<< Text Pages >> Völvuleiði - Cairn in Iceland
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Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: Völvuleiði Alternative Name: Völvuleiðið á HólmahálsiCountry: Iceland
NOTE: This site is 24.917 km away from the location you searched for.
Type: Cairn
Nearest Town: Seyðisfjörður Nearest Village: Eskifjörður / Reyðarfjörður
Latitude: 65.050830N Longitude: 14.02593W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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This cairn is on top of Hólmahál, northwest of the road and only about 400 years old. The mortal remains of a Völva (a female shaman) are buried here. She is said to have lived during the 17th century and asked for a burial here. She wanted to protect the two villages of Eskifjörður and Reyðarfjörður even in death.
The legend goes on to say that in later years raiders navigated the fjord and as they approached the villages, an extremely dense fog rolled in, which was attributed to the work of Völva. The enemies had to turn back because of the fog.
The legend is a fine example of how, even after Iceland's Christianization, the pagan relgion and traditions lives on for centuries.
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