Viking-Era Structures Explored in Iceland

ODDI, ICELAND—According to a report in Iceland Review, a series of caves carved out of sandstone in South Iceland is older and larger than previously thought. Archaeologist Kristborg Þórsdóttir said that the structures, which were first discovered in 2018, date to the middle of the tenth century A.D. But the investigation has been slowed by dangerous conditions. “The rock is so porous that it just crumbles before our eyes,” Þórsdóttir said. The caves were probably not used for very long for this reason, she added. The structure currently under investigation may be Nautahellir, or Bull Cave, mentioned in an early thirteenth-century manuscript recording the collapse of a cave where 12 bulls were held. Only one of them was rescued from the rubble. “Although it’s older than that, it’s likely that [the cave] was used for livestock,” Þórsdóttir explained. For more, go to "The Blackener's Cave."