On Wednesday, January 26, I went to Þjóðminjasafn Íslands - the National Museum of Iceland. I took about a million pictures, but I'll try to limit myself here:
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| Years ago, Icelanders believed that they traveled after death, so they were often buried with objects - weapons, money, jewelry, even horses. They found an entire board game, similar to chess, in one grave. |
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| My friend Evan is in geology, as are many student studying here, so I have a new appreciation for how neat this is. |
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| Typical graves |
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| A medieval cathedral - it reminds me of the book Pillars of the Earth! |
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| A pack saddle, for carrying hay and other goods on horseback |
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| A muzzle for tying a calf to its stall, and two different kinds of ice spikes that would be attached to cows' feet to walk in the winter! |
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| Two types of loincloths for rams to prevent them from mating - one made from wood, one from a horse's hoof. Then there are cow and sheep bells and hobbles placed on cattle and hroses, put on their forefeet to stop them from running away. The spiked collar is to stop a calf from nursing all the time, and the other two things are used to kill cattle and sheep. |
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| Old pole for icey walks, skis, ice picks for animals, showshoes, and skates |
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| An old milker |
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| Apparently the only weapon ever created by Icelanders. In 1944 Iceland cut off formalities with Denmark, but still had trouble gaining independence over their fishing grounds. Between 1950 and 1975, British trawlers would fish inside Iceland's limits, protected by British gunships. The Icelandic Coastguard used these trawl wire cutters to cut the wires of British trawlers fishing in Icelandic waters. |
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| Old pictures taken in Iceland's first photobooth. |
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| These were used in the last execution in Iceland, in 1830. |
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| A drinking horn |
