The Gásir Area A Archaeofauna: An Update of the Results from the Faunal Analysis of the High Medieval Trading Site in Eyjafjörður, N Iceland (lab report)

This faunal report presents new information on the Gásir archaeofauna which was
collected during 5 years (2002 – 2006) out of the total 6 years of Archaeological
excavations at the site of Gásir near the modern city of Akureyri. Under the direction of
Howell Roberts of Fornleifastofnun Íslands (Archaeological Institute Iceland, FSĺ) and
on behalf of Minjasafnið á Akureyri (Akureyri Museum), initial investigative activities at
Gásir were begun in 2001. The project resulted in a large scale, open-area archaeological
excavation carried out during the summer seasons of 2002-2006. The project has
produced a substantial amount of animal bones, which have been continuously analyzed
at the CUNY Northern Science & Education Center laboratories as part of the North
Atlantic Biocultural Organization cooperative effort, with funding provided by the UK
Leverhulme Trust, and the US NSF IPY project (see acknowledgements section for
specific grant numbers). The Gásir excavations were part of an ongoing larger scale,
long term project which aims to place the investigation of the high medieval trading
center at Gásir in a regional and historical context. At this time, the analysis of the Gásir
assemblage has been virtually completed, and is the basis for the author´s PhD thesis, to
be completed in the Spring of 2010.