Mosfell Archaeological Project

01- The Mosfell Archaeological Project

The Mosfell Archaeological Project (MAP)	Professor Jesse Byock, Principal Investigator Cotsen Institute of Archaeology University of California Los Angeles www.vikingorse.com Davide Zori, PhD, Field Director Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies University of California Los Angeles
The Mosfell Archaeological Project is an international research project employing the tools of history, archaeology, anthropology, genetics, saga studies and environmental sciences to construct a comprehensive picture of human adaptation and environmental change in the Mosfell region of southwestern Iceland beginning in the Viking Age.
A view of the Mosfell Valley in Iceland.
“Viking Archaeology: The Mosfell Archaeological Project” May 6-7, 2011 A CMRS Ahmanson Conference at the University of California Los Angeles, sponsored by the UCLA Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies. The Viking experience in the North Atlantic differs significantly from the popular image of violent raids and destruction that characterized the Viking Age in Britain and France. In Iceland, Scandinavian seafarers discovered and settled a vast uninhabited land, where they adapted to their new environment and built an unusual society. This conference is organized by Professor Jesse Byock (MAP Director, Scandinavian Section and Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA) and Dr. Davide Zori (MAP Field Director, CMRS, UCLA) with the participation of the Zentrum für Baltische und Skandinavische Archäologie, Schloß Gottorf. It examines current research on the Viking Age in the North Atlantic, and focuses on the discoveries and excavations of the Mosfell Archaeological Project (MAP) in the Mosfell Valley of western Iceland. Directed by Professor Byock, MAP brings together scholars and researchers from Iceland, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and the United States working in the disciplines of archaeology, history, saga studies, anthropology, forensics, genetics, environmental science, and historical architecture. MAP’s goal is to understand how the Mosfell Valley developed from a ninth-century settlement of Norse seafarers into a powerful Icelandic chieftaincy of the Viking Age. See the complete conference schedule at http://www.cmrs.ucla.edu/programs/conference_viking_archaeology_may2011.html RESEARCH Viking Age Monuments and Sites VIDEO "The Saga of a Viking Longhouse" "Mosfell Archaeological Project: A Viking Landscape," a video about our research Icelandic TV News Report on Viking Longhouse Excavation MULTIMEDIA Archaeology in the Mosfell Valley, Mosfellsbær (click "Áfram") RESEARCH PAPERS The Mosfell Archaeological Project Mapping and Documenting a Viking Age Valley System Viking-age Valley in Iceland: The Mosfell Archaeological Project. Medieval Archaeology: Journal for the Society for Medieval Archaeology Diatoms as bioindicators of site use: locating turf structures from the Viking Age Nails, Rivets, and Clench Bolts: a Case for Typological Clarity Valdamiðstöð I Mosfellsdal Rannsóknir á fornleifum frd timum vikinga að Hrísbria og Mosfelli Metallurgical findings from a Viking Age chieftain’s farm in Iceland Egil Skallagrimssons gård og kirke på Island – fra utgravningene 2001–2005 A Viking Age farm, church, and cemetery at Hrísbrú, Mosfell Valley, Iceland Egil's Bones Scientific American Hauskúpan og beinin í Egils sögu The Skull and Bones in Egil's Saga PRESS Aldrei Fleiri Fornleifarannsoknir Davide Zori: A new view of the Viking Age Egil's Grave Morgunbladid Grave of Egil Skalla-Grímsson found? Stór gröfin bendir til Egilssögu Stórmerkur fornleifafundur Þúsund ára gömul kirkja grafin upp í Mosfellsdal Við Hrísbrú mættust heiðni og kristni
Ragnheiður Ríkharðsdóttir, the Bæjarstjóri (Mayor) of Mosfellsbær discussing the excavation with Patricia Lambert and Jesse Byock.
The Mosfell Archaeological Project is an international cooperative effort done in collaboration with Mosfellsbær (the Town of Mosfell) and Þjóðminjasafn Íslands (The National Museum of Iceland). We gratefully acknowledge the valuable logistical and financial support we have received from Our Universities The Icelandic Ministry of Science, Culture and Education The Icelandic Centre for Research - RANNIS The Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs The U.S. Embassy in Iceland The U.S. National Science Foundation Icelandair The Icelandic Aeronautical Institute Norvik Landsvirkjun and Mosfellsbær The Mosfell Archaeological Project is generously sponsored by Arcadia and administered by the University of California Los Angeles Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.
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