Hekla 3 eruption
Encyclopedia
The Hekla 3 eruption circa 1000 BC is considered the most severe eruption of Hekla
during the Holocene
. It threw about 7.3 km3 of volcanic rock
into the atmosphere, placing its Volcanic Explosivity Index
(VEI) at 5. This would have cooled temperatures in the northern parts of the globe for a few years afterwards.
An eighteen-year span of climate worsening is recorded in Irish bog oaks, and H-3 was blamed for it.
The eruption is detectable through Greenland
ice-cores, the bristlecone pine sequence, and the Irish oak sequence of extremely narrow growth rings. Baker's team dated it to 1021 + 130/-100 BC.
Baker preferred a "high chronology" (earlier) interpretation of these results. In Sutherland
, northwest Scotland, a spurt of four years of doubled annual luminescent growth banding of calcite
in a stalagmite
datable to 1135 ± 130 BC. A rival, "low-chronology" interpretation of the eruption comes from Dugmore, 2879 BP = 929 BC ± 34.
In 1999 Dugmore suggested a non-volcanic explanation for the Scottish results. In 2000 skepticism concerning conclusions about connecting Hekla 3 and Hekla 4 eruptions with paleoenvironmental events and archaeologically attested abandonment of settlement sites in northern Scotland was expressed by John P. Grattan and David D. Gilbertson.
Some Egyptologists in 1999 firmly dated the eruption to 1159 BC and blamed it for famines under Ramesses III
during the wider Bronze Age collapse
. Dugmore dismissed this and maintains his dating to this day. Other scholars have held off on this dispute, preferring the neutral and vague "3000 BP".
Hekla
Hekla is a stratovolcano located in the south of Iceland with a height of . Hekla is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes; over 20 eruptions have occurred in and around the volcano since 874. During the Middle Ages, Icelanders called the volcano the "Gateway to Hell."Hekla is part of a volcanic...
during the Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
. It threw about 7.3 km3 of volcanic rock
Volcanic rock
Volcanic rock is a rock formed from magma erupted from a volcano. In other words, it is an igneous rock of volcanic origin...
into the atmosphere, placing its Volcanic Explosivity Index
Volcanic Explosivity Index
The Volcanic Explosivity Index was devised by Chris Newhall of the U.S. Geological Survey and Stephen Self at the University of Hawaii in 1982 to provide a relative measure of the explosiveness of volcanic eruptions....
(VEI) at 5. This would have cooled temperatures in the northern parts of the globe for a few years afterwards.
An eighteen-year span of climate worsening is recorded in Irish bog oaks, and H-3 was blamed for it.
The eruption is detectable through Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
ice-cores, the bristlecone pine sequence, and the Irish oak sequence of extremely narrow growth rings. Baker's team dated it to 1021 + 130/-100 BC.
Baker preferred a "high chronology" (earlier) interpretation of these results. In Sutherland
Sutherland
Sutherland is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic administrative county of Scotland. It is now within the Highland local government area. In Gaelic the area is referred to according to its traditional areas: Dùthaich 'IcAoidh , Asainte , and Cataibh...
, northwest Scotland, a spurt of four years of doubled annual luminescent growth banding of calcite
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
in a stalagmite
Stalagmite
A stalagmite is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate. This stalagmite formation occurs only under certain pH conditions within the underground cavern. The corresponding formation on...
datable to 1135 ± 130 BC. A rival, "low-chronology" interpretation of the eruption comes from Dugmore, 2879 BP = 929 BC ± 34.
In 1999 Dugmore suggested a non-volcanic explanation for the Scottish results. In 2000 skepticism concerning conclusions about connecting Hekla 3 and Hekla 4 eruptions with paleoenvironmental events and archaeologically attested abandonment of settlement sites in northern Scotland was expressed by John P. Grattan and David D. Gilbertson.
Some Egyptologists in 1999 firmly dated the eruption to 1159 BC and blamed it for famines under Ramesses III
Ramesses III
Usimare Ramesses III was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty and is considered to be the last great New Kingdom king to wield any substantial authority over Egypt. He was the son of Setnakhte and Queen Tiy-Merenese. Ramesses III is believed to have reigned from March 1186 to April 1155 BCE...
during the wider Bronze Age collapse
Bronze Age collapse
The Bronze Age collapse is a transition in southwestern Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age that some historians believe was violent, sudden and culturally disruptive...
. Dugmore dismissed this and maintains his dating to this day. Other scholars have held off on this dispute, preferring the neutral and vague "3000 BP".