No Man Is an Island: Death and Burial on the Island of Haffjarðarey

Summary

During the 13th century Iceland became a major hub of the North Atlantic fishing industry sparking international conflict over fishing rights between mercantile interests from Norway, Denmark, England, the Netherlands and Northern Germany. From ca. 1200 - 1563 the Catholic Church and cemetery on the island of Haffjarðarey served as the burial place for the large geographic region of Eyjahreppur in western Iceland. The church and cemetery were closed during the Lutheran Reformation and the island was subsequently abandoned. Folklore intended to support this abandonment appeared soon afterwards and generated a negative perception of the island as a place of death and danger. Early 20th century accounts considered Haffjarðarey an unlikely location for an important community gathering place due to difficulty of access and apparent isolation, however recent research has demonstrated quite the opposite. The medieval population of Eyjahreppur was engaged in the international fishing industry. Human remains exhibit pathological features suggesting they experienced the long-term impacts of unique local and global political, economic, and cultural influences. This paper discusses the human skeletal remains from the Haffjarðarey church cemetery and interpretations of community attachment (topophilia) and fear (topophobia) during a period of increasing global contact and conflict.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21323