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ANNUALREPORT:ARCTICVIKINGSFIELDSCHOOL2018FIELDSCHOOL

NameofDirectors: Dr.HansH.Harmsen,Archaeologist/Curator,GreenlandNationalMuseum

andArchives,ResearchAssistantProfessor,SUNYatBuffalo(harmsen@natmus.gl)Dr.ChristianKochMadsen,Archaeologist/Curator,GreenlandNationalMuseumandArchives,PostDoc,NationalMuseumofDenmark(christian@natmus.gl)

2018AVFSteam(frontrow,fromlefttoright)GunnarGrímsson,RandiSørensenJohansen,MaluJessenBerthelsen,Emma Harty, Pia Egede, Aka Bendsten, Michael Nielsen; (back row) Frederikke Reimer, Elie Pinta, Christian KochMadsen(Harmsentakingphoto).The Greenland National Museum and Archives hosted the Arctic Vikings Field School, aninternationaltrainingcourseinarchaeologicalfieldmethodsfrom30Juneto31July,2018.ThemainfocusofthearchaeologicalinvestigationwascenteredatNKAH-5500,anewlydiscoveredNorsefarmintheVatnahverfiregionwithinoneofthecomponentareasoftheKujataaUNESCOpropertyinSouthGreenland1.VikingsfromIcelandsettledthisareainthe10thcenturyADandfor many centuries survived by raising livestock, farming and hunting. A few centuries later,colonial era Inuit farmers resettled Vatnahverfi and created a way of life very similar to theNorse—awayoflifethatcontinuestothisday.Earlierreconnaissanceoftheareaidentifiedtheremains of several archaeological features exposed due to heavy foehn-wind erosion and apossiblemiddendepositevidencedbyalargeclusteringofbonesandartifactsfoundscatteredonthesurfaceofthesite.Thissitewasinspectedbetween2015and2016,butmoreextensive

1see Kujataa Greenland: Norse and Inuit Farming at the Edge of the Ice Cap; http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1536

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and detailed coring and subsurface testing was deemed necessary to locate the core of themiddenareaandconfirmthestateofpreservationofanyremainingartifacts/features.

Four IFR students and four Greenlandic students were accepted into the Arctic Viking FieldSchool program in 2018. IFR students were all undergraduates—representing universities inDenmark,IcelandandtheUnitedStates.

Significant accomplishments of the 2018 field work include: (1) the discovery anddocumentationofseveralpreviouslyunrecordedNorseandInuitarchaeologicalfeaturesinthevicinityofNKAH5500;(2)ahigh-resolutionarealmappingofthesite;(3)systematicsub-surfaceprobing of the site to identify the core area of the midden; (4) the opening of three testtrenches;and(4)recoveryofseveralhundredbone,metalandwoodartifacts.Oneparticularlysignificant result of theworkwas confirming that preservation at NKAH 5000was extremelyhigh—bothmetalandbonewereidentifiedaspossessingverygoodtoexcellentpreservationatthesite.Atthesametime,woodpreservationwasobservedtobeverypoorwithveryfewwoodartifacts recovered during excavations. Although the exact factors contributing to highpreservationformetalandbonearenotfullyunderstoodatNKAH5500,itmaybeduetoboththelocaltopographyandthewell-drainedsandysoilfoundatthesite.Thelargeamountofdatacollected in 2018 is currently being analyzed and expected to provide potentially new andexcitinginsightsintothephasingofoccupationatNKAH5500aswellasoffernewquestionsastowhenandwhythispartofGreenlandwasabandonedbytheNorseinthe15thcentury.

Because of the high ratio of students to instructors (2:1), students were afforded theopportunitytoworkcloselywithstaff—oftentimesoneonone—andbeguidedinmanyofthebasicmethodsofdatacollectioninthefield.Studentscontributionstodatacollectionincludedfeatureregistration,collectingGPS/dGPSwaypoints,takingphotos,featuresketches,planmapsandprofiles,arealdronephotos,artifactrecoveryandregistration,aswellasprovidingmuchofthe heavy labor necessitated for transporting equipment, digging, sifting soil and backfillingtrenches.StudentsalsoactivelyinteractedwithlocalfamiliesandvisitorstoNKAH5500creatingabridgebetweenthefieldschoolandthecommunitybyprovidingawelcomingatmosphereandsharing information about the work they were performing. Lastly, all students were activelyengaged in the day-to-day responsibilities of camp life; preparing meals, digging latrines,fetchingwater,etc.

Disseminationofthefieldschoolactivitiesison-goingandexpectedtoincreasedramaticallyinthe comingmonths:While in the field, a German film crew visited the site capturing lots ofimagesoftheworkbeingperformedbythestudents.Thisdocumentaryfilmbeingproducedisdirected byGerman archaeologist, Dr.NatachaMehler about theNorse in theNorthAtlanticand expected to air on German Public Television sometime between 2019-2020. On 27-28August 2018, theNational Science Foundationhosted a seminar on increasedGreenlandic-USresearch collaboration and the opportunity was taken by Hans Harmsen and Christian KochMadsen to discuss some of the summer’s field work in a 10-minute public presentation inNuuk’s cultural center, Katuaq. Additionally, an invitation has been made to present a fieldreportonactivitiesoftheArcticVikingsFieldSchoolastheyrelatetothelossofarchaeologicalresourcesduetoachangingclimateattheBurningLibrariessessionoftheSocietyForAmericanArchaeology’s84thAnnualMeetinginAlbuquerque,NewMexico,April10-14.