A human bone which is believed to be a rib was discovered on the spit of land Fjallaskagi in Dýrafjördur fjord in the West Fjords on Sunday. Locals have a theory about the bone’s origin, but nothing has been proven and it has been sent to Reykjavík for investigation.
“The bone was sticking out from a bank where the waves had broken pieces off the land when I spotted it,” metalworker Árni Thór Helgason from Ísafjördur told Fréttabladid.
“People believe it may have come from a Spaniard because this is where the ‘Spanish Killings’ took place early in the 17th century,” Helgason said. “But I didn’t suspect anything when I saw the bone and thought it had come from some sheep.”
The “Spanish Killings” (Spánverjavígin) is a dark chapter in Iceland’s history. In 1615 Ari í Ögri, a sheriff in the West Fjords, and his men brutally killed several Basque whale hunters and castaways.
Click here to read about the recent discovery of a human skull in Iceland.
