A Revolving Frontier: Change and Continuity in Marginal Icelandic Settlement, ca. 900-1900 CE

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Medieval to Modern Transitions and Historical Archaeology" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Numerous farmsteads were established in Iceland's highland margins and back valleys during the late 9th and early 10th centuries, as part of the rapid process of settlement across the island. Many of these marginal farms were deserted sometime between the 11th and early 16th centuries, only to be re-settled sporadically starting in the late 17th century. Re-settlement of farms in back valleys and highland margins became even more common through the 19th century. In this paper, I use a combination of archival research and archaeological survey methods to explore similarities and differences between medieval and modern settlement of marginal farms. In particular, I suggest that marginal settlement patterns of the 19th century cannot be understood outside of the context of medieval settlement and the centuries of continuity in landscape practice that connect the two periods of farmstead establishment.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Medieval to Modern Transitions and Historical Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 301