mike church (durham university) ascough p.a., cook g.t., dugmore...
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Timing and mechanisms of deforestation during the Norse settlement period in Iceland
Mike Church (Durham University)
Ascough P.A., Cook G.T., Dugmore A.J., Edwards K.J., Einnarsson Á., Gathorne-Hardy, F.J., Lawson I.T., Mairs K.A., McGovern, T.H.,
Millard A.R., Newton, A. J., Streeter R., Roucoux K., Sveinbjarnardóttir G.
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Icelandic woodlands before settlement c. 27% of area
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An ecological disaster?Case study = deforestation in Iceland
• Icelandic woodlands now c. 1% of area• Over 40% of soil lost since landnám
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Birch
Grass
Cereals
Initial interpretations (e.g. Hallsdóttir 1996)
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North AtlanticOcean
Reykjavik
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K920E935 H1341
K1500
V871
Charcoal production pit
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Charcoal analysis• Reducing environment produces
superb preservation (fragments of burnt leaf!).
• Charcoal from all 25 pits was mostly birch with a little willow.
• Evidence for live pruning and seasonality through recovery of hundreds of buds = cut in May/June.
• Evidence for branch stripping, perhaps akin to coppicing… managing the resource.
• Dating the pits… opportunity to combine radiocarbon dating of charcoal with tephrochronology.
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From Church et al. 2007 in Radiocarbon
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Helluvaðstjörn map
Helluvaðstjörn
The first pollen sequence from Mývatnssveit (Lawson et al. 2007)
Surrounded by Viking-age archaeological sites
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1. Betula pubescens and Juniperus decline together to 1300 AD
2. Initial response is expansion of Cyperaceae
3. After AD 1300 heath/mire taxa, especially Empetrum, expand
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Modern ecology e.g. Roucoux et al. 2007
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Modern vegetation surveys
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Slow SAR means spotting charcoal pits much easier
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Atmospheric data from Reimer et al (2004);OxCal v3.10 Bronk Ramsey (2005); cub r:5 sd:12 prob usp[chron]
400CalAD 600CalAD 800CalAD 1000CalAD 1200CalAD 1400CalAD 1600CalAD
Calibrated date
HOSK N CP1 925±35BP
HOSK N CP16 970±35BP
HOSK N CP17L 965±35BP
HOSK N CP17S 945±35BP
HOSK N CP19 895±35BP
HOSK N CP2 990±35BP
HOSK N CP23 935±35BP
HOSK N CP3 820±35BP
HOSK N CP5 890±35BP
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2009 fieldwork:• Sampled 5 more charcoal pit clusters• Sampled 10 more lakes for pollen
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“The papers in this volume signify an increasing maturity to the archaeological literature in Iceland. I think it not too premature to claim that Icelandic archaeology is moving up a new level of sophistication, fostered in large part by the inter- disciplinary and international nature of its work.”
Gavin Lucas in the Editorial of Archaeologia Islandica 6 in 2006.