Remains of what is believed to be a well from the latter part of the 18th century have been discovered in an archeological excavation project by the Althingi parliamentary building on the corner of Tjarnargata and Kirkjustraeti in downtown Reykjavík.
Manager of the excavation project Vala Gardarsdóttir told Fréttabladid that samples from the alleged well will probably determine if and when it was in use.
Gardarsdóttir believed the archeological remains were from a traditional Icelandic well as commonly used in the latter part of the 18th century. It measures 80 centimeters in radius.
According to law, the area around the parliamentary building has to be searched for archeological remains before permission is granted to construct other buildings in the area. A new building belonging to Althingi is in the pipelines.
Kristinn Magnússon, divisional manager of the environmental impact assessment division of the Archaeological Heritage Agency of Iceland, said that if any noteworthy archeological remains are discovered during the excavation, the planned construction may need to be reconsidered.
