The story of Ymir and the creation of the universe typifies the emphasis on sacrifice as a theme, in Nordic myth and in creation stories around the world. In Norse mythology, Ymir was the primeval...
The Vikings, the seafaring Norse pirates and traders from the Scandinavian region, left an indelible mark on history, particularly European history, as they raided, looted, pillaged, and conquered...
Last summer, a series of man-made Viking era caves were discovered southwest of Oddi in southern Iceland dated to the 10th century AD. Excavations have now revealed a massive system of interconnected...
Throughout their history, the Vikings were known as ferocious fighters, seafarers, raiders, and traders. The popular image depicts them as somewhat rambunctious and lawless - but that is far from the...
Icelanders believe in elves. They refuse to begin major construction projects unless they consult with elves first. They lobby their politicians on behalf of elf colonies. They run “elf schools” and...
A group of archaeologists have found a unique Viking age site, 300 meters (984 feet) beyond the entrance of Iceland’s Surtshellir cave, that appears to have been used for Viking rituals. The most...
The Vikings’ next step out into the Atlantic – the discovery and settlement of Iceland – is one of the best documented events of the Viking Age. Medieval Icelanders were fascinated by genealogy, not...
In 2013 archaeologists in Iceland came across an ash pile which led to excavations that began in 2017 at Arnarfjörður, near the church town Auðkúla in Iceland . The ash pile led to the discovery of a...
Iceland is a large Nordic island country, and one of the most sparsely populated nations in Europe. This remote island is known for its iconic North Atlantic climate and somewhat inhospitable nature...
Demanding a rewrite of Icelandic history , in November 2015 a report in IcelandMag said archaeologists at an excavation in Fjarðabyggð, in east Iceland, found an old Viking farmstead at Stöð in...
This week it was announced that a new genetic study published in the journal Nature shows that the genomes of over 27,000 Icelanders display an admixture of modern human and Neanderthal DNA, along...
The once highly rich tradition of Icelandic books of magic of the 16th and the 17th centuries has survived only in a fragmentary state. Despite this fact, Icelandic folktales speak about the...
More so than females, the male Norse explorers who took residence in Iceland more than 1,000 years were buried with their horses and new DNA evidence proves that the horses slaughtered to accompany...
Turf houses are a distinctive type of dwelling found in Iceland with origins dating back to the 9 th century AD, which are attributed to the country’s Nordic settlers. The development of turf houses...
In archaeology, anything from the past can be of great importance, including artifacts that may seem rather small and unremarkable at first glance. For example, archaeologists have just announced the...
About 1000 years ago, paganism was practically stamped out in Iceland, while Christianity was ushered in. But Nordic neopaganism, under the name of Ásatrúarfélagið (sometimes called Asatru), has now...