Iceland - Part 6

Turf Houses

Early Icelandic settlers survived in houses insulated with turf. We saw three examples during our tour. In pouring rain at Skalholt we walked around this reconstructed specimen.

You can see rain drops in the next picture of the house's side and side door.

This particular house had small windows in front and rear.

The reconstructed turf farm house at Thjodveldisbaer, shown in the next images below, had no windows. It must have been dark and gloomy inside. The Thjodveldisbaer farm house is based on an actual ancient farm called Stong. The ancient Stong farm, along with 19 others, was buried under a blanket of pumice during the 1104 volcanic eruption of Mount Hekla. The Stong farm was particularly well preserved under the pumice, and this reconstruction is based on what was found during a successful 1939 excavation.

The house would normally have been closed at the time of our visit, but a film crew was shooting a documentary there, so we were allowed to see the interior. Below, a pot hangs above the fire pit in the long main hallway within the house.

Benches were arrayed on each side of the main hallway.

At the end of the hallway was a work room containing a loom.

Adjacent to the main farm house was a small turf church with a scenic waterfall behind it.

The next picture shows a portion of the vast pumice deposit that buried 20 farms in 1104.

Modern examples of turf houses were seen at Skogar. According to our guide, people lived without heat or electricity in houses like these in the late 1800's to early 1900's .

The next pictures show the spartan interior of these houses. Our guide said people slept five to a bed for warmth.

I can't imagine enduring such primitive conditions in this remote country.