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Gásar

Les noms des biens figurent dans la langue dans laquelle les Etats parties les ont soumis.

Islande (Europe et Amérique du nord)

Date de soumission : 18/12/2001
Critères: (iii)(iv)
Catégorie : Culturel
Soumission préparée par :
Menntamalaraduneytid. Ministry of Education, Science and Culture
Coordonnées
Eyjafjararðsysla, Nort Iceland
Ref.: 1608

Description

Gásar, located south of the mouth of the river Hörgsá, is one of the best known places in Eyjafjor6ur from the Icelandic Sagas. Gásar was the main port and trading center for the whole of northern Iceland and even further afield from the Settlement Period and for 500 hundred years afterward.



Archaeological remains in G6sar are unique because even today it is easy to see the whole layout of the site on the surface. The archaeological remains are considered among the most remarkable in Iceland, and the site was proclaimed a cultural heritage site by the National Museum in 1930.



The port of Gásar was probably destroyed by the alluvial deposits of the river Horgá. Written sources mention a church at Gásar, and say that it was destroyed in 1359. The churchyard and outline of the church walls is clearly visible. The last mention of the site in contemporary sources is in 1391.



The first mention of archaeological remains in Gásar is in Olaf Olafvius book of travels, written in 1775 - 1777. In his description of historical places in Iceland from 1872 - 1874, Kristian Kålund descripes the remains at Gásar in such a way, that one is left with the impression that this was the busiest trading center in the country. In the 19th and 20th century, archaeologists and other scientists developed an interest in Gásar and two separate archaeological excavations have been done on the site.



Excavation first took place 1907 at Gásar. Measurements were made of the tent-roofed houses and the church remains and test trenches were dug in various places, with a full excavation of one of the tent-roofed houses. From their drawings, it seems they discovered more than 60 ruins spread out over an area that is about 150 meters long and 80 meters wide.



In 1986 another excavation was done on the tent-roofed house and the church.



The archaeological examinations seem to indicate that people lived in houses with turf walls and pitched a tent over as roof. This was probably a seasonal residence and the same houses or walls were used repeatedly over a long period. Artifacts connected to trading were found at both excavations, scales and ceramics. Artifacts made of wood and leather were also found, which indicates a good preservation of biological materials at the site.



Gásar is certainly a unique site. Nowhere in Iceland have such exstensive remains of a medieval trading station been found. The remains are also both clearly visible and well preserved, because they have never been disturbed by later developments.