In January 1973, lava flow from nearby Eldfell destroyed half the town and threatened to close its harbour, its main income source.

The archaeological excavation in 1971 of ancient ruins in Herjólfsdalur revealed that there had been settlement nearly 100 years earlier.

Many heroic stories were told of the people who survived the invasion, most notably Guðríður Símonardóttir.

Better known as Tyrkja-Gudda (Turkish-Gudda), she was taken by the pirates from her home at Stakkagerði on Heimaey to the slave market in Algeria.

When the fissures closed, the eruption converted to a concentrated lava flow that headed toward the harbour.

The winds changed, and half a million cubic metres of ash blew on the town.

Icelanders sprayed the lava with six million tons of cold seawater, causing some to solidify and much to be diverted, thus saving the harbour.