It is generally accepted that the rst settlers chose sites located along thecoasts (Smith 320; Vésteinsson 2000 165; 1998 7); however a recent collaborativestudy, includingOrriVésteinsson,hassuggestedthatsomeinlandsiteswerealsosettledearlierthanpreviouslysuspected(McGovern200745).Thewrittensourcestell us that the Vikings settled where their high-seat pillars came ashore,establishing large claims and distributing land to their own followers.
Palynological studies cited by both Kevin Smith in 1994 and Vésteinsson in 1998and 2000 have indicated that in the ninth century, lowland Iceland was coveredwithwoodlandsdominatedbybirchandconsiderableundergrowth(thishasbeenrecently questioned by Erlendsson et al.). Wetland regions along the coasts andrivers interrupted these expanses of forest. Dwarf birch and scrubby grassescharacterisedthehighlandareaofIceland,whichlikelywouldhavebeenaccessibleonly by means of the rivers. This meant that, on arrival, the coasts, estuariesandsome of the river valleys would have provided practical locations for quicksettlement.Thesewetlandareaswouldhaveofferednotonlyopenspaceforhouseconstruction,butalsowinterfodderfortheNorsemen’scattle(Vésteinsson19987-8). An example of this might be the farm at Dalur, in South Iceland. Recentstudies have suggested that the environment at the time the Norse arrived wasdominatedby wet meadows and grasslands, and would not have needed clearing(Mairs 370). The authors argue that the farm was successful, not only becausethere was no need to clear the land for farming, but also because the Norseexploited “a range of resources over a wide geographical area
‘buffering’ theenvironmental impacts” (Mairs 368).Recent geoarchaeological research in the south of Iceland has identiedregionswhichweresubjecttoperiodicglacialoutburstoods[jökulhlaups](SmithandDugmore).SmithandDugmoresuggestthatoodsca.700CEcreatedamosaiclandscape: those regions untouched by the ooding would have stable soils andlots of vegetation, while those that had been ooded would have thin soil layersand lighter plant growth (173). This would have resulted in fairly clear accessroutes from the coast into the interior and upper water-ways permittingsettlement inland in the early part of the
period (Smith and Dugmore173).InnorthernIceland,Mývatnssveit,mentionedabove,hascleararchaeologicalevidence of early
settlements, such as a farm at Sveigakot (Vésteinsson2001), and an iron-smelting site and farm at Hrísheimar (Edvardsson 2003) (seealso McGovern 2007 35). Although this region is considerably far inland, it isaccessiblefromthecoastbywaterways.McGovernetal.arguethatrecentresearchin Iceland, primarily conducted under the “Landscape of Settlement Project”
has made it necessary to reconsider the traditional account of the settlementprocess (2007 30). While the evidence clearly indicates that some inlandsettlements date to the early
period, it would be useful to consider howand why the settlements were established.
12 SCANDINAVIAN-CANADIAN STUDIES/ÉTUDES SCANDINAVES AU CANADA