Archaeological excavations 1954 - 58
Before the construction of the current Skálholt Cathedral was started, a major archaeological excavation was undertaken at the foundations of the old cathedrals that stood in Skálholt. Kristján Eldjárn led the excavations that took place between 1954 and 1958.
The excavation began with preliminary research and exploratory digging to find the limits of older church foundations. First, an underpass was excavated somewhat and the so-called Virkishóll. In 1954, excavations were carried out in Þorláksbúd and in the cathedral foundations, where the stele of Bishop Pál Jónasson was found. A year later, excavations at Þorláksbúd were completed. The so-called bone cellar was dug and excavations continued in the underpass. In 1958, the investigation of the underpass was completed and it was then rebuilt. A dirt road was pushed from the top of the town hill and it was smoothed, but wall fragments and town remains were removed. However, Kristján Eldjárn believed that it had been shown that there were still large human remains in the ground to the south and southwest of the church and cemetery.