Plausibility Check: Earlier colonisation of Iceland

Is it plausible that there would be a permanant settlement of the island that would become Iceland in OTL prior to the 9th Century.

What would be needed for this to take place?
 
I am unsure about what specifically but this question sparked the thought from what direction would iceland be settled. I think the reason why the vikings went there was the lack of land in europe that would be easily had. I think prior to the 9th century there was more than enough land to be had much closer to home.

But perhaps if the settlement came from the inuits of iceland or the Saami of the arctic circle?
 
If the Celts island hopped from the Shetlands to the Faeroe Islands then they could hop onto Iceland. The catch is that apparently the Faeroes were out of reach of pre Viking ships.
 
If the Celts island hopped from the Shetlands to the Faeroe Islands then they could hop onto Iceland. The catch is that apparently the Faeroes were out of reach of pre Viking ships.

Also apparently Iceland was known to Ancient Greek geographers...
 
The Celts or the Irish if you want was already on Iceland when the Vikings came.
They didn't have settlements, there were only some monks living there.
The Vikings called them "Papas".
So if you can get the Irish to get the knowledge of city building from somewhere else than the vikings there is no reason why they would not flourish and be forced to settle abroad.
 
So if you can get the Irish to get the knowledge of city building from somewhere else than the vikings there is no reason why they would not flourish and be forced to settle abroad.
You don't need cities,; an agrarian population would do fine. The only trouble is that they will trash the environment as the Vikings did.
 
im not sure of the veracity, but Farley Mowats "The Alban Quest" is a good read and says how pre-celtic( he calls them Albans) folx from the shetland/orkney areas had been going there for along time hunting wlrus and narwhals and other valuble stuff and moved there on a more permanant basis once the vikings got more mobile. he even has em goin to greenland and finnaly the canadian arctic and newfoundland...
 
Colonization of Iceland occured during the Medieval Warm Period when the climate was more favorable. Anything before 800 is less likely to succeed.
 
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