People, Pasture and Plant Use: The Environmental Archaeology of Helgusel Shieling Site, SW-Iceland

Abstract

Shielings were a vital part of the agricultural system in Iceland for a millennium. They were sites of seasonal habitation where people brought domestic animals for grazing and to spare the infields for haymaking. In this paper, the site of Helgusel shieling in Mosfellsdalur is the topic of interdisciplinary research focusing on the palaeoecology of the site prior to, during and following shieling operation. Applying palynological, sedimentological and tephrochronological analyses on a peat monolith from the vicinity of the shieling ruins, along with the analyses of macrobotanical and archaeoentomological remains retrieved from cultural layers inside the ruins, portrays the relationship between humans and their environment at Helgusel. Grazing was detected around 950 AD, centuries earlier than the excavated shieling structures appear to have been built. The grazing diminished the woodlands and contributed to erosional processes, which intensified around 1500 AD, eventually causing ecological decline. Aside from grazing, other activities may have been practised at Helgusel, such as haymaking and plant gathering for multiple purposes. Marine resources were brought as provisions and artifacts found in the cultural layers showcase the tools and clothes used by the temporary inhabitants of the shieling.