Researchers say the Faroe Islands were colonized about 500 years earlier than assumed

Aug 20, 2013 18:36 GMT  ·  By
Evidence indicates the Vikings were not the first to reach the Faroe Islands
   Evidence indicates the Vikings were not the first to reach the Faroe Islands

Scary looks and devil-may-care take on life aside, it appears that the Vikings were not the first people to colonize the Faroe Islands.

Evidence recently dug out by archaeologists indicates that, about 300-500 years before the Vikings reached these lands, someone was already living there.

Thus, excavations have unearthed traces of burnt peat ash left behind by human activities in the area, EurekAlert tells us. These traces appear to date back to pre-Viking phases.

“There is now firm archaeological evidence for the human colonisation of the Faroes by people some 300-500 years before the large scale Viking colonisation of the 9th century AD, although we don't yet know who these people were or where they came from,” Dr. Mike Church explains.

The researchers suspect that, when the Vikings arrived, they pretty much wiped out the people already inhabiting the Faroe Islands.

Hence the fact that archaeologists are now having trouble finding proof of their existence.

As Dr. Mike Church puts it, “The majority of archaeological evidence for this early colonisation is likely to have been destroyed by the major Viking invasion, explaining the lack of proof found in the Faroes for the earlier settlement.”