The Gásir Area A Archaeofauna: An Update of the Results from the Faunal Analysis of the High Medieval Trading Site in Eyjafjörður, N Iceland (lab report)

Summary

This faunal report presents new information on the Gásir archaeofauna which was

collected during 5 years (2002 – 2006) out of the total 6 years of Archaeological

excavations at the site of Gásir near the modern city of Akureyri. Under the direction of

Howell Roberts of Fornleifastofnun Íslands (Archaeological Institute Iceland, FSĺ) and

on behalf of Minjasafnið á Akureyri (Akureyri Museum), initial investigative activities at

Gásir were begun in 2001. The project resulted in a large scale, open-area archaeological

excavation carried out during the summer seasons of 2002-2006. The project has

produced a substantial amount of animal bones, which have been continuously analyzed

at the CUNY Northern Science & Education Center laboratories as part of the North

Atlantic Biocultural Organization cooperative effort, with funding provided by the UK

Leverhulme Trust, and the US NSF IPY project (see acknowledgements section for

specific grant numbers). The Gásir excavations were part of an ongoing larger scale,

long term project which aims to place the investigation of the high medieval trading

center at Gásir in a regional and historical context. At this time, the analysis of the Gásir

assemblage has been virtually completed, and is the basis for the author´s PhD thesis, to

be completed in the Spring of 2010.

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

NORSEC ZOOARCHAEOLOGY LABORATORY REPORT No.(s): 44

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