Icelandic turf house (torfbær)
Casa de turba islandesa (torfbær)
- Date
- c. 900 · confidence low
- Place
- Stöng, Þjórsárdalur, Iceland
- Credited to
- Norse settlers of Iceland
- Field
- Tools
What it is
A dwelling with thick turf-block walls on stone footings, a driftwood frame and a sod roof. Turf insulates against cold on a treeless island and is repaired with local material.
Turf houses have existed in Europe since the Neolithic; this entry records their development in Iceland after settlement (874). Stöng was buried by a Hekla eruption, probably in 1104.
What it led to
- Icelandic housing until the 20th century with layered turf walls
- medieval farms with a long hall, such as Stöng (c. 1104)
- adaptation of Norse architecture to a timber-poor climate