when was iceland believed to be first inhabited
Settlement of Iceland The age of settlement of Iceland (Icelandic: landnámsöld) is generally believed to have begun in the second half of the 9th century, when Norse settlers migrated across the North Atlantic. The reasons for the migration may be traced to a shortage of arable land in Scandinavia and civil strife brought about by the ambitions of the Norwegian king Harald I of Norway. Unlike the British Isles, Iceland was unsettled land and could be claimed without conflict with existing inhabitants.