Upcoming Events
Ex-Arc- Festival 2026:
Icelandic Clay and its uses
Welcome to the Eiríksstaðir Summer Festival, 03.-05. July 2026
We will investigate Icelandic Viking pottery and the possible use of clay.
Academic literature claims that Icelandic clay was not used for pottery, but we are looking to investigate this a little more through modern knowledge of the geology, ceramics, and archaeology -as uncertain as the results may prove.
Amongst other things, we wish to investigate whether Icelandic clay is suitable for uses other than pottery, i.e., using it as a building material like it was done in other places in Europe at the time Iceland was settled. This, too, is completely uncertain, and it will be exciting to look at all this with an open mind and without expectations of one outcome or another.
A select team of experts will come from all over Miðgard to work with us on the experiments.
Make your way west to Dalir and join us in solving these mysteries of the past.
Click here for the Event
The sun turns black.....but only for a while.
Join us in celebrating this cosmic event with a pagan Blót, lead by an official Goði of the Icelandic Ásatrú Félagið and experience how the consistently growing neo-pagan community in Iceland find their way back to the Old Gods.
Equinox Blót at Eiríksstaðir
23. September 2026
A pagan ceremony to celebrate the autumn equinox at Eiriksstadir, performed by the Goði Jökull Tandri from the Ásatrú Association. This outdoor event is open to everyone.
Past Events
Experimental Archaeology
Ex-Arc Festival 2024:
Past in Flames
Joining forces with international experts and our friends at Hurstwic, we created a replica viking age building - and set it on fire. For the first time, we were able to use technology to gather a great deal of information on how such a structure would burn, and how accurate the depictions of saga house burnings really are.
Ex-Arc Festival:
Fibres and Turf
Focusing on the cottage production of wool and linen, this festival combined the reproduction of linen and wool processing and weaving, as well as the reconstruction of the dyngja, where these tasks were performed.
Ex-Arc Festival:
Meat and Clothing
No one knows for certain what Viking Age clothes looked like - but we can say with certainty that most media gets it very wrong. Here we showcased clothing reconstructed from the surviving fragments and artwork, as well as their vibrant plant-based dyes.
Furthermore, the festival focused on meat as food and catering experiments along with clothing, textiles and Viking fashion. Sausages with period spices and ingredients were made, to be eaten at the Viking festival in Hafnarfjörður.
Ex-Arc Festival 2019:
Iron Smelting Festival
Based upon the thesis of a student researcher that Viking Age Icelanders refined iron on a large scale, our friends at Hurstwic got together an international band of experts tried doing just that here at Eiríksstaðir. The results were so ground-breaking that the discoveries were showcased at the National Museum of Iceland.
You can read more about it here.
Living History and Community Events
Swim or Drown
25. and 26. June 2026
The Sagas tell us about incidents of people falling off ships into the sea, having to swim in chain mail in order to save their lives. To better understand the effort needed, we had some of our staff members and quite a few volunteers swimming in chainmail shirts and woollen dresses.
We are planning to make this an annual event.
Eiríksstaðir Festival
2025
From illuminations with natural pigments to blacksmithing, this festival gave the visitors an opportunity to experience heritage crafts first hand.
Eiríksstaðir Living History Festival 2023
The second festival of the summer revolved around experiments with ancient crafts, methods and lifestyles of the 10th century.
This time we focused on handicrafts and ironworking, but this festival was also dedicated to tapestries.
Community Event: Manuscript Making
Manuscripts are a vital part of Icelandic culture - they gave us the Sagas after all! In this free community workshop we let children and adults experience the beauty and craftsmanship of this old craft, as well as try it out for themselves.
Community Event: Paint in the Viking Age
After a 1000 years underground, it is no wonder that a lot of the things we find from the Viking Age are now shades of brown - but they didn't start off that way. In this workshop we both demonstrated and taught how the Vikings created their rainbow pallet of paints.
Community Event: National Hnefatafl Tournament
Held at our Experimental Archaeology Festivals each year, we host an open hnefatafl competition. This ancient type of chess was seemingly the one played by the Vikings, and is very different to the chess we commonly play today.
Eiríksstaðir Living History Festival 2021
Celebrating the reopening of the museum after our 2020 closure, we welcomed crowds to our second Living History Festival. The multi-day event featured fashion shows, live animals, historical demonstrations, and more.
Blóts and Ceremonies
Autumn Equinox Blót
2025
We gathered staff and visitors once again to celebrate the change of season under the expert guidance of Goði Jökull Tandri. After expressing our gratitude around the outdoor fire, we gathered inside the turf house and sang songs and exchanged stories.
The Winter Solstice at Eiríksstaðir 2023
Celebrating the mid-winter solstice in a ceremony that blended the old with the new, this Ásatru event brought together members of the local community to mark the beginning of a new solar year.
The Winter Solstice at Eiríksstaðir 2020
Celebrating the mid-winter solstice in a ceremony that blended the old with the new, this Ásatru event brought together members of the local community to mark the beginning of a new solar year.