Midden Investigations at Holt, S Iceland, July 2003

During July 14th-17th the CUNY Northern Science & Education Center (NORSEC) collaborated with the National Museum of Iceland and the Leverhulme Trust Project “Lanscapes Circum Landnam” in the investigation of possible midden deposits around the farm of in S Iceland. The investigations were supervised by Dr. Guðrun Sveinbjarnardóttir for the National Museum of Iceland and by Drs. Sophia Perdikaris and Thomas McGovern of the City University of New York (CUNY) and Drs. Andrew Dugmore and Mike Church for the University of Edinburgh. The project was greatly aided by the work of the CUNY students participating in the 2003 Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program supported by a major grant (US National Science Foundation, Arctic Social Sciences Program) to Dr. Perdikaris. All artifacts, finds, photos and site records are archived at the Icelandic National Museum, and a CD with a full digital archive accompanies this report. The objectives of the 2003 investigations were to: 1. Relocate geological sections taken along drainage ditches near the farm of Holt first excavated in 1980 by teams led by Dr. Paul Buckland. 2. Determine relationship of possible midden materials lo in 1980’s to the farm site nearby. 3. Locate midden deposits with intact stratification and conditions of organic preservation. 4. Sample midden deposits for artifacts, animal bone, wood, and soil micromorphology. 5. Train students in stratigraphic excavation and recording of complex midden deposits.7月14日至17日期间，纽约城市大学（City University of New York, 缩写CUNY）北部科学与教育中心（NORSEC）与冰岛国家博物馆、利弗休姆信托基金"兰德纳姆周边景观（Landscapes Circum Landnam）"项目合作，针对冰岛南部霍尔特农场周边的疑似贝冢堆积开展调查。本次调查由冰岛国家博物馆的居德伦·斯韦恩比约纳多蒂尔（Guðrun Sveinbjarnardóttir）博士，纽约城市大学的索菲亚·佩迪卡里斯（Sophia Perdikaris）博士、托马斯·麦戈文（Thomas McGovern）博士，以及爱丁堡大学的安德鲁·达格莫尔（Andrew Dugmore）博士与迈克·丘奇（Mike Church）博士共同督导。该项目得到了参与2003年本科生研究体验计划（Research Experience for Undergraduates, 缩写REU）的纽约城市大学学生的大力协助，该计划由佩迪卡里斯博士获得的美国国家科学基金会北极社会科学项目大额资助支持。所有人工制品、出土遗物、影像资料及遗址记录均存档于冰岛国家博物馆，本报告附带一张包含完整数字档案的光盘。 2003年本次调查的目标如下： 1. 重新定位1980年由保罗·巴克兰（Paul Buckland）博士团队首次发掘的、霍尔特农场附近排水沟沿线的地质剖面； 2. 明确1980年代发现的疑似贝冢堆积与附近农场遗址的关联关系； 3. 寻获保存有完整层理结构与有机保存条件的贝冢堆积； 4. 对贝冢堆积进行采样，以获取人工制品、动物骨骼、木材及土壤微形态样本； 5. 培训学生掌握复杂贝冢堆积的地层发掘与记录方法。