Books and journals

Publisher: Eagle Hill Publications

Norse Greenland. Selected papers from the Hvalsey conference 2008. Journal of the North Atlantic. Special Volume 2. Editors: Jette Arneborg, Georg Nyegaard, Orri Vésteinsson.

Publisher: Eagle Hill Publications

Norse Greenland. Selected papers from the Hvalsey conference 2008. Journal of the North Atlantic. Special Volume 2. Editors: Jette Arneborg, Georg Nyegaard, Orri Vésteinsson.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland

Skálholt: Excavations of a Bishop’s Residence and School c.1650–1790.

Volume 3: The Ecofacts and Synthesis

Skálholt is one of the most important historic sites in Iceland. It was the seat of Iceland’s first bishop and for centuries a centre of ecclesiastical administration, culture and governance. This is the third and final volume presenting the results of the extensive archaeological investigations carried out at Skálholt, where excavations took place between 2002 and 2007.

This volume presents detailed studies of the ecofacts recovered during the excavations, including plant remains, insects, animal bones and fish bones. Analysis of this material sheds light on diet, farming, the local environment and the everyday lives of the people who lived and worked at Skálholt.

The volume also brings together the main results of the project, drawing on the findings presented across all three volumes. It considers different aspects of life at Skálholt as part of a broader picture and places the site within its wider social and historical context.

Together, the Skálholt volumes provide a unique insight into the life and material culture of this important episcopal centre and the community that lived there, particularly during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The book is in English with an Icelandic summary.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland 2024

Skálholt: Excavations of a Bishop’s Residence and School c.1650-1790.

Volume 2: The Artefacts

Skálholt is one of the most important historic places in Iceland; the seat of the first Bishop and an ecclesiastical, cultural and political centre for more than 800 years, it has occupied a pivotal role in Iceland’s history. This is the second volume of three reporting on the results of archaeological excavations that took place on the site between 2002 and 2007. In this volume attention is devoted to the study of artefacts found at the site. It includes detailed descriptions and discussions of the rich material culture associated with the Bishop´s seat and later farmstead in Skálholt. The third volume will present the rich faunal and botanical assemblages from the site. Together, they offer unique insight into the material lifestyle and living conditions of the upper stratum of Icelandic society during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The book is in English with an Icelandic summary.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland

Skálholt:Excavations of a Bishop’s Residence and School c.1650-1790.

Volume 1: The Site.

Skálholt is one of the most important historic places in Iceland; the seat of the first Bishop and an ecclesiastical, cultural and political centre for more than 800 years, it has occupied a pivotal role in Iceland’s history. This is the first volume of three reporting on the results of archaeological excavations that took place on the site between 2002 and 2007, focusing on the development of buildings in the core settlement between c. 1650 and 1790 as well as its subsequent change into an ordinary farm in the 19th and early 20th century. Included are detailed investigations of the Bishop’s residence, a school and various service buildings which housed a population of around a hundred people in the last century and a half of this episcopal seat. In this volume attention is devoted to the various structures and architectural development of the site; later volumes will present the rich artefactual, faunal and botanical assemblages that were associated with these buildings. Together, they offer unique insight into the material lifestyle and living conditions of the upper stratum of Icelandic society during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The book is in English with an Icelandic summary.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland

Mjöll Snæsdóttir is an archaeologist and one of the founders of the Institute of Archaeology, Iceland. On the occasion of her 70th birthday on February 12th 2020, her friends and co-workers published a collection of articles in her honour. The book presents a variety of articles on various cultural and historical issues. Many of these connect to Mjöll’s work, bearing witness to her long and successful career. All the articles are in Icelandic.

Publisher: Háskóli Íslands (2014)

Osteoarthritis in Iceland

Author: Hildur Gestsdóttir

Abstract

Osteoarthritis has been intensively studied within the field of palaeopathology. For decades there was assumed to be a direct link between activity and the development of osteoarthritis, and this was reflected in the work which was carried out, with often very specific interpretations of occupation and activity on the basis of the diagnosis of osteoarthritis. By the 1990s it began to be more accepted within the field that the aetiology of osteoarthritis is far too multifactorial to allow for such simplistic conclusions to be drawn. This has resulted in a great reduction in the interest in the study of osteoarthritis within palaeopathology in the past few decades, as the condition appears to have somewhat lost its place within the archaeological discussion. Within the medical community, the focus has shifted in the past three decades to the genetic aetiopathogenesis of osteoarthritis. There has been a great deal of work in this field in Iceland, where the genetic link to hip, hand, and to a lesser extent knee osteoarthritis has been demonstrated, with the identification of several osteoarthritis families within the population.

The main aim of this thesis is to reclaim the study of osteoarthritis within palaeo¬pathology using the analysis of the condition within five Icelandic skeletal populations, kuml, Skeljastaðir, Hofstaðir, Haffjarðarey and Reykjavík, which span the occupation of Iceland, from the earliest settlement in the late 9th century to the 19th century. The approach to this is twofold. First of all, to avoid focusing on just one aetiological aspect of osteoarthritis, but rather to embrace its multifactorial nature, and consider multiple aetiological agents of the condition. These are in particular genetics, activity, anatomy, age and sex. The aim is then to place the results of the analysis within the social and physical environments of the populations under study, and so attempt to find osteoarthritis a place within the osteoarchaeological discussion again. Secondly, the aim is to consider a more theoretical approach to the study of palaeopathology in general, and osteoarthritis in particular. To this end the question is raised whether it is possible to consider disease in archaeology from factors external to the aetiology of the disease, but rather from the lived experience of those who suffer from it. Considering the degenerative effects of osteoarthritis, the focus is placed on how it is possible to discuss issues such as disability, ageing and quality of life within palaeopathological research.

The conclusions drawn from this thesis demonstrates that by avoiding focusing on one feature of osteoarthritis but rather take into account its complex nature, it is possible to offer a varied discussion on osteoarthritis in archaeological material. The identification of a genetic osteoarthritis opens up a discussion on the family in archaeology and the use of the medieval cemetery in Iceland; the variation between sites in terms of activity related osteoarthritis demonstrates changes both geographically and through time in the intensity of the activities being carried out, while thinking about age in terms of osteoarthritis opens up new avenues for exploring age and ageing within archaeological populations.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland

In 2011 the Institute of Archaeology published a collection of 21 articles on various themes in Icelandic archaeology written by archaeologists working for and associated with the Institute. The articles are written in Icelandic with an English summary.

Author: Gavin Lucas

First excavated in 1908 by Daniel Bruun, the site of Hofstaðir in north-eastern Iceland swiftly became renowned as a classic example of a Viking Age pagan temple. Throughout the twentieth century, the site was subject to various re-interpretations as theories about pagan rituals and knowledge of the Viking Age developed. At the end of the century, new excavations were initiated by the Institute of Archaeology in Reykjavík with the aim of re-assessing the site in light of these developments. Between 1992 and 2002, the entire site was re-opened and fully excavated in collaboration with an international team of archaeologists, the results of which are presented in this volume.

The book is in English with an Icelandic summary.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Archaeologia islandica is a venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland.

Archaeologia Islandica, the journal of the Institue of Archaeology, was first published in 1998 and has since been published irregularly every 1-4 years. Archaeologia Islandica is the first and only venue specially dedicated to aspects of Icelandic archaeology and provides a forum for the wider dissemination of such work to the international community. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of archaeology (landscape studies, archaeozoology, material culture, etc.) relating to Iceland from the 9th century colonisation of the island by Vikings to 19th century emigration of Icelanders to Canada – and beyond.

Publisher: The Institute of Archaeology, Iceland 2024

Special offer: Volume 1: The Site, Volume 2: The Artefacts & Volume 3: The Ecofacts and Synthesis

All three volumes on the archaeological excavations at Skálholt are available at a special price when purchased together. Volume 1 focuses on the buildings and the architectural development of the site, Volume 2 presents and discusses the rich assemblage of artefacts recovered during the excavations, and Volume 3 examines animal bones, plant remains and other environmental evidence that sheds light on diet, farming and the environment at Skálholt. It also brings together the main results and conclusions of the research. Together, the three volumes provide a comprehensive picture of Skálholt in the 17th and 18th centuries, including its buildings, material culture, daily life and environment.

The books are in English with summaries in Icelandic.

Subscription of Archaeologia islandica, journal of the Institue of Archaeology, published from 1998. The scope of the journal covers any aspect of Icelandic archaeology. The journal is in english.