Keldur turf house

Those who want to get a feel for old Iceland would do well to visit Keldur, probably the oldest house in Iceland. The house was lived in continuously from the 10th Century to the mid-20th Century. Still, it is not quite possible to say that this is a 1000 year old house, as turf-and-sod houses have to be continuously renovated and rebuilt, so different parts are from different times. Even the stones have had to be rearranged at times, after earthquakes, but the hall of the farm is clearly the oldest in the country. Keldur is a farm and a church site in S-Iceland. Where the old farm still stands in the shelter of the edge of the lava field, big cold springs, called Keldur, feed a stream. The areas north of Keldur are almost totally barren, sanded lava areas, where there were fertile areas and prosperous farms in the past. The ruins of 18 farmsteads have been discovered within the area, victims of soil erosion. During the first decades of the 20th century, the occupants of Keldur fought the devastating advance of travelling dunes and sandstorms rather successfully. The remaining defense constructions show great ingenuity. Today, much effort is made to stop and reverse soil erosion in Iceland, which is the worst in Europe. According to the Njal's Saga, the farmer Ingjaldur Holskuldsson occupied Keldur around the year 1000. Later the most powerful dynasty of the country, the so-called Oddaverjar, had one of their manors there. A few years before the turn of the last century the houses of the old farm were repaired and renovated and archaeologist carried out excavations discovered new facts about a secret sub terrain walk from the farm down to the stream. A plausible theory is that it was built by Ingjaldur as an escape route. He had reason to fear attacks, as he refused to join the coalition against Njall, making him some powerful enemies.