Toftanes: The Paleoecology of a Faroese Landnám Farm

Vickers, Kim; Bending, Joanna; Buckland, Paul C.; Edwards, Kevin J.; Hansen, Steffen Stummann

doi:10.1007/s10745-005-4744-2

Cited by 26 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The archaeological remains suggest that the first church was erected on the original farm. Further investigations have been carried out in the area to the north of the church revealing extensive settlement remains which may belong to the earliest settlement within this holding, with calibrated radiocarbon age ranges (1 standard deviation) of A.D. 785-875 and A.D. 900-960 , and these, along with the dates from Toftanes on Esturoy (Vickers et al, 2005), are currently the earliest settlement dates in the Faroes. Excavations are continuing at the site, and these, in part, are reported elsewhere Woollett et al, 2004;Lawson et al, 2005).…”

Section: Archaeological Evidencementioning

confidence: 93%

Viking and Medieval Settlement in the Faroes: People, Place and Environment

et al. 2005

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Apart from the possible, but unproven presence of some Irish hermits, the Norse colonizers of the Faroe Islands arrived in an unsettled landscape around A.D. 800. The archipelago was essentially unwooded and rich in bird and marine life. The area of land suitable for settlement and farming was relatively meagre and concentrated in coastal areas; inland areas were suitable for shielings (summer pasture) and subsequently more extensive grazing (outfield) activities. Reconstruction of the settlement distribution has not been a well-developed aspect of Faroese historical study. Using archaeological and documentary evidence, we are able to present the first comprehensive distribution map of Norse settlement, which emphasizes an overwhelmingly coastal focus of considerable density. Using historical (including place-names), archaeological, and environmental evidence, we examine the nature and organization of the Viking (early Norse) and medieval (later Norse) settlement. Colonization and economic activity in the islands were strongly influenced by topographic and ecological factors. This, along with social organization, was subject to influences which may have derived, at least in part, from experiences in a Norwegian homeland.

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Section: Archaeological Evidencementioning

confidence: 93%

Viking and Medieval Settlement in the Faroes: People, Place and Environment

et al. 2005

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“…Udgravninger fra Toftanes, Leirvík viser, at de norske vikinger her dyrkede seksradet byg (Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare), og at bosaettelsen her fandt sted i 860-970 (Vickers et al, 2005). Tilsvarende blev der også dyrket byg på Sandoy, og at her boede mennesker i det 9.-10. år-hundrede e.Kr.…”

Section: Tidlige Bebyggelserunclassified

“…Fra de arkaeologiske udgravninger i Leirvík ved vi, at bosaetterne indsamlede baer af revling (Empetrum nigrum) og brugte ene (Juniperus communis) til tovvaerk og nok også til at sprede på gulv (duft) og måske også til medicinsk brug (Vickers et al (2005). Der er også fundet rester af hasselnød (Corylus avellana) (Stumman Hansen, 2005), som må betragtes som en indført art (Small, 1991;Edwards, 2008).…”

Section: Tidlige Bebyggelserunclassified

Færøernes ældste kulturplanter / Elstu røktarplantur í Føroyum

Christiansen

Fosaa

2017

Frit

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For ages people have brought plants with them, when they have settled in new areas. The characteristic flora around villages is a proof of this. Around monasteries, churches and in the oldest parts of settlements, old gardens with cultural plants that have been used as spices, medical herbs, to dye clothes with, and as ornamental plants, are found. Many of these plants were introduced to the Nordic countries in the Medieval Age or before, and other indigenous plants have been collected and planted. In the Nordic countries, botanists have known about this characteristic flora in settlements from the Medieval Age, for more than 200 years. In the Faroe Islands, botanical studies have shown that these gardens are also found here. In summer 2008 we visited 35 villages originating from the Medieval Age or before. Beforehand, we selected 25 species of vascular plants that most likely were used in these times. The investigated areas were around the oldest part of the villages, around churches in churchyards, and in areas of excavation. These plants were put into two categories, those who are indigenous and those who are introduced. In this paper a presentation of these plants are given as well as their distribution in the 35 selected villages. ResuméMennesker har gennem alle tider bragt planter med sig, når de bosatte sig i nye områder. Den karakteristiske flora omkring bebyggelser er bevis på dette. Ved klostre, kirker, i gamle landsbyer osv. findes ofte gamle haver med kulturplanter, som tidligere har vaeret brugt som krydderurter, laegeplanter, planter til at farve tøj med og prydplanter. Mange af arterne er indførte til Norden i middelalderen eller tidligere, og andre er hjemmehørende arter, som tidligere har vaeret indsamlet og dyrket. I Norden har det i snart 200 år vaeret kendt blandt botanikere, at der findes en saerlig flora ved middelalderlige bebyggelser. Botaniske undersøgelser viser, at sådanne haver også findes på Faerøerne. I sommeren 2008 besøgte vi 35 bygder fra middelalderen eller tidligere. Vi havde på forhånd udvalgt 25 plantearter som sandsynligvis blev udnyttet på den tid. Vi undersøgte området omkring den aeldste bydel, rundt om kirkegårde, og ved udgravninger. Disse planter blev delt i to kategorier, dem som er hjemmehørende og dem som var blevet indført. I denne artikel omtales disse planter samt deres udbredelse i de 35 udvalgte bygder. ÚrtakFólk hava frá fyrndini tikið plantur við saer, tá ið tey fluttu búgv. Tann sermerkti gróðurin uttan um búset-ingar bera prógv um tað. Við kleystur, kirkjur, gamlar búsetingar o.s.fr. eru ofta gamlir urtagarðar við røktar-plantum, sum áður hava verið nýttar sum kryddurtir, grøðiplantur, litingarplantur og prýðisplantur. Nógv av hesum plantusløgum eru komin til Norðurlond í mið-øld ella fyrr, og onnur eru upprunasløg, sum hava verið hentað og síðan velt. Í Norðurlondum hava plantufrøð-ingar í sløk 200 ár havt kunnleika til, at ein serligur gróður er at finna við miðaldarbúsetingar. Plantufrøði-ligar kanningar vísa, at slíkir urtagarðar eisini eru í Fø...

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“…Gaillard et al 1992Gaillard et al , 1994Hjelle 1998Hjelle , 1999Schofield 2007), and these taxa are often interpreted as pastoral indicators in the North Atlantic islands (e.g. Keatinge and Dickson 1979;Edwards and Whittington 1998;Vickers et al, 2005;de la Vega-Leinert et al 2007Lawson et al 2008). Sordaria-type ascospores may indicate the local presence of herbivores or rotting wood.…”

Section: Reconstruction Of Holocene Environments At Hobbistermentioning

confidence: 99%

Later prehistoric vegetation dynamics and Bronze Age agriculture at Hobbister, Orkney, Scotland

Farrell

2014

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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Later prehistoric vegetation dynamics and Bronze Age agriculture at Hobbister, Orkney, Scotland Farrell, M. (2015 AbstractThe Bronze Age in Britain was a time of major social and cultural changes, reflected in the division of the landscape into field systems and the establishment of new belief systems and ritual practices. Several hypotheses have been advanced to explain these changes, and assessment of many of them is dependent on the availability of detailed palaeoenvironmental data from the sites concerned. This paper explores the development of a later prehistoric landscape in Orkney, where a Bronze Age field system and an apparently ritually-deposited late Bronze Age axehead are located in an area of deep blanket peat from which highresolution palaeoenvironmental sequences have been recovered. There is no indication that the field system was constructed to facilitate agricultural intensification, and it more likely reflects a cultural response to social fragmentation associated with a more dispersed settlement pattern. There is evidence for wetter conditions during the later Bronze Age, and the apparent votive deposit may reflect the efforts of the local population to maintain community integrity during a time of perceptible environmental change leading to loss of farmland. The study emphasises the advantages of close integration of palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data for interpretation of prehistoric human activity. The palaeoenvironmental data also provide further evidence for the complexity of prehistoric woodland communities in Orkney, hinting at greater diversity than is often assumed.Additionally, differing dates for woodland decline in the two sequences highlight the dangers of over-extrapolation from trends observed in a single pollen profile, even at a very local scale.

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Toftanes: The Paleoecology of a Faroese Landnám Farm

Cited by 26 publications

References 23 publications

Viking and Medieval Settlement in the Faroes: People, Place and Environment

Viking and Medieval Settlement in the Faroes: People, Place and Environment

Færøernes ældste kulturplanter / Elstu røktarplantur í Føroyum

Later prehistoric vegetation dynamics and Bronze Age agriculture at Hobbister, Orkney, Scotland

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