The Russian Settlement at Russekeila and Land Rise in Vestspitsbergen

Abstract

Discusses the possibilities of postglacial land emergence, from observations at Russekeila on Isfjorden during inter-Nordic archeological-ethnographical expeditions in 1955 and 1960. Evidence from a kitchen midden 15-17 m from the sea and two meters above high-tide level, indicates that the land has not risen appreciably for over a hundred yrs. Similar evidence from Murchisonfjorden, presented by Blake, q.v., and the Amsterdamoya area in northwestern Vestspitsbergen (No. 39801) shows no land rise in those areas during the past 100-350 yrs.