A team of scientists from Jacksonville State University soon will embark on an archeological research trip to Iceland in hopes of uncovering the mysterious lives of ancient Viking settlers, according to a press release.
Beginning June 27 and lasting until July 27, Dr. Kathryn Catlin, an assistant professor of anthropology, will lead two JSU undergraduates, a graduate assistant and a few professional colleagues in excavating small Norse farms settled in the ninth century, the release said.
The project is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation awarded to Catlin in 2020, according to the release.
For the past decade, the release said, Catlin has been investigating small dwellings located on the periphery of larger, more permanent farmsteads, trying to understand how early settlers lived and how their relationship to the environment changed over time.
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She was quick to note, however, that these are not the Vikings of legend, lore and television.
“I always hesitate to use that word, Viking, which to a lot of people means going out raiding and pillaging,” Catlin said in the release. “The people whose lives we’re excavating weren’t really doing that. These are farmers or fishermen — ordinary people who likely never left Iceland once they got there. I’ve trained myself to say Norseman, or Icelanders, rather than Vikings.”
It long was assumed that these farmers and their households were living in one of the larger centralized farmsteads, but evidence Catlin and her colleagues has discovered dating back to 870 CE indicates otherwise, according to the release.
“We know people were on Iceland, coming to these teeny tiny places that are currently around the edges of these larger farms,” she said. “The farms are still there, using modern technology, but these little places on the edges stopped being inhabited around the first two centuries of its settlement.”
Catlin’s team will be seeking archeological evidence of the role settlers played in the colonization of Iceland. Were these dwellings independent or associated with nearby farms? Could this be where their servants spent some of the year?
The research could reveal how lower-income settlers lived and lead to a deeper understanding of the social hierarchy.
“We have an opportunity to learn a great deal about how these people lived,” Catlin said.
During previous trips, Catlin excavated 1- and 2-meter square units in what essentially were ancient trash piles, discovering a few artifacts along with ash sweepings from hearths.
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Charred ancient seeds from the hearths were sent off for radio-carbon dating, confirming they were from early settlements.
“What we don’t know is who they were and what they were doing there,” Catlin said. “We just know they were there.”
For those who make the journey, there certainly will be an adjustment when it comes to spending a month in Iceland. But since they’re going in the summer, the weather won’t be an issue.
“I’m planning to tell the students to dress for working outside in an Alabama winter,” Catlin said. “It’s not exactly shorts and flip-flops weather — mostly they’ll dress in layers. It can get up to 70 degrees, and it does rain a lot, but it’s not unpleasant. It’s milder than most expect.
“However, students will be experiencing 24 hours of daylight, so that will be an adjustment,” she added.
J.J. Hicks is a news reporter at The Gadsden Times. He can be reached at jhicks1@gannett.com.
