Öndvegissúlur

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Öndvegissúlur, or "high-seat pillars", were a pair of wooden poles placed on each side of the seat of a Viking chieftain. They often had cut-out images of Æsir and may have held a reference to the tree of life, Yggdrasil.

When Viking settlers came to Iceland, they put their trust in their Öndvegissúlur and dumped them in the sea when they could see the coastline. Then they settled where the Öndvegissúlur came to shore. The capital of Iceland, Reykjavík, was founded using this method.