Geoarchaeological investigations at Sandhavn, South Greenland

Abstract

First paragraph: This paper presents preliminary results of fieldwork conducted in August 2008 at Sandhavn, south Greenland, within the 'Footprints on the edge of Thule: Landscapes of Norse-Indigenous Interaction' research programme. Sandhavn is located on the south coast of Greenland 3.5km west-north-west of Herjolfsnæs (59°59'N, 44°46'W; Figure 1). Evidence of Norse occupation comprises three ruin groups (Figure 2): Ø221 and Ø221a along the eastern shoreline within a sheltered bay which extends 1.5km north-north-west from the coast; and Ø221b 500m inland next to the river Maakkarneq. Indigenous (Inuit) occupation consists of dwellings and graves. The fieldwork was carried out to characterise the nature and extent of soil and archaeological sediment modification within a landscape where interaction between Norse and Inuit is likely. We anticipated detecting changes in land management, resource exploitation and site formation related to this cultural interaction.