Vikings warriors set foot in the New World 500 years before Columbus
New evidence
has been uncovered that suggests the Vikings may have discovered North
America nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus made his famous
journey to the New World.
Scientists
claim to have uncovered what they believe to be a Viking settlement on
the Canadian island of Newfoundland that appears to have been built
between 800AD and 1300AD.
It
is only the second known Viking site to be discovered in North America
and helps to confirm that they were the first Europeans to reach the New
World.
This
new site, discovered in an area called Point Rosee in southern
Newfoundland, is 400 miles (643km) south west of a Viking settlement
found in L'Anse aux Meadows during the 1960s. (see photo below)
Archaeologists
said the discovery potentially opens 'a new chapter' in history by
showing the Vikings had explored far further into the New World than
previously believed possible.
Dr
Sarah Parcak, an archaeologist at the University of Alabama,
Birmingham, explained: 'This new site could unravel more secrets about
the Vikings, whether they were the first Europeans to 'occupy' briefly
in North America and reveal that the Vikings dared to explore much
further into the New World than we ever thought.
Archaeologists found evidence of stones blackened by iron ore processing
(pictured), something that the indigenous North American population
were not thought to do. It suggests the buildings that stood at the site
were inhabited by Vikings, who made extensive use of iron
During excavations of the site, the team uncovered evidence possible bog iron ore processing.
The
settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows was the only other site where
pre-Columbian iron processing has been found in North America.
The Vikings
are well known to have been adept seafarers, using the sun and the stars
to help pick their way across open stretches of ocean away from the
coastline.
It
is thought the Vikings first discovered America by accident in the
autumn of 986AD, according to one historical source, the Saga of the
Greenlanders.
It
tells how Bjarni Herjolfsson was stumbled across North America after
being blown off course as he attempted to sail from Norway to Greenland,
but he did not go ashore.
Inspired by his tales, however, another Viking Leif Ericsson then mounted his own expedition and found North America in 1002.
Finding it a fertile land, rich in grapes and berries, he named it Vinland.
Eriksson
also named two further 'lands' on the North American coast - one with
flat stones, which he called Helluland, and one that was flat and
wooded, named Markland.
The discovery of the settlement at Point Rosee now helps to confirm that these legends were in fact true.
