Indoor facilities in 12th century Iceland

As I write this, the news features concerns about volcanoes erupting in one of our favorite place, Iceland. I know, Iceland seems an odd choice compared to London, or Paris or the Grand Canyon, but the wild remoteness of the country is like few others.

All this reminded me of our trip there two years ago, and a trip to the Þjóðveldisbærinn Stöng, a Viking Farm excavated in a fairly remote area of Iceland. As Robert will attest, Highway 32 was  more of a suggestion than paved road, often marked only by sparse markers to let you know that you were on track. Describing the area as a moonscape, is not far off.

Our destination was a settlement excavated by archaeologists, and open to the public since 1974. Although Iceland is not nearly as cold as the Viking's original lands, these Nordic folk had a fairly good idea that indoor toilets were a pretty good idea.

And, honestly I was NOT looking for this,  but according to the signs from the Archaeological Heritage Society of Iceland, outside the excavation indicated that this area was believed to be the toilet. No more specifics were provided.