idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
A team of marine archaeologists from Iceland, Flinders University (Australia), and the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven has launched a new investigation exploring the historic maritime landscape at the former trading port of Búðir and its surroundings.
The survey, which explores maritime activity spanning from the Hanseatic period to the Danish Trade Monopoly era, aims to uncover physical evidence of Iceland’s early modern trade connections.Archaeologists have focused their investigations on the Búðir harbour area and the nearby outpost of Frambuðir, where oral histories and archival records suggest significant fishing and trade activities once took place. “This part of the Snæfellsnes coastline was a hub of seafaring activity and trade for centuries,” said project lead Dr. Kevin Martin.
A key part of the project involves examining ship timbers discovered in 1998 during the installation of an electric cable across Búðarós. The remains, believed to be from a large wooden trading vessel, were uncovered on the riverbed and later transferred to the National Museum of Iceland. As part of the current project, the team has recorded and sampled the timbers for dendrochronological dating, which will help determine their origin and the ship’s construction date. “Icelandic annals record at least ten ships wrecking at Búðir between 1600 and 1800,” said Martin.
“We also know, for example, that at the end of the 16th century, a merchant from Bremen lost his ship here,’ adds Dr. Philipp Grassel from the German Maritime Museum. The multidisciplinary effort includes drone photogrammetry, underwater investigations, and timber analysis. Funded by Fornminjasjóður and the German Maritime Museum, the project is also supported by local landowners, including Sigurður Vigfusson of Bjarnarfoss.
In recent years, Kevin Martin and his team, including Philipp Grassel, have carried out terrestrial excavations and remote sensing underwater surveys at the historic trading ports of Arnarstapi and Grundarfjörður. “Combined with the findings from the Búðir project, we are gradually piecing together a clearer understanding of past maritime activities and Iceland’s connections to wider European trading networks during the Early Modern Period,” says Martin.
Dr. Philipp Grassel
grassel@dsm.museum
https://www.dsm.museum/en/press-area/marine-archaeologists-uncover-traces-of-cen...
Dr. Philipp Grassel diving in Iceland.
Source: Dr. Kevin Martin
Copyright: Dr. Kevin Martin
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History / archaeology, Oceanology / climate, Social studies
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English
Dr. Philipp Grassel diving in Iceland.
Source: Dr. Kevin Martin
Copyright: Dr. Kevin Martin
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