MARGAIN: Marine Resource Gathering and Infrastructure in the Norse North Atlantic

About MARGAIN

Gathered marine resources such as driftwood, seaweed, shellfish, coastal plants, eiderdown, sea bird eggs, and drift whales were key elements of past subsistence, but are often overlooked by archaeologists. This is partly because it is difficult to find clear archaeological evidence of the exploitation of these resources. MARGAIN uses historical and ethnographic sources, archaeological survey and excavation, and scientific analysis of samples from archaeological sites to help us understand how the use of marine resources influenced settlement patterns and ways of life along the west coast of Norway, from the Viking Age until the early 20th century.

We believe that we can use this knowledge of how communities interacted with the ocean in the past to inspire more responsible use and management of coastal and marine environments in the present.

Many past archaeological studies of coastal sites have focused on commercial fisheries, but we aim to explore how people lived in these communities, not just their commercial products. However, we are working against the clock: coastal archaeological sites are greatly at risk from coastal erosion caused by climate change. The scientific samples we collect during our excavations will help us gather as much information as possible from these sites. The analysis of our samples will also help to build local expertise in environmental archaeology in Norway.

We are particularly interested in driftwood, which was used as fuel and timber in many coastal communities in northern Norway and is now declining due to climate change and river management. However, where past communities collected driftwood, we now find plastic pollution. Through films, workshops, and a touring exhibition, we will connect the marine resources exploited in the past with what washes up on the shore in the present, raising awareness of the diverse potential of marine gathered resources and encouraging more conscious interactions with our coasts and oceans.

Updates from the project

May 2026

Lísabet on survey on Grímsey

MARGAIN postdoctoral researcher Lísabet Guðmundsdóttir has beein conducting a survey on the island of Grímsey, in Steingrímsfjörður (NW Iceland). According to the Book of Settlements (Landnámabók), Grímur and Bergdís from Haddingjadalur (Hallingdal) settled the island, and therefore it was called Grímsey. Grímsey is rich in coastal resources, for example, eiderdown, seals, and sea birds (meat and eggs). It was also a short way by boat from good fishing grounds. The archaeological remains include seasonal hunting stations from the Viking Age and earlier periods, along with permanent settlements, such as farm mounds and various outhouses. Here, two communities lived together, the seasonal workers and the people who lived in Grímsey throughout the year. There is, however, a slight problem: there is very limited water on the island. There is one water source, but to access it you had to climb down the cliffs on a rope, and you can imagine getting the water up there again without spilling most of it down again? This is most likely the reason why it was abandoned several times. Below you can see some photos from the survey: try to spot the seasonal booths and note the fantastic natural landing.

Welcoming Ollie back from Spain

MARGAIN PhD researcher Oliver Rusk has spent the last three months on a research stay at INCIPIT-CSIC in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. He’s been working with Dr María Martín-Seijo to characterise how driftwood charcoal looks different from fresh wood charcoal under the microscope. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Ollie and María have been looking at modern and archaeological charcoal from sites in Norway and Iceland, and identifying the different decay features present. These might include fungal hyphae – the ‘threads’ that spread through wood as the fungus grows – or physical changes to the wood like cell collapse and fractures. Ollie has also been using Py-GC-MS and microbiome analysis to explore the differences in fungal colonisation between fresh and drifted wood.

The fungi that grow on driftwood – in constantly cold, very wet conditions – are different from the fungi that colonise wood on land. If we can identify how decay by these different types of fungi looks different under magnification, we can identify whether charcoal we find on archaeological sites results from burning driftwood. This helps us understand resource networks: did the people living or working at a coastal site use the driftwood that arrived there, or was there suitable fuel wood present in the local area? Did people bring wood for fuel with them to seasonal coastal sites? Ollie will now start working on synthesising his data to look for patterns, with the aim to publish the results this year – watch this space for updates on this work. Here you can see some of Ollie’s pictures from his research stay, including some photomicrographs showing the complex beauty of wood under high magnification.

April 2026

Seaweeds, seabirds and Sámi traditions: MARGAIN and SEARCH in Troms and Lofoten

Dawn and Shalen have just returned from a trip to Tromsø and Lofoten as a collaboration between the SEARCH and MARGAIN projects. We were accompanied by photographer and filmmaker Ines Meier and Inka Dewtiz, who are making a documentary film connecting past and present human-ocean interactions as part of MARGAIN.

We started in Tromsø, where we met up with project advisor Gørill Nilsen. We took a day trip into Kåfjord and visited the Centre for Northern Peoples to learn about Sea Sámi traditions and lifeways. Fishing has always been central to life in this region, and back in Tromsø we met up with Delphin Ruché from Rissa Citizen Science to learn about the impacts of overfishing on the marine and coastal environment. Rissa have projects restoring kelp forests, which secures future fish stocks through providing nurseries and food for young fish, and monitoring seabird populations, many of which are in decline.

After a fascinating few days in Troms, we flew down to Lofoten where we held a lecture and outreach event at Lofotr Viking museum. During this, we gave locals and tourists alike the opportunity to learn about coastal resources in the past as well as tasting dishes cooked with seaweed in traditional soapstone and metal vessels over the fire in the reconstructed longhouse. Our seaweed porridge was especially popular – if you want to try it yourself, you can find the recipe here. Shalen took samples from the dishes and will analyse them to find out what cooked seaweed looks like under a microscope. She is also analysing 40 artefacts from the Viking Age chieftain’s settlement at Borg in Lofoten, so hopefully we’ll identify some of the same residues!

Lastly, we linked up with SEARCH project partner Lofoten Seaweed, where we interviewed co-founder Angelita Eriksen before joining them for a dulse harvest. Dulse was an important foodstuff in the Viking Age, and plays a pivotal role in Egil’s saga, but can only be harvested at the lowest low tides. We wore thick winter wetsuits as we stood waist-deep in the 6°C water, but people in the past would have just worn woollen clothes – this was a hard job, and it shows how valued this seaweed must have been that people went to such efforts to collect it.

Human-ocean interactions past, present and future

MARGAIN focuses on how people in the past used gathered marine resources - such as driftwood, seaweed, shellfish, coastal plants and eiderdown - as these are often overlooked by archaeologists. People also collected goods and timber from shipwrecks, as well as other things that washed ashore: humans have always been drawn to beachcombing. Coastal places where drift material arrived were important to people in the past - they might be a good place to collect firewood, or an easy route to shore. We often find archaeological remains, especially of seasonal sites and boathouses, near drift beaches.

Driftwood was a vital source of fuel and timber for many communities in the North Atlantic, especially where few trees grow. However, driftwood delivery to our coasts is now declining. A recent study suggests that by 2040, there will be no more driftwood arriving on the coasts of Iceland, and the same is probably true for the west coast of Norway. North Atlantic driftwood mostly comes from Siberia, and needs to be frozen into the Arctic ice in order to reach us. The less sea ice there is, the less driftwood we get. At the same time, changes in logging practices and river management are reducing the amount of wood that enters our rivers.

In many places along the coast, we are now more likely to find plastic pollution than driftwood. We can help by collecting plastic when we find it - both Jæren Friluftsråd and Ryfylke Friluftsråd provide bags for collecting trash and popular beaches and coastal hiking areas. Leave any driftwood you find, though - it's an important habitat for many animals and insects. You can find more information about beach cleans in Norway at ryddenorge.no.