Hofstaðir in Mývatnssveit -  an overview of researcg between 1991 to 1997

This article gives an overview of previous research at Hofstaðir near lake Mývatn in NE-Iceland ; late 19th century reconnaisance, the large scale excavation of 1908 and a smaller investigation in 1965. The long association of these structures (an exceptionally large longhouse and an oval pit in front of it), with heathen religious practices is discussed and a summary is given of the principal results of the ongoing campaign of excavations. The long house is the latest structure on the site, abandoned sometime before 1104, but it was preceeded by a structure which has not yet been discovered but which produced many layers of refuse which fill a collapsed pit-house. This belongs to the earliest phase of the site, built in a matter of years after the deposition of the landnám tephra of 871±2. The distinct phasing of the site and the exceptionally good preservation of the turf-structures and animal bones, makes Hofstaðir an ideal place to study in detail the adaption of the first gernerations of settlers to Icelandic conditions, their effect on the environment and the emergence of a social structure.