Further Evidence for A Columban Iceland: Preliminary Results of Recent Work

Over 10 years ago, a study was completed which established a link between a tradition of simple incised crosses (with expanded terminals) and the important Early Christian monastic familia of St Columba, based in and around the small Scottish island of Iona. Intriguingly, this Columban expanded terminal cross-form bears a remarkable resemblance to a poorly understood body of cross-carvings in Southern Iceland. A connection between the two traditions would be especially interesting because the Scottish cross-form was short-lived, disappearing before the Viking Age. In other words, before the generally accepted dating of the Norse settlement of Iceland.