Pre-870s settlement According to one hypothesis, which is based on radiocarbon dating evidence from
Vestmannaeyjar off the southern coast of Iceland, the island was first settled by Norsemen as early as the end of the sixth century or in the seventh century. The dated material was found under a layer of
tephra (volcanic fragments), called the 'Settlement Layer', left by an eruption dated through
ice core analysis to about 871. However, doubts have been raised about the accuracy of this dating because of the possible effect of volcanic carbon dioxide on the dating process. According to Magnús Stefánsson, the attribution of this material to a sixth-to-seventh-century settlement should be rejected. Other archaeological sites have been found which predate the traditionally accepted date of 874 for the earliest settlement of the island. Some dwellings were excavated in Reykjavík in 1971–73 which were found below the 'Settlement Layer' and thus must date to before 870. Two
longhouses built consecutively on the same site in Stöð near the village of
Stöðvarfjörður in eastern Iceland have been excavated since 2015. The older of these is one of the largest longhouses ever found in Iceland and may date to as early as 800. Bjarni F. Einarsson, the head of the archaeological team which excavated the site, believes that the older longhouse was used as a summer outpost by Scandinavians. In archaeologist Orri Vésteinsson's view, there was probably a period of seasonal settlement of the island before permanent settlements were established. The
Íslendingabók of
Ari Thorgilsson claims that the Norse settlers encountered
Gaelic monks, called
papar by the Norsemen, from a
Hiberno-Scottish mission when they arrived in Iceland. There is some archaeological evidence for a monastic settlement from Ireland at Kverkarhellir cave, on the Seljaland farm in southern Iceland. Sediment deposits indicate people lived there around 800, and crosses consistent with the Hiberno-Scottish style were carved in the wall of a nearby cave. Ari Thorgilsson writes that the monks left upon the arrival of the Norsemen since they did not want to live with non-Christians. Dicuil claimed to have met some monks who had lived on the island of
Thule. They said that darkness reigned during winter but that the summers were bright enough to pick lice from one's clothing, but the veracity of this source may be questioned. Additionally, Iceland is only about 450 kilometres from the
Faroes, which had been visited by Irish monks in the sixth century, and settled by the Norse around 650.
Norse settlement Written sources consider the age of settlement in Iceland to have begun with settlement by
Ingólfr Arnarson around 874, for he was the first to sail to Iceland with the purpose of settling the land. Archaeological evidence shows that extensive human settlement of the island indeed began at this time, and "that the whole country was occupied within a couple of decades towards the end of the ninth century." Estimates of the number of people who migrated to the country during the Age of Settlement range between 4,300 and 24,000, with estimates of the number of initial settlers ranging between 311 and 436. While the written sources emphasise settlement from Norway, genetic evidence shows that the founder population of Iceland came from Ireland, Scotland, and Scandinavia: studies of
mitochondrial DNA and
Y-chromosomes indicate that 62% of Icelanders' matrilineal ancestry derives from Scotland and Ireland (with most of the rest being from Scandinavia), while 75% of their patrilineal ancestry derives from Scandinavia (with most of the rest being from the Irish and British Isles). Archaeogenetic evidence suggests that the actual founding population included a higher proportion again of settlers from the Irish and British Isles: one study found that the mean Norse ancestry among Iceland's settlers was 56%, whereas in the current population the figure was 70%. It is thought likely that most of the settlers from Ireland and Scotland came as slaves, and therefore reproduced less successfully than higher-status settlers from Scandinavia, making them ancestors of a smaller proportion of the modern population. Though the notion that population pressure drove migration to Iceland remains unsupported in the academic literature, a number of reasons have been offered for the settlement of Iceland: • Available land would have been attractive to Viking Age Scandinavians, especially given the relatively warm climate in Iceland at the time. • The observation of valuable resources, such as
walrus ivory, made Iceland attractive to those looking to profit on trade. • Greater resistance to Viking incursions in the British isles and continental Europe in the late ninth century pushed Vikings to seek more peaceful opportunities. • Medieval written sources emphasize how
Harald Fairhair's centralization of Norway and imposition of burdensome taxes on farmers encouraged farmers to migrate to Iceland. Written sources say some settlers took land freely, others bought lands from earlier settlers, some were gifted land by earlier settlers, and that some settlers took lands from others through the use of force or threat of force. Lands were likely not rented during the Age of settlement. Medievalist
Hans Kuhn argued that lands were given away or taken freely because earlier settlers had no need for such extensive lands. Historian
Gunnar Karlsson notes that it could be rational for earlier settlers to encourage new settlers to settle lands nearby so as to ease maintenance of cattle and slaves, and as insurance in times of crisis.
Age of settlement ends Ari Thorgilsson claims in that the country had been "fully settled" by 930. Correspondingly, suggests that within about sixty years, all the usable land had been taken; it mentions 1,500 farm and place names, and more than 3,500 people, arranged in a geographical fashion. In the periodisation of Icelandic history, therefore, the age of settlement is considered to have ended in the year 930 with the establishment of ; at this point the
Icelandic Commonwealth period is considered to begin. Archeological evidence shows, however, "that immigrants continued to arrive in Iceland throughout the 10th century". The authors of one study speculate that "continued immigration may have been needed to sustain the population". == Theories ==