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68 A small building, oriented in approximatly east-west direction, and refered to as Bønhúsið (English: the prayer- house), is said to be a bønhús. No remains of an enclosure are visible. In his description of the parish of Viðareiði S. J. Hansen states: “Maybe bønhús have been in many of the smaller settlements in the parish in the Catholic Pe- riod, one in Múla and one in Hvannasund, but there are no records about this; the only known bønhús-site is in Dep- li” (S.J. Hansen 1975, 11, Pl. XIX-XXII; Trap Danmark 1968, 300). The structure is located c. 50m from the farm. 34. “Bønhúsmørk” and “Bønhúsáin”, Árnafjørður, Klaksvík parish, Borðoy The site is reected in the place-names Bønhúsmørk (English: the eld of the prayer-house), Bønhúsáin (Eng- lish: the stream of the prayer-house) (S.J. Hansen 1980, Pl. IX; Sólstein 1999, 163). No archaeological remains are visible on the site, which by the indication of the place-names must have been located close to core settle- ment. 35. “Bønhúsið”, Svínoy, Svínoy parish, Svínoy The church site, of which there are no visible remains, is located in the core of the settlement. Just east of the bønhús-site a presumed pagan grave was found c. 1900. While building a hay shed people came down on the dis- solved remains of a corpse, lying in north-south orienta- tion in a cofn made of boat timber (S. J. Hansenen 1973, 17, 45) (Fig. 13). 36. Hattarvík, Fugloy parish, Fugloy The location of this site, which has been precisily pointed out, is c. 200m west of the nearest core settle- ment (Innistova), c. 100m. a.s.l. It is lying by the ancient path between the two settlements of Kirkja and Hattarvík. There is a nice view towards the sea from the site. Ac- cording to S. J. Hansen a local came upon stone-foun- dations of the structure, and two layers of ashes as well as wood, which could derive from a collapsed roof (S.J. Hansen 1971, 109-110, Pl. VI-VII). THE WIDER NORTH ATLANTIC CONTEXT Early church sites of the “bønhus-type”, like the ones in the Faroes, are well-known in the surrounding regions of the North Atlantic, both as archaeological remains and as place-names; the latter, however, except for Norse Greenland, where most Norse place-names will have dis- appered with the Norse culture sometime in the 15 th cen- tury. Below is given a short summary of the evidence of the surrounding regions. SHETLAND Only a few place-names with the element bønhús are also known from Shetland. Thus the Faroese linguist Jakob Jakobsen (1864-1918) only mentions the farm-name Bonhus in Klusta, Aithsting on Mainland (Jakobsen 1908, 88). The few examples are probably due to the fact that bønhús along with other Norn words, after the language was ousted by English-Scottish, became taboo-words which lived among men on the sea: “the superstition of the shermen, now almost vanished, according to which a great many things could not be spoken of at sea by their ordinary names, but only by circumlocutions, has saved from destruction very many old words and roots that would otherwise have been entirely lost” (Jakobsen 1897, Fig. 11. Plan of the church site Bønhústoftin in Leirvík, Eysturoy (28). After Stummann Hansen & Sheehan 2006a. Acta Archaeologica

THE WIDER NORTH ATLANTIC CONTEXT

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68

A small building, oriented in approximatly east-west direction, and refered to as Bønhúsið (English: the prayer-house), is said to be a bønhús. No remains of an enclosure are visible. In his description of the parish of Viðareiði S. J. Hansen states: “Maybe bønhús have been in many of the smaller settlements in the parish in the Catholic Pe-riod, one in Múla and one in Hvannasund, but there are no records about this; the only known bønhús-site is in Dep-li” (S.J. Hansen 1975, 11, Pl. XIX-XXII; Trap Danmark 1968, 300). The structure is located c. 50m from the farm.

34. “Bønhúsmørk” and “Bønhúsáin”, Árnafjørður, Klaksvík parish, Borðoy

The site is refl ected in the place-names Bønhúsmørk (English: the fi eld of the prayer-house), Bønhúsáin (Eng-lish: the stream of the prayer-house) (S.J. Hansen 1980, Pl. IX; Sólstein 1999, 163). No archaeological remains are visible on the site, which by the indication of the place-names must have been located close to core settle-ment.

35. “Bønhúsið”, Svínoy, Svínoy parish, SvínoyThe church site, of which there are no visible remains,

is located in the core of the settlement. Just east of the bønhús-site a presumed pagan grave was found c. 1900. While building a hay shed people came down on the dis-solved remains of a corpse, lying in north-south orienta-tion in a coffi n made of boat timber (S. J. Hansenen 1973, 17, 45) (Fig. 13).

36. Hattarvík, Fugloy parish, FugloyThe location of this site, which has been precisily

pointed out, is c. 200m west of the nearest core settle-ment (Innistova), c. 100m. a.s.l. It is lying by the ancient path between the two settlements of Kirkja and Hattarvík. There is a nice view towards the sea from the site. Ac-cording to S. J. Hansen a local came upon stone-foun-dations of the structure, and two layers of ashes as well as wood, which could derive from a collapsed roof (S.J. Hansen 1971, 109-110, Pl. VI-VII).

THE WIDER NORTH ATLANTIC CONTEXTEarly church sites of the “bønhus-type”, like the ones in the Faroes, are well-known in the surrounding regions of the North Atlantic, both as archaeological remains and as place-names; the latter, however, except for Norse Greenland, where most Norse place-names will have dis-appered with the Norse culture sometime in the 15th cen-tury. Below is given a short summary of the evidence of the surrounding regions.

SHETLANDOnly a few place-names with the element bønhús are also known from Shetland. Thus the Faroese linguist Jakob Jakobsen (1864-1918) only mentions the farm-name Bonhus in Klusta, Aithsting on Mainland (Jakobsen 1908, 88).

The few examples are probably due to the fact that bønhús along with other Norn words, after the language was ousted by English-Scottish, became taboo-words which lived among men on the sea: “the superstition of the fi shermen, now almost vanished, according to which a great many things could not be spoken of at sea by their ordinary names, but only by circumlocutions, has saved from destruction very many old words and roots that would otherwise have been entirely lost” (Jakobsen 1897,

Fig. 11. Plan of the church site Bønhústoftin in Leirvík, Eysturoy (28). After Stummann Hansen & Sheehan 2006a.

Acta Archaeologica