The City of Reykjavík’s environment and planning committee this week voted to call upon the city council to set up an advisory committee for the archaeological remains recently discovered by Lækjargata, and for the recently rediscovered 19th and 20th century harborside structures along Tryggvagata.
The resolution from the planning committee says that the new advisory committee should formulate proposals on how best to preserve the sites in question for the future and how best to display them openly to the public.
The committee should set to work quickly and include the city culture, tourism, environment and planning committees in its work; as well as the city council cabinet. It is very important to preserve these sites, the resolution states.
The archaeological remains at Lækjargata come from the Settlement Age and have taken archaeologists by surprise; as nobody expected remains to be dug up in that area.
The homestead seems to have burnt to the ground, as evidence of uncontrolled fire has been found in the remains, along with well-preserved animal bones and a fire pit.
The discovery was made during digging for the construction of a brand new hotel. Lísbet Guðmundsdóttir, an archaeologist, told RÚV that it is not unlikely the remains come from the first century of Icelandic settlement, which began around 874 C.E.
