9 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A Small Sandstone Carved With A Viking Ship May Be Oldest Picture Ever Found In Iceland

Archaeologists in East Iceland have found a sandstone carved with a Viking ship that may be the oldest picture ever found in the country.

The stone was found at the archaeological site Stöð on Stöðvarfjörður in East Iceland in a longhouse that is believed to predate the permanent settlement of the island.

“Bjarni F. Einarsson, the archaeologist leading the excavation, says that the stone was found in the wall of the older cabin. Such carvings of ships are quite common in the Nordic countries, carved in bone, wood, or stone. This is the first drawing of a ship that he knows of that has been found in Iceland and must be the oldest drawing in the country,” RÚV reports.

The first exploratory digs at Stöð took place in 2015, and archaeologists have returned every summer since to continue excavating the site, where they initially concentrated their efforts on a settlement-era longhouse.

One of the longhouses found at the site. Photo: Bjarni Einarsson

“The longhouse is among the largest found in Iceland, 31.4m [103ft] long. In Scandinavia, only chieftains’ farms had longhouses larger than 28m [92ft]. It is also the richest longhouse ever excavated in Iceland. We have found 92 beads and 29 silver objects, including Roman and Middle Eastern coins,” Bjarni F. Einarsson told Iceland Review.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



The discovery of an even older longhouse beneath the settlement-era longhouse, estimated to date back to around 800 AD, some 75 years before Iceland’s permanent settlement, adds to the significance of the site. The absence of domesticated animal bones is the most noticeable feature of the older structure.

“My theory is that the older longhouse was a seasonal hunting camp, operated by a Norwegian chief who outfitted voyages to Iceland to gather valuables and bring them back across the sea to Norway,” Bjarni told Iceland Review. One of these valuables may have been walrus ivory: in 2019, DNA analyses and radiocarbon dating confirmed that Iceland was previously inhabited by a North Atlantic subspecies of walrus, now extinct.

Archaeologists used survey equipment this spring to scan a larger area around Stöð and discovered evidence of additional structures and boat burial sites.

Cover Photo: Facebook – The Landnámsskáli group in Stöð

Related Articles

Remains of 2 houses belonging to the founding period of the city were unearthed in the ancient city of Hierapolis

5 November 2021

5 November 2021

During this year’s excavations in the ancient city of Hierapolis-Pamukkale in Turkey’s Aegean province Denizli, the remains of two houses...

Saxon ‘London’ was Bigger Than Previously Believed

23 February 2024

23 February 2024

Archaeologists digging at the northern end of Trafalgar Square found evidence that Saxon London’s center was bigger and extended further...

Wildfire Uncovers Lost Biblical Village of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee

16 August 2025

16 August 2025

In a surprising twist of fate, a wildfire that swept through Israel’s Betiha Nature Reserve in late July has unveiled...

The Oldest Odin Inscription in the World Found in the Vindelev treasure

8 March 2023

8 March 2023

Scientists have identified the earliest known inscription referring to the Norse god Odin on part of a gold disc unearthed...

Archaeologists discover a 4,000-year-old ancient city in the Iraqi Dhi Qar region

20 July 2021

20 July 2021

An astonishing find was made by archaeologists in Iraq‘s Dhi Qar province, where an ancient settlement estimated to be 4,000...

A cave complex with hieroglyphs and Varangian symbols discovered in center of Ukraine

19 November 2022

19 November 2022

An ancient cave complex thought to date from Kievan Rus’ has been discovered in central Kyiv at Voznesensky Uzvoz. Dmytro...

In Ryazan, the first birch bark letters were discovered

13 September 2021

13 September 2021

The first birch bark letters were found at the Vvedensky excavation site in the Kremlin in Pereyaslavl Ryazan (modern Ryazan)....

Two Archaic Sculptures was Unearthed in Milas Euromos 2021 Excavations

2 July 2021

2 July 2021

Milas Euromos 2021 archaeological excavations continue. During the excavations of Milas Euromos 2021, archaeologists unearthed two archaic period statues (kuros)...

Cave paintings discovered in western Turkey carry the region’s past back to prehistory

18 December 2021

18 December 2021

During the archaeological survey carried out in and around the ancient city of Alinda in Aydın province in western Turkey,...

460-Year-Old Wooden Hunting Bow Found in Alaska’s Lake Clark

11 March 2022

11 March 2022

In late September 2021, National Park Service employees made an unlikely discovery in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in...

Excavations of Aççana Mound, the Capital of the Mukish Kingdom, Continue

16 July 2021

16 July 2021

2021 excavations have started at Aççana Höyük, the old city of Alalah, in Hatay’s Reyhanlı district. The ancient city of...

1900 years old funerary altar of a teenage girl discovered in Rome

9 May 2022

9 May 2022

A funerary altar indicating the location of the remains of Valeria, a 13-year-old girl who died in the 2nd century...

Numerous Statue Fragments Unearthed at Lost Apollo Sanctuary in Cyprus!

29 April 2025

29 April 2025

The Sanctuary of Apollo at Frangissa, located near ancient Tamassos and lost for approximately 140 years, has been rediscovered through...

Archaeologists uncovered an Aztec altar with human ashes in Mexico City

1 December 2021

1 December 2021

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered a 16th-century altar in Plaza Garibaldi, the center in Mexico City famous for its revelry...

Tomb of an Urartian buried with his dog, cattle, sheep, and 4 horses unearthed

6 September 2021

6 September 2021

In ancient times, the dead were buried with their living and non-living things. The offerings placed as dead gifts varied...