Hekla 3 eruption linked to Bronze Age settlement changes in British Isles around 1150 BC

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Key facts

• Around 1150 BC in Strath of Kildonan, approximately 2,000 stone roundhouses appear abandoned
• Scottish roundhouses shrink from 78 square meters around 1000 BC to 40 square meters around 800 BC
• Shrinkage begins in west and moves eastward across Scotland
• Higher elevation cultivations abandoned within two centuries
• Barley grown in higher elevations, hardier than wheat
• Settlement patterns change drastically after abandonment
• Hilltop enclosures develop in Wales, England, and Ireland
• Hilltop enclosures used for communal gatherings and feasting, not military defense
• One prominent site covers 3.5 hectares with walls approaching 2 meters thickness
• Pig bones from site came from up to 20 km away
• Genetic study indicates migration into southern Britain 1200-800 BC from across English Channel
• Three competing eruption date ranges: 1135 BC ±130 years, 1021 BC ±130 years, 929 BC ±34 years
• Potential date range 1265-895 BC creates uncertainty
• Early 1990s doctoral dissertation found inconclusive results
• Volcanic tepra found in soil cores but only one layer showed high sulfur and iron levels
• Climate reconstruction shows late Bronze Age (1200-800 BC) had wet periods, drier phases, and river flooding around 800 BC
• Carbon-14 evidence indicates decreased solar activity
• Bog evidence shows wetter climate 1395-1155 BC despite general dry period
• Climate shifts to wet period around 850 BC
• Acid rain from volcanic sulfur and acidic materials may have altered soil pH
• Agricultural devastation may have forced societal reorganization and development of feasting centers

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