Excavation at the site of Skuggi, in Hörgárdalur, Iceland in 2009 revealed that our midden was lying within a small structure.
Work was resumed at Skuggi in June, 2013. A team of archaeologists from the CUNY Graduate Center, led by Ramona Harrison and Howell Roberts (FSI), participated.
We opened up a much larger trench around the one first dug four years earlier. 6x6m compared to 3x4m.
Our goal this season was to completely expose the structure and determine its age and function, as well as collect more material from the midden deposits.
Near seasons end we had three walls fully exposed, and not enough time to extend any further. Enough was revealed to show a small dwelling, likely dating to the 9th or 10th century, as it was completely sealed by an 1104 tephra layer.
The 2013 Skuggi trench in its final phase. A small cutout and test trench on the far side revealed the fourth wall of the structure.
Skuggi as seen from across the valley. The location is conspicuously high up the hill and sitting below a nearly vertical rocky slope.
A test trench dug into the large mound uphill from our current excavation revealed a dense layer of gravel overlying midden deposits. It appears that a landslide covered this location during its occupation, before 1104.
