Episode Details

Eleanor Barraclough recounts archaeological discoveries in the Surtshellir lava cave in Iceland, revealing it as a site for ritual offerings to the fire giant Surtr. Deep inside, researchers found a stone boat outline containing jasper fire-starters and animal bones intended to placate volcanic forces. Remarkably, the final offering left after Christian conversion was a metal cross — a ritualized farewell to the old gods, as a saga poem uses volcanic imagery to represent the end of the pagan era. (6)