Buried by white volcanic ash in 1104 during one of Hekla’s eruptions, this ancient farm once belonged to Gaukur Trandilsson, a 10th-century Viking who lived a tempestuous life. Mentions in 12th-century graffiti found in Orkney, in Njál’s Saga and in a scurrilous medieval rhyme hint that Trandilsson had a fling with the housewife at the nearby farm, Steinastöðum, and was killed over the affair in an axe duel.
Contemplate this as you explore the ruins, where you'll find stone-lined fire pits and door lintels made from octagonal basalt columns, all set in an impressively multihued lava landscape. Excavated in 1939 as part of Iceland’s first proper archaeological dig, it's an important site, used to date Viking houses elsewhere.
The ruins include the foundations of a farm, house, barn, smithy and church. Find the site at the end of a rough 5km dirt road (Rte 327), off Rte 32 about 26km northeast of Árnes.
