FULL- Settlement Period Excavation near Mt Hekla-Iceland
Duration: 6 weeks
Dates: 14th June to 26th July 2010
Number of UK Participants: 4
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The Kot Excavations have been running in Iceland since 2006. The excavation is located in south-east Iceland, near the great volcano of Mt Hekla and is approximately a one hour drive to Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland. The excavation is directed by Margret Hallmundsdóttir of the Árnessýsla Folk Museum and is in cooperation with the Nature Institute of the West Fjords and the Soil Conservation of Iceland. The latter owns the land were the excavation site is located.
The excavation focuses on the recovery of a house which seems to have been abandoned before 1300 and archaeological data suggests that it might have been built as early as the Settlement Period (874 AD). The team have already excavated half the house and in 2010 the rest of the house will be unearthed. The excavation is located near Mt Hekla and takes approximately 20 minutes in a jeep to get to the site from Gunnarsholt where the excavation team will stay at the Soil Conservation of Iceland accommodation.
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The surroundings are spectacular and the house being excavated is located in a small lava valley that was formed in an eruption by Mt Hekla in pre-historic times. The mountain is still active and at any sign of an earthquake- the excavation team will leave the site immediately. The mountain is closely monitored, so there is no danger and there are still farms that reside in this area that remain closer to the mountain than the excavation site.
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In this excavation you get to know one of the best dating tools in archaeology, tephra layers and in Kot, there is plenty of tephra. The house is most likely to have been a small farm or shieling. What we know from the excavation in 2008 that it was definitely a house that people lived in. This is supported by the presence of buried bones and dark floor layers. This house seems to be different from all those that have been excavated in Iceland previously, so this will be a significant site for Icelandic Archaeology. The house is built from stone and turf and was filled with tephra from many eruptions and including the eruption in 1510.
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During the first half of the placement participants will be accommodated at the Soil Conservation Centre, Gunnarsholt and then relocated to a farm near Selfoss, where they will spend the remainder of the placement. Participants will have breakfast at the accommodation before leaving for the site around 9am and will work until 4-5pm depending on the weather. Lunch will be a picnic at the excavation site and then dinner will be at the accommodation. Weekends are free and participants will get the chance to go on excursions around the south of Iceland, for example Gullfoss, Geysir, Þingvellir and Skógarfoss, but this will be flexible and is up for discussion and optional for people.
The accommodation at the Soil Conservation Centre, Gunnarsholt and excavation site is located in a relatively remote part of Iceland. Participants will stay in staff accommodation with the summer staff of the Soil Conservation of Iceland, so there will be plenty of people there and lots of fun to be had. The accommodation features a tv in the living room, internet access and a pool table. The nearest village Hella is relatively small and 10 minutes by car, but features a few restaurants, an ATM and shops.
During the later half of the placement, participants will move accommodation to a farm near Selfoss, which is a large town that features supermarkets, a cinema, shops, ATM, etc. There is also a regular bus service from Selfoss to Reykjavik, which takes approximately 45 minutes. The host partner will also try to take participants to other sites of interest and museums. This is a unique experience for undergraduate archaeology students.
Read
the Report by Lara Hogg from the 2009 Excavation Team
Please bring clothes for all kinds of weather, including rain; bag, towel and swim wear (for swimming pool), camping bottle and solar protection cream; do not forget your sleeping bag. As the placement is located in a relatively remote part of Iceland, participants are highly recommended to take entertainment- dvds, laptop, books and ipod for the 4 week duration. Please note: that there will be 24 hours sunlight during the placement period.
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NOTE: Participants on all of our placements will now require a European Health Insurance CARD (EHIC). CLICK HERE to visit the external website and apply for your EHIC online. |
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Settlement Period |
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Copper Age |
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Stone Age |
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Bronze-Age |
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Roman Thermae & Thracian Cult Complex |
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Germany
Medieval |
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Etruscan
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Medieval Fortress
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Early Christian Basilica
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