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An over-optimistic pioneer fringe? Environmental perspectives on medieval settlement abandonment in Þórsmörk, south Iceland

Dugmore, AJ; Church, MJ; Mairs, K-A; McGovern, TH; Newton, AJ; Sveinbjarnardóttir, G

An over-optimistic pioneer fringe? Environmental perspectives on medieval settlement abandonment in Þórsmörk, south Iceland Thumbnail


Authors

AJ Dugmore

K-A Mairs

TH McGovern

AJ Newton

G Sveinbjarnardóttir



Contributors

J Arneborg
Editor

B Grønnow
Editor

Abstract

We assess environmental factors that may have contributed to farm abandonment in Þórsmörk, south Iceland. Here farms were established during the initial Norse colonisation of Iceland and abandoned by the 13th century AD. Soil erosion has been identified as a possible factor in this settlement change. This hypothesis is assessed using sediment profiles constrained by tephrochronology in Þórsmörk and the nearby area of Stakkholt. In Þórsmörk, there is evidence for episodes of landscape instability between the 10th and 13th centuries and localised episodes of soil erosion to bedrock that ended before 1300 AD and the onset of the Little Ice Age (LIA) climate changes. This early instability is absent from Stakkholt. Later LIA stability in Þórsmörk contrasts with episodes of instability in Stakkholt. The implication is that Þórsmörk was sensitive to early settlement impacts that lead to extensive erosion. After farm abandonment in Þórsmörk, the surviving woodland was successfully conserved as a valuable source of wood and charcoal for lowland farms where woodland resources had been depleted. Mounting pressure on woodland resources in the 11th -12th centuries could have been an important factor in determining the precise timing of abandonment.

Citation

Dugmore, A., Church, M., Mairs, K., McGovern, T., Newton, A., & Sveinbjarnardóttir, G. (2006). An over-optimistic pioneer fringe? Environmental perspectives on medieval settlement abandonment in Þórsmörk, south Iceland. In J. Arneborg, & B. Grønnow (Eds.), Dynamics of northern societies : proceedings of the SILA/NABO Conference on Arctic and North Atlantic Archaeology, Copenhagen, May 10th-14th, 2004 (335-345)

Conference Name Dynamics of Northern Societies - Proceedings of the SILA/NABO-conference on Arctic and North Atlantic Archaeology.
Publication Date Jun 1, 2006
Deposit Date Dec 5, 2008
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Pages 335-345
Series Title PNM studies in archaeology & history
Series Number 10
Edition 1st
Book Title Dynamics of northern societies : proceedings of the SILA/NABO Conference on Arctic and North Atlantic Archaeology, Copenhagen, May 10th-14th, 2004
Keywords Settlement abandonment, Soil erosion, Norse, Iceland.
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1163357
Publisher URL http://www.unipress.dk/en-gb/List.aspx?l=c&id=10097

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