Managing Coastal Heritage in the Westfjords: Case Study of 19Th Century Norwegian Whaling Stations
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Master‘s thesis Managing Coastal Heritage in the Westfjords: Case Study of 19th Century Norwegian Whaling Stations Alexandra Tyas Advisors: Ragnar Edvardsson and Albína Hulda Pálsdóttir University of Akureyri Faculty of Business and Science University Centre of the Westfjords Master of Resource Management: Coastal and Marine Management Ísafjörður, March 2016 Supervisory Committee Advisors: Ragnar Edvardsson, PhD Archaeologist, University of Iceland Albína Hulda Pálsdóttir, MA Zooarchaeologist, Agricultural University of Iceland, Faculty of Land and Animal Resources Reader: Þóra Pétursdóttir, PhD Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Tromso Program Director: Dagný Arnarsdóttir, MSc. Alexandra Tyas Managing Coastal Heritage in the Westfjords: Case study of 19th Century Norwegian Whaling Stations 45 ECTS thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of a Master of Resource Management degree in Coastal and Marine Management at the University Centre of the Westfjords, Suðurgata 12, 400 Ísafjörður, Iceland Degree accredited by the University of Akureyri, Faculty of Business and Science, Borgir, 600 Akureyri, Iceland Copyright © 2016 Alexandra Tyas All rights reserved Printing: Háskólaprent, Reykjavík, March 2016 ii Declaration I hereby confirm that I am the sole author of this thesis and it is a product of my own academic research. __________________________________________ Alexandra Tyas Abstract Coastal cultural heritage sites have received a lot of attention in recent years due to the threats they face, both anthropogenic and natural. The surveying of sites at risk is therefore prioritised, in order to record sites before they are lost to the sea. However, in countries where the management structure is lacking, this prioritisation does not occur. It is therefore unknown how many sites are at risk, from what threats, and if sites have already been lost. This thesis set out to explore the state of heritage management in Iceland, with a focus on coastal and underwater sites. In order to address this, case studies of four 19th century Norwegian whaling stations in the Westfjords were chosen for archaeological surveying, as representatives for both coastal and underwater heritage sites. A background analysis on the current Icelandic management structure, legal environment, and current threats to coastal heritage sites was completed. The conclusions suggest that the legal environment in Iceland is sufficient; however it is the implementation and enforcement of the laws which is lacking. Underlying issues seem to be the problem of funding for archaeology, and the lack of value of the sites to the local communities. The future preservation and protection of coastal heritage sites therefore depends largely on public engagement, education, and increased awareness of the social and economic benefits coastal heritage sites can provide. iii iv Útdráttur Síðustu ár hafa menningarminjar við strendur landsins fengið talsverða athygli vegna þeirra mannlegu- og nátturulegu þátta, sem ógna menningarminjum við sjávarsíðuna. Það er forgangsatriði að rannsaka slík svæði og mikilvægt er að fornleifaskrá þau áður en þau verða eyðileggingu að bráð. Í löndum þar sem eftirlit á slíkum svæðum er lítið sem ekkert, er forgangsröðun í minjavörslu ekki til staðar, því er það ómöglegt að geta sér til um hversu mörg svæði eru í hættu, vegna hvaða orsaka og hvort einhver svæði hafa nú þegar glatast. Markmið þessarar ritgerðar er að kanna ástand minjasvæða á Íslandi með áherslu á strandsvæði á Vestfjörðum og þá sérstaklega svæði neðansjávar. Til að ná þessum markmiðum voru fjórar norskar hvalveiðistöðvar frá 19. öld á Vestfjörðum valdar til fornleifaskoðunar sem dæmi um menningaminjar bæði við strandlínu og neðansjávar. Að auki var kannað eftirlit með menningarminjum, lög um menningarminjar og þær ógnir sem steðja að menningarminjum við sjávarsíðuna. Niðurstöður benda til þess að lög á Íslandi um menningarminjar uppfylli öll þau skilyrði fyrir sterka minjavörslu; hins vegar skortir mikið á framkvæmd og framfylgni laga um verndun menningarminja. Undirliggjandi vandamál á þessu virðist vera, bæði fjármagnsskortur svo og ákveðin skortur á skilningi um mikilvægi þessara svæða og hvaða gildismat nærliggjandi bæjar- og sveitarfélög hafa á viðkomandi menningarminjum. Uppbygging og varðveisla menningarsminja veltur að stórum hluta á þáttöku almennings, menntun og aukinnar meðvitundar um þá félags- og efnahagslegu hagmuni sem liggja í varðveislu og nýtingar menningarminja. v Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................. iii Útdráttur ................................................................................................................ v List of Figures ...................................................................................................... viii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. xi 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Iceland: Coastal heritage ................................................................................ 2 1.2 Research aims ............................................................................................... 3 2 Background ...................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Cultural heritage tourism ................................................................................ 5 2.2 Value ............................................................................................................ 7 2.3 Heritage laws ................................................................................................. 9 2.3.1 Icelandic law ........................................................................................... 9 Adopted conventions ..................................................................................... 12 Agenda 21 .................................................................................................... 13 2.3.2 United Kingdom laws .............................................................................. 14 Adopted conventions ..................................................................................... 16 2.3.3 Discussion ............................................................................................. 17 2.4 Underwater archaeology ............................................................................... 18 2.4.1 Underwater archaeology in Iceland .......................................................... 20 2.4.2 Past research in Iceland .......................................................................... 21 Melckmeyt – Breiðarfjörður – Westfjords ......................................................... 21 Kolkuós ........................................................................................................ 22 Submerged sites in Vestfirðir – Westfjords....................................................... 22 The Phønix – Snæfellsnes – West Iceland ....................................................... 23 2.5 Threats to heritage sites ............................................................................... 25 2.5.1 Natural threats and climate change ......................................................... 26 Erosion: Management of sites at risk ............................................................... 30 2.5.2 Anthropogenic threats ............................................................................ 31 Globalisation ................................................................................................. 31 Mining and dredging activities ........................................................................ 32 Treasure and trophy hunters .......................................................................... 33 vi Salvage ......................................................................................................... 35 Fishing and aquaculture ................................................................................. 37 2.5.3 Discussion .............................................................................................. 39 3 Methodology ................................................................................................... 41 3.1 Historical background .................................................................................... 41 3.2 Archaeological survey .................................................................................... 44 3.3 Data analysis ................................................................................................ 46 3.4 Methodological approach ............................................................................... 47 3.4.1 Study area ............................................................................................. 47 3.4.2 Field work .............................................................................................. 48 4 Results ............................................................................................................. 57 4.1 Álftafjörður – Dvergasteinn ............................................................................ 58 4.2 Dýrafjörður - Höfðaoddi................................................................................. 61 4.3 Seyðisfjörður – Uppsalaeyri ..........................................................................