River erosion threatens grave containing 426 sheep

A riverbank near Stafnsrétt, a sheep-roundup site in Svartárdal, had eroded to within about two metres of a grave containing more than 400 sheep, mbl.is reported. About 300 cubic metres of blasted rock have been brought in to protect the road and prevent the grave from being exposed.

The work was carried out jointly by Húnabyggð municipality, Land and Forest, and the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority, known as MAST. The grave has not opened, but the river had begun eroding the bank close to it.

Sigurjón Einarsson of Land and Forest said the river ran along the opposite bank when the grave was made, about 50 to 60 metres away. He said river channels naturally shift over time and that a conventional bank defence had now been built.

MAST director Hrönn Ólína Jörundsdóttir said the work was intended to prevent soil and remains from being carried into the river. Sheep from Skagafjörður and Húnavatnssýsla are buried there, and the carcasses may contain the scrapie agent, she said. MAST considers it safest to keep the grave closed. There is no risk of infection while it remains undisturbed, she said, although it is not known exactly how long the agent can survive in soil.

Farmer Sigursteinn Bjarnason, who lives at Stafn in Svartárdal, said the river had been diverted away from the grave and road. He warned that without the repairs the river could have reached the grave over winter and damaged the road in spring.

The grave was dug about 50 years ago after 426 sheep drowned in the Svartá river on September 23, 1976. Bjarnason recalled that the river became blocked by the sheep and then swept their carcasses across the gravel banks. It took all day to gather them up, he said.