During archeological excavations in the ruins of the old monastery Þingeyraklaustur, some ancient objects were found.
These include book leather, a sealing ring and a table with an ancient font.
According to a report from RÚV, the monastery was previously a place of great literacy and bookmaking and was run in Þingeyrar for more than four centuries. Many important Icelandic manuscripts, including Flateyjarbók, were written and published there.
Steinunn Kristjánsdóttir, professor of archeology at the University of Iceland, leads the excavation. She says she does not expect to find weekend books and manuscripts, but is rather looking for traces of bookmaking, leather edging and the like.
“They mainly used calfskin, we are looking for animal bones and such. And then of course various remains, color stones and other things that came with it. “
The excavation began on August 10 with a planned three weeks. The team has already dug through relatively younger buildings, on top of the ruins of a real monastery and found artefacts from around the sixteenth century, when the monastery Þingeyraklaustur had already been closed.
Apart from the seal ring, ribbon and leather, which was probably around a book, according to Steinunn, the team also discovered some prayer beads and belts with old fonts, which could be referring to Bible texts.
According to Steinunn, Þingeyraklaustur was huge and the current excavation can only cover a small part of the ruined area. The team hopes to be there for a few years, although digging Þingeyraklaustur could be a decades-long project.
Source: The Nordic Page