RAPID: Archaeological Investigations at Surtshellir Cave

对于北大西洋的挪威殖民地来说，洞穴是令人恐惧的地方，一般都避免进入。一个值得注意的例外是Surtshellir洞穴，世界上最大的熔岩管洞穴之一。苏尔特谢里尔的民间传说、神话和历史叙事跨越了近千年，主要是恐怖的形象，推翻世界秩序，以及通过维京海盗时代酋长和社区领袖的行动恢复平衡。这些故事开始与被命名为洞穴的存在- Surtur，火和熔岩的元素力量，挪威人相信是在世界的创造，并将摧毁世界，人，和神在时间的尽头。 苏尔特谢利尔有着令人印象深刻的考古记录，PI在2001年对苏尔特谢利尔进行了考察，并在2012年获得了NSF EAGER的资助：一个船形的维京海盗时代的建筑，在洞穴后面300米处，大量被肢解的，故意破碎的动物骨头，和一堵长30英尺（10米）、长15英尺（15米）的干石墙，（4.5米）高，用来阻挡洞穴的入口或出口。对于苏尔特谢里尔独特的考古记录，人们提出了两种解释：这些都是亡命之徒占领的残余物，或者它代表了一个为平息苏尔特或防止世界末日而牺牲的地方。评估这些替代方案将使我们对维京海盗时代的宗教以及北大西洋维京殖民者带来的或在抵达冰岛时发展起来的社会和神圣组织的理解得到重大改进。中央了解这个网站是薄地板存款内的维京海盗时代的结构，PI？2012年确定的团队。然而，该遗址现在是一个旅游目的地，这些脆弱的维京海盗时代的沉积物及其文物正在被破坏和掠夺，因为不受管制地进入洞穴，最终受到洞穴顶部持续坍塌的威胁，PI将在2013年8月使用RAPID资金，在另一个旅游季节可能破坏之前挖掘这些濒危文化遗产。或者屋顶的坍塌将他们永远封存该项目的国际合作者-冰岛国家博物馆和冰岛文物办公室将这项研究视为保护遗址考古资源的必要的第一步，为今世后代解释它，并使可持续和合理的游客进入洞穴。

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.