Long before the Norse settlers arrived in Iceland, the island was already home to a small community. Archaeological evidence suggests that Irish monks or Hiberno-Scottish missionaries may have lived there as early as the 8th century. In 2016, researchers uncovered a cabin in the Westfjords region, dated between 770 and 880 AD, indicating human habitation before the Norse settlement began in 874. This discovery challenges the traditional narrative that Iceland was uninhabited until the Viking Age.
The first documented permanent resident was Náttfari, a Norwegian-Norse explorer who stayed behind after his leader, Garðar Svavarsson, departed. Náttfari settled in what is now known as Náttfaravík with two slaves, marking the beginning of Iceland’s recorded history. These early settlers, though few in number, laid the foundation for the island’s future Norse colonization.
The ruins of this early cabin, along with other archaeological findings, provide a glimpse into a lesser-known chapter of Iceland’s past. They remind us that the island’s story is far richer and more complex than the Viking saga alone.
