Wood and Plant-use in 17th–19th Century Iceland: Archaeobotanical Analysis of Reykholt, Western Iceland

Zutter, Cynthia

doi:10.1179/env.2000.5.1.73

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Driftwood also seems to have played a role in fuel acquisition strategies at trading sites (Guðmundsdóttir 2011;Bishop 2016). Conifer charcoal from 17th-19th century CE Reykholt has been interpreted as the remains of objects or timbers used as fuel once they had reached the end of their use-life, and uncharred remains from the same site indicate the use of driftwood for both objects and construction (Zutter 2000). The presence of conifer charcoal may also imply the use of conifer wood in construction at the stave church of Þórarinsstaðir in Seyðisfjörður; however, the wood identifications from this site are somewhat uncertain (Kristjánsdóttir et al 2001;Kristjánsdóttir 2004;Mooney 2013).…”

Section: Archaeological Evidence For Driftwood Exploitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timber as a Marine Resource: Exploitation of Arctic Driftwood in the North Atlantic

et al. 2023

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The North Atlantic islands of the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland have always been relatively poor in terms of native timber resources, due to their cold climate and exposed topography. Nevertheless, timber was vital to the material culture of the Norse settlers of these islands, and driftwood often met this need. As in subarctic Norway, where trees are also scarce, driftwood use and ownership were prescribed in medieval law codes. Historical documentary evidence shows that wealthy landowners bought driftwood rights as valuable assets, and ethnohistorical sources reveal a wide range of local and regional customs related to driftwood exploitation. However, driftwood was an unstable resource, and its delivery depended on a range of unpredictable factors related to climate and ocean currents. There is also ongoing debate regarding the relative importance of imported timber, which is for example often referenced in the Icelandic sagas. The use of driftwood is difficult to demonstrate through macroscopic, microscopic, or (geo-)chemical analysis. Similarities in the microscopic anatomy of boreal wood taxa preclude definitive provenancing through taxonomic analysis, and material traces of immersion in seawater are often either impermanent or ambiguous, especially in archaeological wood remains. This paper presents a comprehensive review of current historical and archaeological research on the exploitation of driftwood timber in the Medieval North Atlantic and explores potential future directions in this field. Furthermore, it asserts that this line of research should be pursued with some urgency, as anthropogenic climate change threatens both driftwood delivery and the preservation of archaeological wood remains.

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Section: Archaeological Evidence For Driftwood Exploitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timber as a Marine Resource: Exploitation of Arctic Driftwood in the North Atlantic

et al. 2023

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“…The insect faunas from postmedieval house floors were published by Buckland et al (1992) and included several species which must have relied upon accidental dispersal from Europe to have reached the site. Zutter (2000) examined plant macrofossils from similar contexts. More recently, a multidisciplinary overview of the environmental evidence from medieval deposits has been provided by Sveinbjarnardóttir et al (2007).…”

Section: Reykholtmentioning

confidence: 99%

A failed invader in the North Atlantic, the case of Aglenus brunneus Gyll. (Col., Colydiidae), a blind flightless beetle from Iceland

Buckland¹,

Panagiotakopulu

Sveinbjarnardóttir³

2008

Biol Invasions

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The occurrence of an occasional pest of mouldy stored product residues, the blind flightless beetle Aglenus brunneus Gyll., in samples from the medieval farm at Reykholt in Iceland, along with several other strongly synanthropic beetles, is considered in relation to its fossil record. The species is dependent on man for its dispersal and survival and it probably had its primary habitat in the warm, decaying litter of the undisturbed forest floor in Europe. Now virtually cosmopolitan, it had been introduced to a remote site in the eastern desert of Egypt by the Roman period and was widespread in medieval northern Europe. The processes by which such an apparently stenotopic species could have invaded are discussed in relation to other evidence for anthropochorous dispersal.

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“…The meadows with grass and many flower plants are harvested in the early fall for production of fodder. In the towns and villages, there are also gardens with some vegetables and ornamental flowers [4,5,7,10,13].…”

Section: Background and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While animal husbandry and hunting have been of importance, agriculture was very limited. Some plants were gathered in the landscape, otherwise vegetables have been of very little importance [4][5][6].…”

Section: Background and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Edible wild plant use in the Faroe Islands and Iceland

Svanberg

Ægisson

2012

Acta Soc Bot Pol

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This paper reviews the use of wild edible plants in the Faroe Islands and Iceland from the times of the first settlement of Norse people in the Viking age until today, with a special emphasis on the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Animal products have been an important source of nutrients for the islanders of northern Atlantic. Cultivation of cereals on the other hand has played a minor role, and had already been abandoned by late medieval times in Iceland and by the early 20th century on the Faroes. Crops such as potatoes, turnips and other roots were only grown in the small patches of cultivated soil. Wild plants have therefore been of some importance for the Faroese people and the Icelanders; in the last centuries especially for the rural poor and during times of recessions. The native Angelica archangelica L. was gathered in the wild and also cultivated in gardens for centuries. A few species have been part of the regular food staple. Some plants are still gathered and made into food products by small companies, especially in Iceland. In the Faroes, the economic aspect of edible wild plant taxa is mostly of historical interest, although a few products of A. archangelica are sometimes available. Two taxa have been exploited as regular food exclusively in Iceland: Cetraria islandica (L.) Arch. and Elymus arenarius L. Icelanders have used C. islandica from the early settlement days and continue to do so today, E. arenarius became obsolete as a food plant a century ago. Keywords: wild food plants, algae, lichens

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Wood and Plant-use in 17th–19th Century Iceland: Archaeobotanical Analysis of Reykholt, Western Iceland

Cited by 8 publications

References 4 publications

Timber as a Marine Resource: Exploitation of Arctic Driftwood in the North Atlantic

Timber as a Marine Resource: Exploitation of Arctic Driftwood in the North Atlantic

A failed invader in the North Atlantic, the case of Aglenus brunneus Gyll. (Col., Colydiidae), a blind flightless beetle from Iceland

Edible wild plant use in the Faroe Islands and Iceland

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