Archeologists are due to start digging in Tjarnargata in the centre of Reykjavík in so called Althingisreitur or Althingi’s spot right by Iceland’s parliament, Althingi.
“We have discovered many interesting remains there. It could be possible remains from the settlement age or the Middle Ages, periods we have never found many remains from.” Gardar Gudmunsson an archeologist at the Icelandic Institution of Archeology told visir.is
Remains from the first settlement of Reykjavík have already been found around Althingisreitur, places such as the long house ruins (Landnámsskálinn) in Adalstaeti, a hall from the Settlement Age which was inhabited from 930-1000 and was excavated in 2001.
Around 20 to 30 people are going to work on the dig which is likely to take two years.
Read the rest of this article...
Monday, 16 June 2008
Saturday, 7 June 2008
A Kings Manor Found in Greenland?
A new interpretation of Grænlandslýsing ,a script by Ívar Bárdarson, suggests that Hvalseyrarbær an old structure from the middle ages situated in Qaqortoq in Greenland is in fact the old Þjóðhildarstadir. Þjóðhildarstadir was the Norwegian king’s manor in Greenland in the Middle Ages.
Belief has it that Þjóðhildarstadir were in Kambstadafjördur in Greenland, but no archeological facts have been found to support that theory. Mbl.is reports
The new interpretation comes from Jóhannes Bjarni Sigtryggsson, a grammarian at the Árni Magnússon Institute of Icelandic Studies. He received a request about how to understand certain text fragments from Grænlandslýsing that describe the lost manor. He could not understand the text in any other way than Þjóðhildarstadir were to be found in Hvalseyrarfjördur fjord.. “It is not impossible that the text fragment describe Kambstadarfjördur fjord, but that is the normal reading of the text” Sigtryggsson told Morgunbladid.
Read the rest of this article...
Belief has it that Þjóðhildarstadir were in Kambstadafjördur in Greenland, but no archeological facts have been found to support that theory. Mbl.is reports
The new interpretation comes from Jóhannes Bjarni Sigtryggsson, a grammarian at the Árni Magnússon Institute of Icelandic Studies. He received a request about how to understand certain text fragments from Grænlandslýsing that describe the lost manor. He could not understand the text in any other way than Þjóðhildarstadir were to be found in Hvalseyrarfjördur fjord.. “It is not impossible that the text fragment describe Kambstadarfjördur fjord, but that is the normal reading of the text” Sigtryggsson told Morgunbladid.
Read the rest of this article...
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Home sweet home for the Viking settlers
A BOOK by a Castletown author providing the first detailed view of Viking settlements in the Island will be published on July 1.
It is written by a leading specialist in the study of Viking archaeology, Sir David Wilson — who was director of the British Museum between 1977 and 1992.
It is thanks to his parents' decision to move to the Island more than 60 years ago that he developed an interest in Viking Age archaeology.
The Vikings in the Isle of Man focuses on the Island between the end of the 9th Century and the middle of the 11th Century and looks at the 'wealth of its archaeological remains, its remarkable series of sculptured memorial stones, its place names, and even its present day literature' which are seen by historians as a 'useful microcosm of a settlement in the West'.
Read the rest of this article...
It is written by a leading specialist in the study of Viking archaeology, Sir David Wilson — who was director of the British Museum between 1977 and 1992.
It is thanks to his parents' decision to move to the Island more than 60 years ago that he developed an interest in Viking Age archaeology.
The Vikings in the Isle of Man focuses on the Island between the end of the 9th Century and the middle of the 11th Century and looks at the 'wealth of its archaeological remains, its remarkable series of sculptured memorial stones, its place names, and even its present day literature' which are seen by historians as a 'useful microcosm of a settlement in the West'.
Read the rest of this article...
Monday, 2 June 2008
The Sea Stallion is back in its element!
In a well-oiled operation last night, the Sea Stallion was returned to the harbour in Dublin. The ship must now be got ready for the long journey home.
Via a total of five lifts from enormous cranes and giant trucks, the ship was hoisted out of Collins Barracks’ huge yard, over the electric railway and a large memorial, and driven all the way through Dublin’s streets to be put quietly and without fuss back in the Liffey.
This was an operation that really called up boyhood feelings and dreams of toys worth millions! Giant cranes towered up to face each other like prehistoric monsters. Slowly they turned around their axes and lifted the ship quietly and carefully with almost loving devotion.
Read the rest of the latest Newsletter...
Via a total of five lifts from enormous cranes and giant trucks, the ship was hoisted out of Collins Barracks’ huge yard, over the electric railway and a large memorial, and driven all the way through Dublin’s streets to be put quietly and without fuss back in the Liffey.
This was an operation that really called up boyhood feelings and dreams of toys worth millions! Giant cranes towered up to face each other like prehistoric monsters. Slowly they turned around their axes and lifted the ship quietly and carefully with almost loving devotion.
Read the rest of the latest Newsletter...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)