What we're doing: studying a series of farms dating from the Viking Age through the 19th Century.

Where we're doing it: in the Skagafjörður fjord valley, northern Iceland. See map below.

When we're doing it: Monday, July 23rd, through Saturday, August 25th.

Why we're doing it: to understand how and when and why Icelandic society transformed itself from a system of chiefdoms to a system of manors.

How we're doing it: in a step-by-step process, as follows:

1. lay a grid of one-meter squares over a field



2. walk along the grid with remote sensing devices that detect small changes in how the ground beneath conducts or resists small electric charges



3. analyze the data in order to find anomolies that may indicate buried structures



4. use a coring device to sample the soil where the anomolies occur, in order to determine whether the anomolies are natural or not



5. use a backhoe to dig a trench through anomolies that are not natural, in order to get a cross-section of what should be a feature such as a house wall



6. study and draw the stratification of earth and volcanic ash (tephra) layers in the wall of the trench, and take soil and botanical samples



7. determine a date for the buried structure by comparing its position relative to the volcanic layers, which are of known date and easily identifiable.

Who's Doing It: Dr. John Steinberg, of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA, and a team of graduate students and volunteers.