Vigishellir

In 2001 excavations by the Icelandic National Museum in the lava cave Vígishellir (also called Beinahellir, Surtshellir) documented the presence of defensive walls, a rock outline of a dwelling, and a bone rich midden deposit exposed on the cave floor. Traditional stories associated these features with a band of outlaws reputed to have raided the surrounding countryside during the 10th century from their fortified refuge within the cave (until they were eventually betrayed and killed). The excavated animal bones collected during the 2001 investigations were kindly sent to the Hunter NORSEC laboratory for analysis by Guðmundur Olafsson (National Museum of Iceland) and Kevin Smith (Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology) in spring 2003.