News from Bíldudalur that a pair of viking era graves have been found with well preserved weapons and other items.
Report in Mogginn and the official press release from The Archaeological Heritage Agency of Iceland
Hringsdalur is a small valley off Arnarfjörður - the Fjord of the Eagle, on the northwest coast of Iceland. It is one of the grandest of the WestFjords.
Two graves were found, one with a skeleton, a rusted knifeblade or arrowpoint, a decorated comb and other household items, the other, which they've just begun digging had that rather splendid and surprisingly well preserved spearhead high in it.
Arnarfjörður was settler by Arnar and his household about 1100 years ago.
Hringsdalur, a small valley off the main fjord, was settled by Hringur, a Norwegian settler.
According to the sagas, Hringur was followed by "easterners" (those bloomin' Norwegians) avenging a blood feud, and killed near his home in Hringsdalur. According to the tale, he was buried there in a traditional mound, and those of his assailants he took with him buried next to him.
According to the saga, he broke the backs of several of his assailants by slamming them across a large rock at the site of the fight.
It is curious that as archeology has become more scientific, more of the implausible heroic and aprocryphal sagas have been shown to be, if not literal truth, then consistent with the findings.
Egill really was immensely large with unusually strong bones (due to congenital disease), Njáll really did live where the story said, and died in a fire during a siege...
Need to find Grettir next. Oh, and the lost treasure of Egill son of Skallagrímur.
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