The Caves of Ægissíða

The entrance to one of the caves.

The caves of Ægissíða are a series of ancient man-made sandstone caves located at the farm Ægissíða on the bank of the river Ytri-Rangá in the southern part of Iceland. From the beginning of the 20th century the caves where a popular tourist attraction. Though many man-made caves can be found in the southern part of Iceland, it is rare to find as many caves together as at Ægissíða. The most famous cave is Fjóshellir though eleven other caves can be found there.

History

The first written sources of the caves are in a poem from the late 18th century, where the author names eighteen caves at Ægissíða. In 1818 a priest tells in writing of caves at Ægissíða and that they are very old. The caves were used throughout the centuries by farmers to house their livestock.

Builders

The embossed cross at Fjóshellir

According to Landnámabók and Íslendingabók Celtic monks from Ireland known as papar lived in Iceland before Scandinavian settlers arrived. Many Icelandic scholars have pointed out that the caves are probably built by the Irish monks. These scholars pointed out that a cross had been embossed in the walls of Fjóshellir centuries ago. The fact that the cross was embossed, but not carved inside the sandstone like all other crosses found in man made caves in Iceland, was a proof that the cross was constructed at the same time as the cave and therefore must have been made by the builders.

Other scholars have denied these theories on the grounds that no archaeological remains have been found that proof that the papar where in Iceland before the island was settled around 874.

Modern interest

Interior of the cave known as Lambhellir (Sheep-cave). The cave was used to house sheep until the late 20th century.

For centuries the caves have been a source of interest for many people both foreign and Icelandic. The Icelandic poet and lawyer Einar Benediktsson was very interested in the caves and was one of the key figures in exploiting the theories about the Irish monks building them. Later on the Icelandic writer Þórbergur Þórðarson investigated the caves. He disagreed with Einar Benediktsson about the origin of the caves. Matthías Þórðarson, the director of the National museum of Iceland came to the conclusion that the caves were ancient but nothing suggested they were made before Iceland was settled. Einar Benediktsson had his friend and painter Jóhannes Kjarval sketch the cave murals. The Icelandic poet and priest, Matthías Jochumsson held a mass in one of the caves known as Kirkjuhellir or Church-cave (named for his similarity to an old church). The caves are a part of Yrsa Sigurðardóttir´s first crime novel, Last Rituals.

But the interest of the caves were not only to be found with Icelanders. In 1936 the Ahnenerbe (a Nazi institute that investigated the history of the Aryan race) organized an expedition to Iceland to investigate ancient temples. When they arrived they got thrilled by the man-made caves and assumed that they might have been an ancient Hof. All investigations were drawn to a halt because of World War II.

The caves are closed to the public.