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

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.-A., McGovern, T., Newton, A., & Sveinbjarnardóttir, G. (2006, June). An over-optimistic pioneer fringe? Environmental perspectives on medieval settlement abandonment in Þórsmörk, south Iceland. Presented at Dynamics of Northern Societies - Proceedings of the SILA/NABO-conference on Arctic and North Atlantic Archaeology

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• 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: Apr 22, 2009
• 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