RAPID: Archaeological Investigations at Surtshellir Cave

对于北大西洋的北欧殖民地来说，洞穴是令人恐惧的地方，通常都会避开。一个值得注意的例外是苏尔特谢利尔洞穴，它是世界上最大的熔岩管洞穴之一。苏特谢里尔的民间传说、神话和历史叙事跨越了近一千年，以恐怖、颠覆世界秩序和通过维京时代酋长和社区领袖的行动恢复平衡的画面为主。这些故事始于洞穴命名的存在--苏图尔，一种火和熔岩的元素力量，北欧人认为他存在于世界的创造中，并将在时间的尽头摧毁世界、人类和众神。苏尔特谢利尔有着令人印象深刻的考古记录，2001年，在美国国家科学基金会的大力资助下，考古学家们在2001年向苏尔特谢里尔探险时记录了这一记录：洞穴内300米处有一座船形的维京时代建筑，大量被肢解、故意碎裂的动物骨骼，以及一堵长30英尺(10米)、高15英尺(4.5米)的干石墙，用来堵住洞穴的入口或出口。对于苏尔特谢利尔独特的考古记录，人们提出了两种解释：一种是亡命之徒占领的遗迹，另一种是为了让幸存者平静下来或防止世界末日而牺牲的遗址。评估这些替代方案将有助于我们对维京时代宗教以及北大西洋北欧殖民者带来的或到达冰岛后发展起来的社会和祭祀组织的理解。了解这一遗址的核心是皮？S团队在2012年发现的维京时代结构中的薄层底板沉积。然而，该遗址现在是一个旅游目的地，这些脆弱的北欧海盗时代的沉积物和它们的文物正在被不受管制的进入洞穴的通道破坏和掠夺，并最终受到洞穴屋顶持续坍塌的威胁，这两者都限制了遗址被记录下来的时间。PI将在2013年8月使用快速资金来挖掘这些濒危的文化遗址，以免另一个旅游季节进一步破坏它们，或者屋顶的坍塌永远封住它们。该项目的国际合作者--冰岛国家博物馆和冰岛文物局认为，这项研究是保护遗址考古资源、为今世后代解释考古资源并使游客能够可持续和合理地进入洞穴的必要的第一步。

Caves were places of fear for the Norse colonies of the North Atlantic, and were generally avoided. One notable exception is Surtshellir cave, one of the largest lava-tube caves in the world. Surtshellir's folklore, mythology, and historic narratives span nearly a millennium and are dominated by images of terror, the overthrow of the world's order, and the restoration of balance through the actions of Viking Age chieftains and community leaders. These stories begin with the being for whom the cave is named - Surtur, an elemental force of fire and lava whom the Norse believed was present at the world's creation and would destroy the world, men, and the gods at the end of time. Surtshellir has an impressive archaeological record, documented by the PI on expeditions into Surtshellir in 2001 and, with NSF EAGER funding, in 2012: a ship-shaped Viking Age structure 300 meters back into the cave, massive numbers of dismembered, intentionally fragmented animal bones, and a dry-stone wall 30 ft (10 m) long and 15ft (4.5 m) high built to block entrance or exit from the cave.Two explanations have been put forward for Surtshellir's unique archaeological record: that these are the residues of outlaws' occupations or that it represents a site at which sacrifices were made to calm Surt or to prevent the end of the world. Assessing these alternatives will lead to major refinements of our understanding of Viking Age religion and the social and sacral organization that the North Atlantic Norse colonizers brought with them, or developed on arriving in Iceland. Central to understanding this site are thin floor deposits within the Viking Age structure that the PI?s team identified in 2012. However, the site is now a tourist destination and these fragile Viking Age deposits and their artifacts are being damaged and looted by unregulated access to the cave and ultimately endangered by the ongoing collapse of the cave's roof, both of which limit the time when the site can be documented.The PI will use RAPID funding in August 2013 to excavate these endangered cultural deposits before another tourist season can damage them further or the roof's collapse seals them forever. The project's international collaborators - the National Museum of Iceland and theIcelandic Antiquities Office view this research as a necessary first step towards protecting the site's archaeological resources, interpreting it for present and future generations, and enabling sustainable and justifiable tourist access to the cave.