological evidence from contemporary

nearby sites in the Mývatn area (Mývatnssveit) carried out under the larger

Landscapes of Settlement project, and this analysis will make use of comparative

zooarchaeological data from the contemporary sites of Sveigakot (SVK) and

Hrísheimar (HRH).

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contributor(s): Megan T. Hicks

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