Turf house in Iceland
Turf has been used as an architectural material for thousands of years by cultures across Europe and the Arctic since the Neolithic period.
In Iceland, these green-cloaked dwellings melt into the natural landscape, a technique that first appeared with the arrival of Norse and British settlers during the 9th through 11th centuries at the height of the Viking Age in Europe. Unlike their previous maritime, subarctic environment, timber was sparse and slow to regenerate. Turf isdurable, renewable, and widely available and that became their primary shelter.
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![]() Turf house in Iceland |