Icelandic Caves of Hella

Didn’t know until we saw the sign and pulled in, but Iceland has hundreds of man made caves across the south, generally about 2-10 miles inland from the coast. There’s a hella lot around Hella. We took a tour to learn more…

Barely 6’ high through most of them, which makes sense from a digging and warming perspective 

All have chimneys, some several, for cooking/heating fires

Several caves are connected by narrow tunnels

There’s not much funding for research, but there’s plenty of regulation, so the caves have been designated cultural landmarks by the government, but research is in fits and starts.

Without definitive research, there are some good guesses about who, when and how. Seems likely that the Celts may have been here even before the Vikings (the Vikings did steal some Celtic women for their trips over) because there are several thousand caves of similar design, depth, and structure in Ireland dating back to the 5th century. Plus, there are some ancient etchings in the cave walls of crucifixes and what appears to be some Celtic runes. Hardly the stuff of Vikings who tended to live in long houses high on hills so they didn’t miss out on a potential battle. 

Some of the caves have been in use almost since their construction (there is a very specific method of stacking stones and moss at the entrances that is effective, unique and evident on both islands) including by modern farmers as sheep sheds, so the ones that are well-preserved could hold a wealth of info on early Icelandic history if anyone would ever start digging…

Definitely looks like runes

All original structures, steps, etc. 

This 3-D crucifix actually has a rudimentary Jesus carved with it. 

The constant temps provide an opportunity for the owners to bottle some of their own whiskey. We were just about 20 months too early…

Couldn’t resist stopping at the Valhalla Restaurant & Saga Center which served cold draft beer, pork ribs and pork belly, all tasty, in a long house dining hall. But the best May have been the historical exhibit about the early Viking settlers. With a visit if you’re on the Ring Road!