As the name signals, Sandur or the village „home on the beach“ probably was where people first settled on Sandoy. Archaeological excavations by the graveyard á Sondum and Junkarinsfløttur prove that people lived there in the 9th century. Á Sondum it is proved that people have lived there as early as the 4th-6th and again in 7th-8th centuries.The earliest documented settlement in the Faroes!
By the graveyard, there are remains of what archaeologists believe to be a longhouse, and the content of graves found there indicates that those buried there were of high social standing. Moreover, this is the only place in the Faroes where a coin treasure has been found.
Today Sandur is a bustling modern village where fisheries and agriculture are the mainstays.
People have settled in two main areas here, east and west of Sandsvatn, the lake. East of the lake are Traðir and the á Sondum settlement, whereas the village itself lies west of the lake.