Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Saga, settlement and sediments at Helgafell, western Iceland

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Helgafell was an important farm in western Iceland in the medieval period. A sediment core was taken from Helgafellsvatn, its watershed encapsulated by the farm boundary. Using sedimentary and palynological data derived from the core, the aim of this study is to evaluate the palaeoecological record of Helgafell from Landnám (ca. ad 877) until ad 1300. In particular, to understand land use associated with the farm in relation to livestock, erosion and vegetation. Within a wider context, palaeoecological data from the pre-Landnám period are also considered, as is the foundation of a monastery at Helgafell in the late 12th century. The chronological framework is built upon tephrochronology, 14C and Pu dating. Prior to Landnám, Betula has a strong presence with further developments in the vegetation inferring a climate amelioration in the period ca. ad 500–900. This is followed by Landnám and the development of a pastoral landscape. There is also some evidence for the introduction of plants with utilitarian applications. The founding of Helgafellsklaustur does not result in a strong ecological or environmental signal. A particular feature of the palaeoecological record for Helgafell is the stability in environmental conditions despite the presence of livestock. A number of factors may be contributing to this phenomenon, including a distal location from windborne sources of minerogenic material, mild coastal temperatures, and the easing of grazing pressure via transhumance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aaby B, Berglund BE (1986) Characterisation of lake and peat deposits. In: Berglund BE (ed) Handbook of Holocene palaeoecology and palaeohydrology. Wiley, Chichester, pp 231–246

    Google Scholar 

  • Anamthawat-Jónsson K, Karlsdóttir L, Thórsson ÆT, Hallsdóttir M (2023) Microscopical palynology: birch woodland expansion and species hybridisation coincide with periods of climate warming during the Holocene epoch in Iceland. J Microsc 291:128–141. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmi.13175

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Andersen ST (1979) Identification of wild grass and cereal pollen. Danm Geol Unders Årbog 1978:69–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Aradóttir ÁL, Pétursdóttir T, Halldorsson G, Svavarsdóttir K, Arnalds Ó (2013) Drivers of ecological restoration: lessons from a century of restoration in Iceland. Ecol Soc 18:33. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-05946-180433

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnalds Ó (2004) Volcanic soils of Iceland. CATENA 56:3–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2003.10.002

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Arnalds Ó, Þorarinsdóttir EF, Metúsalemsson S, Jónsson Á, Grétarsson E, Árnason Á (2001) Soil erosion in Iceland. The Soil Conservation Service & the Agricultural Research Institute, Iceland

  • Arts GHP (2002) Deterioration of Atlantic soft water macrophyte communities by acidification, eutrophication and alkalinisation. Aquat Bot 73:373–393. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3770(02)00031-1

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bakels C (2020) Pollen and archaeology. In: Henry AG (ed) Handbook for the analysis of micro-particles in archaeological samples. Springer, Cham, pp 203–224

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Benediktsson J (1968) Íslendingabók, Landnámabók (Book of the Icelanders, Book of Settlements). Íslenzk fornrit 1. Hið Íslenzka Fornritafélag, Reykjavík

  • Björck S, Persson T, Kristersson I (1978) Comparison of two concentration methods for pollen in minerogenic sediments. Geol Fören Stockholm Förhandl 100:107–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/11035897809448568

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blaauw M, Christen JA (2011) Flexible paleoclimate age-depth models using an autoregressive gamma process. Bayesian Anal 6:457–474. https://doi.org/10.1214/11-BA618

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Bonny AP (1972) A method for determining absolute pollen frequencies in lake sediments. New Phytol 71:393–405. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.1972.tb04086.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brader MD, Lloyd JM, Bentley MJ, Newton AJ (2015) Lateglacial to Holocene relative sea-level changes in the Stykkishólmur area, northern Snæfellsnes, Iceland. J Quat Sci 30:497–507. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2795

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brady NC, Weil RR (1996) Elements of the nature and properties of soils. Pearson Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River

    Google Scholar 

  • Buckland PC, Edwards KJ, Blackford JJ, Dugmore AJ, Sadler JP, Sveinbjarnardóttir G (1995) A question of Landnám: pollen, charcoal and insect studies on Papey, eastern Iceland. In: Butlin RA, Roberts N (eds) Ecological relations in historical times: human impact and adaption. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 245–264

    Google Scholar 

  • Caseldine C (2001) Changes in Betula in the Holocene record from Iceland–a palaeoclimatic record or evidence for early Holocene hybridisation? Rev Palaeobot Palynol 117:139–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-6667(01)00082-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Church MJ, Dugmore AJ, Mairs KA, Millard AR, Cook GT, Sveinbjarnardóttir G, Ascough PA, Roucoux KH (2007) Charcoal production during the Norse and Early Medieval periods in Eyjafjallahreppur, southern Iceland. Radiocarbon 49:659–672. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200042557

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Collingwood WG, Stefánsson J (1899) A pilgrimage to the saga-steads of Iceland. Holmes, Ulverston

    Google Scholar 

  • Cugny C, Mazier F, Galop D (2010) Modern and fossil non-pollen palynomorphs from the Basque mountains (western Pyrenees, France): the use of coprophilous fungi to reconstruct pastoral activity. Veget Hist Archaeobot 19:391–408. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-010-0242-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dearing JA (1994) Environmental magnetic susceptibility: using the Bartington MS2 System. Chi Publishing, Kenilworth

    Google Scholar 

  • DI I-XVI (1857–1986) Diplomatarium Íslandicum: Íslenzkt fornbréfasafn (Collection of medieval Icelandic correspondence). Íslenzka Bókmenntafélagið, Kaupmannahöfn

  • Drechsler S (2021) Illuminated manuscript production in Medieval Iceland: literary and artistic activities of the monastery at Helgafell in the fourteenth century. Brepols, Turnhout

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dugmore AJ, Gísladóttir G, Simpson IA, Newton A (2009) Conceptual models of 1200 years of Icelandic soil erosion reconstructed using tephrochronology. J North Atlantic 2:1–18. https://doi.org/10.3721/037.002.0103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan B, Bey I (2004) A modeling study of the export pathways of pollution from Europe: seasonal and interannual variations (1987–1997). J Geophy Res Atmos 109:1–19. https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JD004079

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eddudóttir SD, Erlendsson E, Gísladóttir G (2015) Life on the periphery is tough: vegetation in northwest Iceland and its responses to early-Holocene warmth and later climate fluctuations. Holocene 25:1437–1453. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683615585839

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Eddudóttir SD, Erlendsson E, Tinganelli L, Gísladóttir G (2016) Climate change and human impact in a sensitive ecosystem: the Holocene environment of the northwest Icelandic highland margin. Boreas 45:715–728. https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards KJ, Erlendsson E, Schofield JE (2011) Is there a Norse ‘footprint’ in North Atlantic pollen records? In: Sigmundsson S (ed) Viking settlements and Viking society: papers from the proceedings of the sixteenth Viking Congress, Reykjavík and Reykholt, 16–23 August 2009. Hið Íslenzka Fornleifafélag & University of Iceland Press, Reykjavík, pp 65–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards KJ, Erlendsson E, Schofield JE (2021) Landnám and the North Atlantic flora. In: Panagiotakopulu E, Saler JP (eds) Biogeography in the Sub-Arctic: the past and future of North Atlantic biota. Wiley, Oxford, pp 185–214

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Einarsson Þ (1962) Vitnisburður frógreiningar um gróður, veðurfar og landnám á Íslandi (Pollen analysis and the vegetation, climate and settlement of Iceland). Saga 3:442–469

    Google Scholar 

  • Einarsson Þ (1963) Pollen-analytical studies on the vegetation and climate history of Iceland in late and post-glacial times. In: Löve Á, Löve D (eds) North Atlantic biota and their history. Pergamon, Oxford, pp 355–365

    Google Scholar 

  • Eiríksson J, Knudsen KL, Haflidason H, Heinemeier J (2000) Chronology of late Holocene climatic events in the northern North Atlantic based on AMS 14C dates and tephra markers from the volcano Hekla, Iceland. J Quat Sci 15:573–580. https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-1417(200009)15:6%3c573::AID-JQS554%3e3.0.CO;2-A

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erlendsson E (2007) Environmental change around the time of the Norse settlement of Iceland. PhD thesis (unpublished), University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen

  • Erlendsson E, Edwards KJ (2009) The timing and causes of the final pre-settlement expansion of Betula pubescens in Iceland. Holocene 19:1083–1091. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683609341001

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Erlendsson E, Edwards KJ, Vickers K, Sveinbjarnardóttir G, Gísladóttir G (2018) The palaeoecology and cultural landscapes associated with Reykholt. In: Sveinbjarnardóttir G, Þorláksson H (eds) Snorri Sturluson and Reykholt: the author and magnate, his life, works and environment at Reykholt in Iceland. Museum Tusculanum Press, Copenhagen, pp 161–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Feeser I, O’Connell M (2010) Late Holocene land-use and vegetation dynamics in an upland karst region based on pollen and coprophilous fungal spore analyses: an example from the Burren, western Ireland. Veget Hist Archaeobot 19:409–426. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-009-0235-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friðriksson A, Vésteinsson O (2003) Creating a past: a historiography of the settlement of Iceland. In: Barrett JH (ed) Contact, continuity, and collapse: the Norse colonization of the North Atlantic. Brepols, Belgium, pp 139–161

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gathorne-Hardy FJ, Erlendsson E, Langdon PG, Edwards KJ (2009) Lake sediment evidence for late Holocene climate change and landscape erosion in western Iceland. J Paleolimnol 42:413–426. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-008-9285-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gauthier E, Bichet V, Massa C, Petit C, Vannière B, Richard H (2010) Pollen and non-pollen palynomorph evidence of medieval farming activities in southwestern Greenland. Veget Hist Archaeobot 19:427–438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-010-0251-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gísladóttir G, Erlendsson E, Lal R, Bigham J (2010) Erosional effects on terrestrial resources over the last millennium in Reykjanes, southwest Iceland. Quat Res 73:20–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2009.09.007

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gísladóttir G, Erlendsson E, Lal R (2011) Soil evidence for historical human-induced land degradation in West Iceland. Appl Geochem 26:S28–S31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.03.021

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grimm EC (2011) Tilia v. 1.7.16. Illinois State Museum, Springfield

  • Grönvold K, Óskarsson N, Johnsen SJ, Clausen HB, Hammer CU, Bond G, Bard E (1995) Ash layers from Iceland in the Greenland GRIP ice core correlated with oceanic and land sediments. Earth Planet Sci Lett 135:149–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(95)00145-3

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Guðmundsson G (1996) Gathering and processing of lyme-grass (Elymus arenarius L.) in Iceland: an ethnohistorical account. Veget Hist Archaeobot 5:13–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00189431

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guinot P, Rogé A, Gargadennec A, Garcia M, Dupont D, Lecoeur E, Candelier L, Andary C (2006) Dyeing plants screening: an approach to combine past heritage and present development. Color Technol 122:93–101. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-4408.2006.00015.x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hättestrand M, Jensen C, Hallsdóttir M, Vorren K-D (2008) Modern pollen accumulation rates at the north-western fringe of the European boreal forest. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 151:90–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2008.03.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hallgrímsson H, Eyjólfsdóttir GG (2004) Íslenskt sveppatal I. smásveppir (Survey of Icelandic mushrooms I: small mushrooms). Fjölrit Náttúrufræðistofnunar 45. Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands, Reykjavík

  • Hallsdóttir M (1987) Pollen analytical studies of human influence on vegetation in relation to the Landnám tephra layer in southwest Iceland. PhD thesis (unpublished), University of Lund, Lund

  • Harrison R (2014) Connecting the land to the sea at Gásir: international exchange and long-term Eyjafjörður ecodynamics in Medieval Iceland. In: Harrison R, Maher RA (eds) Human ecodynamics in the North Atlantic: a collaborative model of humans and nature through space and time. Lexington Books, Maryland, pp 117–136

    Google Scholar 

  • Heiri O, Lotter AF, Lemcke G (2001) Loss on ignition as a method for estimating organic and carbonate content in sediments: reproducibility and comparability of results. J Paleolimnol 25:101–110. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008119611481

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hejcman M, Hejcmanová P, Pavlů V, Thorhallsdottir AG (2016) Forage quality of leaf fodder from the main woody species in Iceland and its potential use for livestock in the past and present. Grass Forage Sci 71:649–658. https://doi.org/10.1111/gfs.12224

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Helweg KK (2020) Gardening at medieval farmsteads: archaeobotanical indications of horticulture in Denmark and southern Sweden, AD 1000–1500. In: Vanhanen S, Lagerås P (eds) Archaeobotanical studies of past plant cultivation in northern Europe, vol 5. Barkhuis Publishing, Groningen, pp 119–130

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hiles W, Lawson IT, Roucoux KH, Streeter RT (2021) Late survival of woodland contrasts with rapid limnological changes following settlement at Kalmanstjörn, Mývatnssveit, northeast Iceland. Boreas 50:1209–1227. https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12529

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill MO, Gauch HG (1980) Detrended correspondence analysis: an improved ordination technique. In: van der Maarel E (ed) Classification and ordination: symposium on advances in vegetation science, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, May 1979. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 47–58

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hjelle KL (1997) Relationships between pollen and plants in human-influenced vegetation types using presence-absence data in western Norway. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 99:1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-6667(97)00041-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Icelandic Meteorological Service/Veðurstofa Íslands (2007) Monthly Averages, Reykjavík. https://www.vedur.is/vedur/vedurfar/medaltalstoflur/. Accessed 17 Feb 2023

  • Jakobsson S (2012) The territorialization of power in the Icelandic Commonwealth. In: Bagge S, Gelting MH, Hervik F, Lindkvist T, Poulsen B (eds) Statsutvikling i Skandinavia i middelalderen. Dreyers Forlag, Oslo, pp 101–118

    Google Scholar 

  • Jakobsson S (2013) From reciprocity to manorialism. On the peasant mode of production in Medieval Iceland. Scand J Hist 38:273–295. https://doi.org/10.1080/03468755.2013.803498

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jakobsson S (2017) Narrating history in Iceland: the works of Ari Þorgilsson. Ark Nord Filol 132:75–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Jakobsson S (2021) All the King’s men. The incorporation of Iceland into the Norwegian Realm. Scand J Hist 46:571–592. https://doi.org/10.1080/03468755.2021.1961856

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jóhannesson H, Sæmundsson K (1998) Geological map of Iceland (1:50,0000). Mál og Menning, Reykjavík

    Google Scholar 

  • Jóhannesson T (2010) Agriculture in Iceland: conditions and characteristics. Agricultural University of Iceland (Landbúnaðarháskóli Íslands), Hvanneyri

    Google Scholar 

  • Júlíusson ÁD (2010) Signs of power: manorial demesnes in Medieval Iceland. Viking Mediev Scand 6:1–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Júlíusson ÁD (2022) A tale of two valleys: settlement, land use and ownership in Medieval Iceland. National Museum of Iceland (Þjóðminjasafn) & University of Iceland (Háskóli Íslands), Reykjavík

  • Karlsdóttir L (2014) Hybridisation of Icelandic birch in the Holocene reflected in pollen. PhD thesis (unpublished), University of Iceland, Reykjavík

  • Karlsdóttir L, Thórsson ÆT, Hallsdóttir M, Sigurgeirsson A, Eysteinsson T, Anamthawat-Jónsson K (2007) Differentiating pollen of Betula species from Iceland. Grana 46:78–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/00173130701237832

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karlsson G (2000) Iceland’s 1100 years: the history of a marginal society. Hurst & Company, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Karlsson G (2019) The settlement of Iceland: a story from the ninth and tenth centuries. Mál og Menning, Reykjavík

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelley JM, Bond LA, Beasley TM (1999) Global distribution of Pu isotopes and 237Np. Sci Total Environ 237–238:483–500. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(99)00160-6

    Article  ADS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ketterer ME, Hafer KM, Jones VJ, Appleby PG (2004) Rapid dating of recent sediments in Loch Ness: inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric measurements of global fallout plutonium. Sci Total Environ 322:221–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2003.09.016

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ketterer ME, Watson BR, Matisoff G, Wilson CG (2002) Rapid dating of recent aquatic sediments using Pu activities and 240Pu/239Pu as determined by quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Environ Sci Technol 36:1307–1311. https://doi.org/10.1021/es010826g

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kristinsson H (1986) A guide to flowering plants and ferns of Iceland. Mál og Menning, Reykjavík

    Google Scholar 

  • Kristjánsdóttir GB, Stoner JS, Jennings AE, Andrews JT, Grönvold K (2007) Geochemistry of Holocene cryptotephras from the North Iceland Shelf (MD99-2269): intercalibration with radiocarbon and palaeomagnetic chronostratigraphies. Holocene 17:155–176. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683607075829

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Kristjánsdóttir S (2023) Monastic Iceland. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Langdon PG, Holmes N, Caseldine CJ (2008) Environmental controls on modern chironomid faunas from NW Iceland and implications for reconstructing climate change. J Paleolimnol 40:273–293. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-007-9157-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsen DJ, Miller GH, Geirsdóttir Á, Ólafsdóttir S (2012) Non-linear Holocene climate evolution in the North Atlantic: a high-resolution, multi-proxy record of glacier activity and environmental change from Hvítárvatn, central Iceland. Quat Sci Rev 39:14–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.02.006

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Larsen G, Dugmore A, Newton A (1999) Geochemistry of historical-age silicic tephras in Iceland. Holocene 9:463–471. https://doi.org/10.1191/095968399669624108

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Larsen G, Eiríksson J, Knudsen KL, Heinemeier J (2002) Correlation of late Holocene terrestrial and marine tephra markers, north Iceland: implications for reservoir age changes. Polar Res 21:283–290. https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v21i2.6489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawson IT, Gathorne-Hardy FJ, Church MJ et al (2006) Human impact on freshwater environments in Norse and early medieval Myvatnssveit Iceland. In: Arneborg J, Grønnow B (eds) Dynamics of northern societies: proceedings of the SILA/NABO Conference on Arctic and North Atlantic Archaeology, May 10th–14th, 2004. Aarhus University Press, Copenhagen, pp 375–382

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawson IT, Gathorne-Hardy FJ, Church MJ, Newton AJ, Edwards KJ, Dugmore AJ, Einarsson A (2007) Environmental impacts of the Norse settlement: palaeoenvironmental data from Myvatnssveit, northern Iceland. Boreas 36:1–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2007.tb01176.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee CM, van Geel B, Gosling WD (2022) On the use of spores of coprophilous fungi preserved in sediments to indicate past herbivore presence. Quaternary 5:1–23. https://doi.org/10.3390/quat5030030

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lind L, Eckstein RL, Relyea RA (2022) Direct and indirect effects of climate change on distribution and community composition of macrophytes in lentic systems. Biol Rev 97:1677–1690. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12858

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas G (2008) Pálstóftir: a Viking Age shieling in Iceland. Nor Archaeol Rev 41:85–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/00293650802069193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mäkelä EM (1996) Size distinctions between Betula pollen types—a review. Grana 35:248–256. https://doi.org/10.1080/00173139609430011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnússon Á, Vídalín P (1926) Jarðabók (Vol I-XIII) (Land Register of Iceland 1702–1714). Hin Íslensk Fræðafelagið í Kaupmannahöfn & Möller SL

    Google Scholar 

  • Mann ME (2002) Medieval Climatic Optimum. In: Munn T (ed) Encyclopedia of global environmental change, vol 1. Wiley, Chichester, pp 514–516

    Google Scholar 

  • Meara RH, Thordarson T, Pearce NJG, Hayward C, Larsen G (2020) A catalogue of major and trace element data for Icelandic Holocene silicic tephra layers. J Quat Sci 35:122–142. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Möckel SC, Erlendsson E, Gísladóttir G (2017) Holocene environmental change and development of the nutrient budget of histosols in North Iceland. Plant Soil 418:437–457. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3305-y

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mooney DE, Guðmundsdóttir L (2020) Barley cultivation in Viking Age Iceland in light of evidence from Lækjargata 10–12, Reykjavík. In: Vanhanen S, Lagerås P (eds) Archaeobotanical studies of past plant cultivation in northern Europe, vol 5. Barkhuis Publishing, Groningen, pp 5–19

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Moore PD, Webb JA, Collison ME (1991) Pollen analysis, 2nd edn. Blackwell, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Mørk O, Kragh T, Kristensen E, Sand-Jensen K (2018) Adaptation and growth performance of four endangered amphibious freshwater species. Aquatic Bot 150:16–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2018.06.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munsell Soil Color Charts (2009) Munsell Soil Color Charts. X-Rite, Grand Rapids

  • Nakagawa T, Brugiapaglia E, Digerfeldt G, Reille M, de Beaulieu J-L, Yasuda Y (1998) Dense-media separation as a more efficient pollen extraction method for use with organic sediment/deposit samples: comparison with the conventional method. Boreas 27:15–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1998.tb00864.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogilvie AEJ, Jónsson T (2001) “Little Ice Age” research: a perspective from Iceland. Clim Change 48:9–52. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005625729889

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oksanen J, Blanchet FG, Friendly M et al (2016) vegan: community ecology package. R Package Version 2:4–3

    Google Scholar 

  • Ólsen BM (1910) Um kornirkju á Íslandi að fornu (Cereal cultivation in Iceland). Búnaðaritt 24:81–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Ottósson JG, Sveinsdóttir A, Harðardóttir M (2016) Vistgerðir á Íslandi (National Vegetation Classification of Iceland). Icelandic Institute of Natural History, Garðabær. https://vistgerdakort.ni.is/. Accessed 17 Feb 2023

  • Pálsson V, Þorláksson H, Jakobsson S (2018) Reykholt as a centre of power. In: Sveinbjarnardóttir G, Þorláksson H (eds) Snorri Sturluson and Reykholt: the author and magnate, his life, works and environment at Reykholt in Iceland. Museum Tusculanum Press, Copenhagen, pp 109–160

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson WA III, Edwards KJ, Maguire DJ (1987) Microscopic charcoal as a fossil indicator of fire. Quat Sci Rev 6:3–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-3791(87)90012-6

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Reimer P, Austin W, Bard E et al (2020) The IntCal20 northern hemisphere radiocarbon age calibration curve (0–55 cal kBP). Radiocarbon 62:725–757. https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2020.41

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson MJ (2011) Additions to the coprophilous Mycota of Iceland. Acta Bot Isl 15:23–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Richter N, Russell JM, Garfinkel J, Huang Y (2021) Impacts of Norse settlement on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in southwest Iceland. J Paleolimnol 65:255–269. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-020-00169-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riddell S, Erlendsson E, Gísladóttir G, Edwards KJ, Byock J, Zori D (2018) Cereal cultivation as a correlate of high social status in Medieval Iceland. Veget Hist Archaeobot 27:679–696. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-017-0665-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riddell SJ, Erlendsson E, Eddudóttir SD, Gísladóttir G, Kristjánsdóttir S (2022a) The vegetation and land use histories of two farms in Iceland: settlement, monasticism, and tenancy. Veget Hist Archaeobot 31:395–414. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-021-00861-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riddell SJ, Erlendsson E, Eddudóttir SD, Gísladóttir G, Kristjánsdóttir S (2022b) Pollen, plague and protestants: the Medieval monastery of Þingeyrar (Þingeyraklaustur) in northern Iceland. Environ Archaeol 27:193–210. https://doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2018.1531191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riddell SJ, Kristjánsdóttir S, Gísladóttir G, Erlendsson E (2023) The potential of palynology with regard to the archaeology of Medieval monastery sites in Iceland. Religions 14:586. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14050586

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roelofs JGM, Schuurkes JAAR, Smits AJM (1984) Impact of acidification and eutrophication on macrophyte communities in soft waters. II. Experimental studies. Aquatic Bot 18:389–411. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3770(84)90059-7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rundgren M (1995) Biostratigraphic evidence of the Allerød-Younger Dryas-Preboreal oscillation in northern Iceland. Quat Res 44:405–416. https://doi.org/10.1006/qres.1995.1085

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rymer L (1973) Modern pollen rain studies in Iceland. New Phytol 72:1367–1373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmid MM, Zori D, Erlendsson E, Batt C, Damiata BN, Byock J (2018) A Bayesian approach to linking archaeological, paleoenvironmental and documentary datasets relating to the settlement of Iceland (Landnám). Holocene 28:19–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683617714597

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Schofield JE, Edwards KJ, McMullen JA (2007) Modern pollen-vegetation relationships in subarctic southern Greenland and the interpretation of fossil pollen data from the Norse landnám. J Biogeogr 34:473–488. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2006.01607.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sigurðsson JV (2017) The education of Sturla Þórðarson (and the Icelandic elite). In: Sigurðsson JV, Jakobsson S (eds) Sturla Þórðarson: Skald, Chieftain and Lawman. Brill, Leiden, pp 20–30

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Smiarowski K, Harrison R, Brewington S et al (2017) Zooarchaeology of the Scandinavian settlements in Iceland and Greenland: diverging pathways. In: Albarella U, Rizzetto M, Russ H, Vickers K, Viner-Daniels S (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Zooarchaeology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 147–163

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith KP (1995) Landnám: the settlement of Iceland in archaeological and historical perspective. World Archaeol 26:319–347. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.1995.9980280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith MH (2015) Weaving wealth: cloth and trade in Viking Age and Medieval Iceland. In: Ling Huang A, Jahnke C (eds) Textiles and the Medieval economy: production, trade and consumption of textiles, 8th–16th centuries. Oxbow Books, Oxford, pp 23–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Spierenburg P, Lucassen E, Lotter AF, Roelofs JGM (2009) Could rising aquatic carbon dioxide concentrations favour the invasion of elodeids in isoetid-dominated softwater lakes? Freshw Biol 54:1819–1831. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02229.x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stockmarr J (1971) Tablets with spores used in absolute pollen analysis. Pollen Spores 13:614–621

    Google Scholar 

  • Streeter R, Dugmore AJ, Lawson IT, Erlendsson E, Edwards KJ (2015) The onset of the palaeoanthropocene in Iceland: changes in complex natural systems. Holocene 25:1662–1675. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683615594468

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Sveinbjarnardóttir G, Dahle K, Erlendsson E, Gísladóttir G, Vickers K (2011) The Reykholt shieling project: some preliminary results. In: Sigmundsson S (ed) Viking settlements and Viking society: proceedings papers from the of the sixteenth Viking Congress, Reykjavík and Reykholt, 16–23 August 2009. Hið Íslenzka Fornleifafélag & University of Iceland Press, Reykjavík, pp 162–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Sveinsson E (1934) Laxdœla Saga (The Saga of the people of Laxárdalur). Hið Íslenzka Fornritafélag, Reykjavík

    Google Scholar 

  • Sveinsson E, Þórðarson M (1985) Eyrbyggja Saga (The Saga of the people of Eyri). Hið Íslenzka Fornritafélag, Reykjavík

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorarinsson S (1944) Tefrokronologiska studier på Island: Þjórsárdalur och dess förödelse. Geogr Ann 26:1–217

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorhallsson B (2021) Iceland’s shelter-seeking behavior. Cornell University Library, Ithaca

    Google Scholar 

  • Thórsson ÆT, Pálsson S, Sigurgeirsson A, Anamthawat-Jónsson K (2007) Morphological variation among Betula nana (diploid), B. pubescens (tetraploid) and their triploid hybrids in Iceland. Ann Bot 99:1183–1193. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcm060

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Tisdall E, Barclay R, Nichol A, McCulloch R, Simpson I, Smith H, Vésteinsson O (2018) Palaeoenvironmental evidence for woodland conservation in northern Iceland from settlement to the twentieth century. Environ Archaeol 23:205–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2018.1437105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Troels-Smith J (1955) Karakterisering af løse jordater (Characterization of unconsolidated sediments). Danm Geol Unders Årbog 3:39–73

    Google Scholar 

  • Tybirk K, Nilsson M-C, Michelsen A et al (2000) Nordic Empetrum dominated ecosystems: function and susceptibility to environmental changes. Ambio 29:90–97

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Van Geel B, Buurman J, Brinkkemper O, Schelvis J, Aptroot A, van Reenen G, Hakbijl T (2003) Environmental reconstruction of a Roman Period settlement site in Uitgeest (The Netherlands), with special reference to coprophilous fungi. J Archaeol Sci 30:873–883. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-4403(02)00265-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vésteinsson O (1996) The Christianisation of Iceland: priests, power and social change 1000–1300, PhD thesis (unpublished), University of London, London

  • Vésteinsson O (1998) Patterns of settlement in Iceland: a study in prehistory. Saga-Book 25:1–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Vésteinsson O (2004) Icelandic farmhouse excavations: field methods and site choices. Archaeol Islandica 3:71–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Vésteinsson O (2007) A divided society: peasants and aristocracy in Iceland. Viking Mediev Scand 3:117–139

  • Vésteinsson O, Simpson IA (2001) Fuel utilisation in pre-industrial Iceland. A micro-morphological and historical analysis. In: Guðmundsson G (ed) Current issues in Nordic archaeology. Proceedings of the 21st conference of Nordic archaeologists, September 6th–9th 2001, Akureyri Iceland. Félag Íslenskra Fornleifafræðinga (Society of Icelandic Archaeologists), Reykjavík, pp 181–187

    Google Scholar 

  • Vickers K, Erlendsson E, Church MJ, Edwards KJ, Bending J (2011) 1000 years of environmental change and human impact at Stóra-Mörk, southern Iceland: a multiproxy study of a dynamic and vulnerable landscape. Holocene 21:979–995. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683611400201

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Vuorela I (1973) Relative pollen rain around cultivated fields. Acta Botanica Fennica 102. Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica, Helsinki

    Google Scholar 

  • Wąsowicz P (2018) The first attempt to list the archaeophytes of Iceland. Acta Soc Bot Pol 87:3608. https://doi.org/10.5586/asbp.3608

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zielińska S, Jezierska-Domaradzka A, Wójciak-Kosior M, Sowa I, Junka A, Matkowski AM (2018) Greater celandine’s ups and downs – 21 centuries of medicinal uses of Chelidonium majus from the viewpoint of today’s pharmacology. Front Pharmacol 9:299. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2018.00299

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Zori D, Byock J, Erlendsson E, Martin S, Wake T, Edwards KJ (2013) Feasting in Viking Age Iceland: sustaining a chiefly political economy in a marginal environment. Antiquity 87:150–165. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00048687

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Hjörtur Helgasson of Helgafell for kindly allowing access to his land for the purposes of this study. We would also like to thank Benjamin Hennig (University of Iceland) for map production, Emily Lethbridge (Stofnun Árna Magnússonar) for supplying information on the place names of Helgafell, and Glóey Helgudóttir Finnsdóttir for helping with translating Icelandic text. Karl Benediktsson, Theresa Bonatotzky (both University of Iceland) and Einar Egilsson, are thanked for assistance during fieldwork.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Guðrún Gísladóttir: Deceased (1956–2023).

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, Sturlugata 7, 102, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Scott J. Riddell & Egill Erlendsson

  2. The Icelandic Agricultural Advisory Center, Höfðabakki 9, 110, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Sigrún D. Eddudóttir

  3. Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Sturlugata 7, 102, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Egill Erlendsson & Wesley R. Farnsworth

  4. Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Øster Volgarde 5–7, 1350, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Wesley R. Farnsworth

  5. Department of Archaeology, University of Iceland, Sæmundargata 12, 102, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Steinunn Kristjánsdóttir

Authors
  1. Scott J. Riddell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sigrún D. Eddudóttir
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Egill Erlendsson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Wesley R. Farnsworth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Guðrún Gísladóttir
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Steinunn Kristjánsdóttir
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Scott J. Riddell.

Additional information

Communicated by M. O'Connell.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 16 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Riddell, S.J., Eddudóttir, S.D., Erlendsson, E. et al. Saga, settlement and sediments at Helgafell, western Iceland. Veget Hist Archaeobot (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-024-00993-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-024-00993-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation