Charcoal Production During the Norse and Early Medieval Periods in Eyjafjallahreppur, Southern Iceland

Abstract

Citation for published item:ghurhD wF tF nd hugmoreD eF tF nd wirsD uEeF nd willrdD eF nd gookD qF F nd veinjrnrd¡ ottirD qF nd esoughD F eF nd xewtonD eF tF nd ououxD uF @PHHUA 9ghrol prodution during the xorse nd erly medievl periods in iyjfjllhreppurD outhern selndF9D dioronFD RW @PAF ppF TSWETUPF Further information on publisher's website: Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. ABSTRACT. Timber procurement and the use of woodlands are key issues in understanding the open landscapes of the Norse and Medieval periods in the North Atlantic islands. This paper outlines evidence for the timing and mechanisms of woodland use and deforestation in an area of southern Iceland, which is tracked through the mapping and analysis of charcoal production pits. Precise dating of the use of these charcoal production pits within a Bayesian framework is demonstrated through the combination of tephrochronology, sediment accumulation rates, and multiple radiocarbon dates on the archaeological charcoal. Two phases of charcoal production and woodland exploitation have been demonstrated, the first within the first 2 centuries of settlement (cal AD 870-1050) and the second phase over 100 yr later (cal AD 1185-1295). The implications for using charcoal as a medium for 14 C dating in Iceland and the wider North Atlantic are then explored. Archaeobotanical analysis of the charcoal sampled from the pits has indicated that birch roundwood was the dominant wood used, that the roundwood was stripped from larger shrubs/trees in late spring/early summer, and that certain sizes and ages of roundwood were harvested. Finally, the timing of the charcoal production is placed into the wider debate on deforestation across Iceland during the Norse and early Medieval periods.

Impact of small-scale vegetation structure on tephra layer preservation

“…In Iceland forest clearance proceeded swiftly after the late Ninth Century Norse introduction of grazing mammals and a pastoral subsistence system2526. Clearance developed over several centuries27 as cleared zones extended from settlement sites. The detailed spatial patterns of this change are currently unknown, but could be mapped using thickness variations of the Katla (c. 920 CE) and Eldgja (c. 938 CE) tephra deposits, which cover extensive areas of southern Iceland in layers 1–10 cm thick.…”

Late-Holocene land surface change in a coupled social–ecological system, southern Iceland: a cross-scale tephrochronology approach

“…Evidence from the wider landscape shows that the change from a purely ecological system to a SES took place over several centuries, as shown by the centuries scale decline in woodland cover Church et al, 2007). This switch between dominant ecological processes to combined social-ecological processes was time transgresive.…”

Assessment of oxygen plasma ashing as a pre-treatment for radiocarbon dating

“…These samples include charcoal produced from birch wood in Iceland (REU and HOSK) in Norse M.I. Bird et al -plasma ashing pre-treatment for radiocarbon dating 6 charcoal production pits during the first millennium AD (Church et al, 2007). A further two natural charcoal samples, AZ and 73614, were obtained from lahar deposits (AZ), in the northwest of Faial Island, Azores (F. Tempera, pers comm.…”