Settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows
Type:
Settlements
Date:
ca. 990–1050 CE
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Canada
Description:
Excavations in the 1960s and 70s uncovered a Viking settlement and artifacts at L'Anse aux Meadows in northern Newfoundland (Canada). Archaeologists found eight wood-framed peat-turf structures, a bronze pin for fastening a cloak, a stone oil lamp, a bone knitting needle and part of a spindle, and signs of early iron working. In 2021, dendrochronological and carbon-14 analysis of wood worked at the site provided a precise tree-felling date of 1021. This is the earliest and only authenticated Norse or Viking settlement in North America.
The evidence of stone tools from Indigenous communities suggests possible contact between two cultures at the same site. In 2018, researchers working in a peat bog approximately 30 meters from the site discovered charcoal and wood-working debris that may indicate continued Norse activity in the twelfth or thirteenth century, after the Norse settlement.
The evidence of stone tools from Indigenous communities suggests possible contact between two cultures at the same site. In 2018, researchers working in a peat bog approximately 30 meters from the site discovered charcoal and wood-working debris that may indicate continued Norse activity in the twelfth or thirteenth century, after the Norse settlement.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
6
Repository and Online Resources:
• L’Anse aux Meadows is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
• Watch a video on the Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows.
• Read more about L'Anse aux Meadows on the Parks Canada website.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
