Human Remains Unearthed at Historic Church in Iceland

GARðABÆR, ICELAND—An excavation conducted at Bessastaðir church on the west coast of Iceland uncovered the remains of two people, according to an Iceland Review report. Occupation of the Bessastaðir farmstead dates back to the tenth or eleventh century. In the thirteenth century, it was owned by the historian, poet, and politician Snorri Sturluson, before it became a royal stronghold. In the late eighteenth century, Bessastaðir was once again used as a farm until the 1940s, when it became a residence for the president of Iceland. Archaeologist Hermann Jakob Hjartarson believes the skeletons are Anna Helena and Anna Vilhelmína, a mother and her 18-year-old daughter. “The mother was [likely] married to the viceroy of Iceland in the eighteenth century, Lauritz Thodal,” Hjartarson said. Historic records indicate that Thodal had the grave dug at the church, but it is not clear who had been buried in it, he added. “According to the sources, she [the daughter] died of a broken heart, whatever that may mean,” Hjartarson explained. “She became involved with a merchant from Hafnarfjörður, and her step-father did not approve of this relationship and forbade her from being with him. The story goes that she languished and died shortly after,” he said. The excavation also uncovered a church floor that may date to the sixteenth century and four musket balls. Hjartarson thinks there may be even older layers beneath this floor. To read about the origins of an early medieval woman whose remains were uncovered in 1938 in eastern Iceland, go to "Iceland's Young Migrant."