Some scientists have tried to establish a chronological point for this pharaoh 's reign at 1159 BC , based on a 1999 dating of the Hekla 3 eruption of the Hekla volcano in Iceland . Since contemporary records show that the king experienced difficulties provisioning his workmen at Deir el-Medina with supplies in his 29th Year , this dating of Hekla 3 might connect his 28th or 29th regnal year to c. 1159 BC . A minor discrepancy of one year is possible since Egypt 's granaries could have had reserves to cope with at least a single bad year of crop harvests following the onset of the disaster . This implies that the king 's reign would have ended just three to four years later , around 1156 or 1155 BC . A rival date of " 2900 BP " ( 950 BC ) has since been proposed by scientists based on a re-examination of the volcanic layer . Given that no Egyptologist dates Ramesses III 's reign to as late as 1000 BC , this would mean that the Hekla 3 eruption presumably occurred well after Ramesses III 's reign . A 2002 study , using high-precision radiocarbon dating of a peat deposit containing ash layers , put this eruption in the range 1087 – 1006 BC
Hekla 3 eruption
Hekla 3 eruption
Ramesses III