areas. Twenty-two buildings were unearthed, with eight and thirteen in the afore-
mentioned areas respectively. Within these two areas, there were two to three lesser
construction areas, which consisted of a residential house and one or two outhouses and
storage houses. All were constructed with walls of turf, sand, clay and pebbles. These are
all smaller buildings, 7 – 8 m long and 3 – 4 m wide, and even smaller. Stratigraphical
observations indicate that two shielings were in operation simultaneously during the
area’s last active period in the Viking Age. Functionally the Faroe ærgir resemble full-
time Norwegian shielings.
The dating indicates that all activity ceased sometime during the middle of the
eleventh century. Stratigraphical observations and^14 C dating indicate a commencement
of activities in the eastern area sometime during the ninth century. Regarding the
artefact assemblage, it’s interesting to note that except for local ceramics the assemblage
did not differ much from the one found at the stationary farm. The local ceramics are a
distinct category for Faroese archaeology, documented from the late tenth century and
into the nineteenth century (Arge 1991 , 1997 ).
We must conclude that in the Viking Age the ærgi and farm were closely intertwined
elements, which together characterise the special operational method, also that the
traces of these operations are widely dispersed throughout the Faroes. The operational
method does however become adjusted to existing local conditions. As the shieling
operational method is not mentioned in a special enactment for the Faroes, Seyðabrævið
‘the Sheep Letter’, issued in 1298 , which relates to the dominant extensive sheep farm-
ing, it is concluded that a combination of a greater emphasis upon fishing and extensive
sheep farming led to the disappearance of the Faroe ærgir as part of an outdated
operational method (Mahler 2007 ).
SandurSandur is one of the largest and wealthiest agricultural societies on the islands (Figure
42. 1. 2 ). There can be no doubt that ever since the first settlers, who had a farming
background, arrived at the islands in the Viking Age, that is, the landnám period, this
village must have been among the most prominent in the rural societies of that time
(Arge 2001 ). The local church lies rather isolated from the rest of the habitation, which
is not common in the Faroes. But ever since a coin hoard containing ninety-eight
eleventh-century silver coins, deriving from what we now know as European and
Scandinavian countries, was found in the churchyard by a grave digger in 1863 (Steen
Jensen 2004 ), there have been expectations that something more would turn up.
When the first archaeological excavation in Sandur took place in 1969 – 70 , efforts
were focused within the actual church. The results were outstanding and rather
unexpected, in that what was found were the remains of five successive churches under
the present one, built in 1839. The oldest was a small single-aisled stave-church, as we
know them from Norway, and dated to the eleventh century. Thus, all in all six churches
have been built one on top of another on this very spot (Krogh 1975 ).
In 1972 a small-scale excavation in the churchyard revealed the eastern gable of a
building with a beautifully stone-paved floor. This structure has been interpreted as part
of a boat-shaped longhouse, which may have been the living house at the local farm. It is
very likely that the coin hoard was placed below the floor paving in this building by the
end of the eleventh century, thus indicating that the building has been in use during the
–– Símun V. Arge––