Alex Tyas
Sigrún Hannesdóttir
In the research project “Millennium by the Atlantic Ocean” the scope is from a More-than-human and Rubber boots theoretical view of how humans and non-humans co-existed for a millennium in the seafaring town of Seydisfjordur, East-Iceland. The millennium of history (900-1900 AD) at one farm, Skálanes, and in comparison, 300 years (900-1100 AD) at the longhouse of Fjordur, will give insight into the living conditions and utilization of resources before and after the settlement and through the period of a millennium. Analyzis of 16s rRNA bacteria, targeted PCR of plants and animals from sedaDNA, are the research material, as well as historical evidence of living conditions, vegetation, landslides, weather conditions and utilization of resources.
Rannveig works with a research team at Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana. Rannveig’s main supervisor is Dr. Steinunn Kristjánsdóttir. Dr. Egill Erlendsson and Dr. Emmett Smith are also in the PhD supervising board.
Rannveig’s research has received funding from the University of Iceland Research Centre in East Iceland and PhD funding [nr. 2410163-051] from the Icelandic Centre for Research (Rannís) in 2024-2025. A SIE 2021 Scholarship grant was received by Thorhallsdottir from Soroptimists in 2021, and travel grants from Hagþenkir in 2023, HÍ in 2024 and the Letterstedska fund in 2025.
Haraldur Þór Hammer Haraldsson
Luna Polinelli
All you can eat – Evaluating past diet In Iceland with Lipid analysis
Dietary habits in Iceland in the past have generally been investigated archaeologically through plant remains, zooarchaeological methods, studies on artifacts associated with foodstuff, and isotope studies on human remains. However, modern scientific methods have proven essential to our search and understanding of people in the past, alongside their diets, cultures, and ways of life, especially over the last 20 years. Lipid analysis, though not completely absent in Iceland, is a vastly under-utilised method and data source. The aim of the research project is to evaluate the potential of such analysis for archaeological research on dietary habits in past Iceland. The project is divided into four phases, each ending with a peer-reviewed article. In phase one, an archaeological experiment will be conducted, examining lipid preservation in various materials of known use in ancient Iceland. The second phase will be based on the results from the experiment, guiding sample selection and prepared from the archaeological collection. In phase three, a few well-documented archaeological sites in Iceland will be selected for comparison with other dietary data. Finally, the project aims to shed new light on past dietary habits in Iceland, according to the results and comparisons derived from the first three phases of the project.
Delaney’s research analyzes landscapes around late medieval (ca. 1100 – 15500) monasteries in Iceland and Scotland to answer the big questions: where were these communities sourcing water and how were they using it? By creating case studies of Þingeyraklaustur in northern Iceland and Lindores Abbey in southeast Scotland, this project uses a combination of methods including review of contemporary literature, spatial analysis enabled through ArcGIS, and artifact analysis. These methods are utilized to understand what lands they possessed and how they were used, what possibilities (in landscape archaeology terms, affordances) the landscapes provided, and how their respective religious cultures influenced water use and architecture. In addition to being descriptive, this research seeks to find comparisons between monastic cultures and their uses of water based on environmental and cultural similarities.
Einar Ísaksson
Kristin Linnea Robberstad Moeller-Nilsen
Þórhallur Þráinsson
Hildur Gestsdóttir
Joe Wallace Walser III
Hrönn Konráðsdóttir
Sigríður Þorgeirsdóttir
Sólrún Inga Traustadóttir
Kristín Huld Sigurðardóttir
Agnes Stefánsdóttir
Þór Hjaltalín