Jesse Byock

Jesse L. Byock (born 1945) is Professor of Old Norse and Medieval Scandinavian Studies in the Scandinavian Section at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University.

An archaeologist and specialist in the archaeology, history and language of the Viking Age, he is Professor at UCLA’s Cotsen Institute of Archaeology.

In Iceland, Prof. Byock is the Head Archaeologist and Director of the Mosfell Archaeological Project, excavating a Viking Age valley described in the medieval sagas and written sources.

The Mosfell excavations include a large well-preserved chieftain’s hall, Christian and pagan burial sites, a conversion-age stave church, and a harbor from the first centuries of Iceland’s settlement during the Viking Age.

Jesse Byock is also affiliated Professor at the University of Iceland (Háskóli Íslands) in the Department of History and the Programs in Medieval Icelandic and Viking Studies, where he teaches courses in Old Norse and the history, archaeology, sagas and sources of Viking Age and Medieval Iceland.

Icelandic Archaeological Representative to the Advisory Board of the international Serial Nominations Committee for UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the Viking Age.

Byock is currently engaged with the Mosfell Archaeological Project, an archaeologically rich environment, including the excavation of a viking long house, chieftain's hall, and pagan and Christian burial yards.

The Mosfell Valley and Mosfellsbær lie within the greater Reykjavik area.