Column: Hamar Þórs in Iceland – Interview with Ragnheiður Gló Gylfadóttir
Pagan perspective
A farm from the Viking Age was found earlier this month by a local in Þjórsárdalur in the southern highlands of Iceland.
Bergur Þór Björnsson is the grandson of the man who discovered the district’s newest Viking town in 1920. With his new discovery, the total number of known towns stands at twenty-one.
Archaeologists from Archaeological Institute of Iceland (“Archaeological Institute of Iceland”) was called to the scene and soon found some small items. Among them was a Hamar Þórs Amulet, only the other that has been found in Iceland. Adolf FriðrikssonThe director of the Institute, told me that a search of the sources so far indicates that this is the first Mjölnir pendant made of stone that has been found anywhere.
I talked to Ragnheiður Gló Gylfadóttiran archaeologist from the Icelandic Archaeological Institute who researched the meeting, the site, the discovery and newfound objects.
Villiveiðin: What effect did the explosion in Hekla in 1104 have on farms in Þjórsárdalur?
Ragnheiður Gló Gylfadóttir: This is not an easy answer. The valley was not all deserted at the same time.
Tephra[1] a layer from 1104 has probably covered the valley, but there is evidence of settlement in the valley until the twelfth century. One of the farms, for example, fell out of use in the late sixteenth century and two farms are still in use.
TWH: Have any other towns in this area been excavated?
RGG: This desert valley has occupied a large place in Icelandic archeology for almost a century and a half. It is often called “Pompeii Íslands”. Fifteen to twenty sites and towns in the Viking Age are known in the valley, and the first excavation took place there in the late nineties.
In 1939, a group of Nordic archaeologists came to Iceland to study the Viking Age and medieval buildings as the key to understanding the development of Nordic architecture. Then six farms were dug up in Þjórsárdalur, Stöng the most famous.
Since then, there has been a lively – and sometimes fierce – debate over the timing of the dollar’s abandonment. Several “subsequent” excavations have been carried out, the most recent in the years 2000-2001.
A total of about 2,000 artefacts have been found from the farms, mostly from the ninth to twelfth centuries.
TWH: Has the State Forestry’s soil reclamation and forestry projects in the area influenced archaeological discovery and excavation?
RGG: Yes, they have. Some parts of the valley are now covered with forest and some places have “disappeared” because of it.
TWH: How did Bergur Þór Björnsson discover the town of Bergstaðir?
RGG: He was born and raised on a farm in Þjórsárdalur, one of the two inhabited in the valley. He felt that there was a “gap” in the spread of Viking towns and decided to try to find evidence of living there.
TWH: What is the protocol for research and collection when you receive information about a new meeting like this from Berg?
RGG: The The Cultural Heritage Institute of Iceland should inform about archeological sites, encounters or artefacts as soon as possible. If any artefacts are found, they should be returned National Museum of Iceland.
The Archaeological Institute, where I work, has no role when people find new objects or archeological remains in Iceland. The institute is privately owned and we do both research and retail work.
We were working in Þjórsárdalur with the municipality when Berg was interviewed and he informed us about the site. The project consisted of measuring and surveying all known archeological remains in the municipality, also outside Þjórsárdalur.
Of course we followed the law and reported the farm and the meeting to the Cultural Heritage Institute. The meeting goes to the National Museum.
The whole meeting was measured on site with a total station[2]and the middle[3] also. We hope to do more research in the area later. No excavations have been made there yet.
TWH: What residential and work structures were visible on site?
RGG: The site is weathered and no structures visible on the surface. We found the middle. A large part has probably disappeared. There are also indications of forge. There is slag on the surface.
TWH: Icelandic Magazine reports that “[w]when archaeologists arrived on the scene, they could immediately see that Bergur was right: The foundation of a longhouse from the Viking Age was clearly visible in the ground, as well as various other remains “(sic). Can you explain what you saw on the page?
RGG: There were no structures, only a few stones and large and slag where the workshop was probably.
TWH: Can you explain what items have been found so far?
RGG: The objects were found in the middle and the workshop, lying on the surface. We found Þórshamar protection artifacts, whetstones, part of a soapstone pot and iron buckles. I can not explain why these things were there at this time.
TWH: In the picture I’ve seen, it seems that Þór’s hammer protection grip has runes carved into it. Do you think they are?
RGG: These are not runes, or so we believe at this time. The amulet is made of sandstone and scratches easily. It has been lying in the ground for about 1100 years, among sharp pumice stones from the Hekla eruptions.
TWH: Does Þórshamarinn have a hole in the shaft to string as a protection?
RGG: No, the hole or shaft is broken and it is missing in the amulet.
TWH: If the town was abandoned in 1104 and Þórshamarinn was found in surface soil, do you think that at this stage of the research this object was in use a century after the official conversion to Christianity in Iceland?
RGG: We do not know when the town was deserted. Tephra from different eruptions is on the surface and no excavations have been made. The town, like large parts of Þjórsárdalur, is weathered and the soil moves easily.
TWH: What happens to things now?
RGG: Visit to the National Museum of Iceland, National Museum of Iceland.
TWH: What are the agency’s plans for further excavations?
RGG: We hope to dig up the site and do further research there. The place is very interesting and nothing else is known in Þjórsárdalur.
[1] Fragments of dust and rocks drifted into the air due to the eruption.
[2] Electronic equipment that simultaneously measures the horizontal and vertical position of an object.
[3] Dump.
Thanks to Ragnheiður Gló Gylfadóttir for being so generous with her time and Adolf Friðriksson, director of the Icelandic Archaeological Institute, for good help and permission to use public photographs of the objects.