Ancient Greeks Reached Iceland Before The Vikings – New Theory Suggests

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - The problem with researching Iceland's ancient history is the lack of written sources.

Most scholars say Iceland was discovered by Norse people who created the first settlement on the island around 870–930. The island was not populated until the Viking Age.

The oldest written document is the Íslendingabók (The Book of the Icelanders), written about 1130. Another interesting source, dated to the 12th century, is Landnámabók (The Book of Settlements).

The Icelandic Book of Settlements states that Norwegian Ingólfr Arnarson was the first permanent settler to reach the island in 874. He built a home for himself and his wife, Hallveig Fródadóttir, in a place called Reykjavík. He worked as a farmer when more than 400 settlers sailed to Iceland with their families, servants, and enslaved people to claim land. Most of the settlers came from Norway, but some came from other Nordic countries and the Norse Viking Age settlements in the British Isles.

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See also:

Pytheas’s Voyage To The Arctic In 325 B.C. And Account Of Thule, The Strange Land Beyond

Mythical Norse Artifacts Discovered In Viking Graves Confirm Icelandic Sagas Once Again

Arrival Of A Mysterious Figure Triggers Unexplained Phenomena In Iceland – Strange Story From A Norse Saga

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