Exploitation of Local,Drifted and Imported Wood by the Vikings on the Faroe Islands

Summary

Two hundred wood samples have been examined from the Viking settlement at Argisbrekka on Eysturoydated to AD 770–1015. They fall into three categories:-1. local wood: Juniperus. Betula pubescens Ehrh., Corylus, Salix and heathland dwarf shrubs; 2. driftwood: Picea, Larix and Pinus section strobus; and 3. imported wood: Quercus, Pinus section sylvestris, Alnus and Fraxinus. The local tree vegetation was over-exploited and Betula became extinct in the course of the Viking Age. Driftwood, mainly of Siberian origin, seems to be the most important tree resource and was used for houses and utensils. Imported wood probably mostly comprised ships and finished products made in Scandinavia. The detection of tree Betula growth between 2,460 BC and AD 770 is a new contribution to the vegetational history of the Faroe Islands.