What Does a Fire Giant Eat? A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Surtshellir's Burnt Faunal Remains

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Social Archaeology in the North and North Atlantic (SANNA 3.0): Investigating the Social Lives of Northern Things" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In the ninth and tenth centuries CE, a very distinctive and unique site was established inside the cave of Surtshellir. This lava tube was reputed to be the home of the mythological fire giant, Surtur and has been studied over the course of several years by a team led by the Haffenreffer Museum (Brown University), Þjóðminjasafn Íslands, and Minjastofnun Íslands. Within this cave, various and unique artifacts have been found alongside massive piles of faunal remains and burnt bone fragments associated with a boat-shaped structure made of stone. This paper will report on ongoing analyses of burnt bone remains found inside Surtshellir during the 2013 campaign. Through experimental archaeology and analysis of taphonomic traces, the study seeks to determine how faunal remains were treated. Through correspondences between their spatial distribution and the artifacts found on site, we will also attempt to evaluate current hypotheses regarding the use of burnt animal bones. Are they remnants of ritual offerings and sacrifices made to Surtur, leftover meals or were they simply used as fuel?

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Social Archaeology in the North and North Atlantic (SANNA 3.0): Investigating the Social Lives of Northern Things   •
• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32543