Medieval Site Found in Iceland

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND—Iceland Monitor reports that occupation layers dating from the ninth century to the fourteenth century A.D. were discovered during the construction of a parking lot in western Iceland’s Mosfellsdalur Valley. Archaeologist Ragnheiður Traustadóttir said a church had been built in the area in the twelfth century, but an earlier church may have stood on nearby Mosfell Hill. She thinks there could have been an early Icelandic village in the area. “We didn’t dig much, but we discovered three items, among them a baking plate, imported from Norway,” she said. The items are thought to have been imported in the eleventh century and used into the thirteenth century. “We also found a Norwegian sharpening tool and a piece of red jasper for making fire,” she added. To read in-depth about archaeology in Iceland, go to “The Blackener’s Cave.”