Vikings in Canada (ROM Magazine 2017)

Newfoundland and Labrador Studies, 2005

Online status update regarding survey and excavations at Point Rosee (southern Newfoundland), 2016

UPDATE: April 6: Adding new TED weblink and editing links page; April 5: Only adding a table of contents (mainly to aid media requests for images and/or caption details); April 4: Three sessions with a most recent addition of some good links, plus previous final edits to photo caption credits, some minor text edits, and a few additional recommended key sources on L'Anse aux Meadows; April 3 two sessions with some minor edits and revisions only; April 2: Adding some broader contextual information on the potential time period and setting (e.g., L'Anse aux Meadows; Little Passage Indians), a selected bibliography, plus a "potential significance" statement on Point Rosee issued to the press (added after the project team's summary statement (posted earlier). ABSTRACT: March 31: The recent processing of satellite imagery data, magnetometer surveys (October 2014; June 2015), preliminary excavations (June 2015), and the initial, albeit ongoing, analysis of an archaeological site and its associated, potential “Norse” materials at Point Rosee/Rosie in southern Newfoundland have revealed traces of: (a) a few suggestive rectilinear features in processed satellite imagery (albeit only partly excavated), (b) some probable and highly suggestive roasting of bog iron ore (analyzed by T. Birch and J. Still), (c) limited exposure of turf-type remains (i.e., evidence of turf cutting [assessed by D. Bolender]), (d) some promising magnetometer readings (e.g., a few “hot spots” suggest potential hearths and/or additional metal/metal-working), (e) a series of thirteen associated AMS radiocarbon dates, some of which fall between the early 9th century AD and late 13th century AD (excluding two later berries from contaminated contexts), and (f) a total absence (so far) of either any indigenous materials (i.e., Palaeoeskimo and Amerindians) or any historical remains that are otherwise typically present at such sites. Although the preliminary indications are thus somewhat promising for both a “Norse” date (i.e., ca. 1000–1450 AD in Greenland) and a potential “Norse” affiliation (see 2016 documentaries by the BBC and Pbs/Nova, and other media), further excavation, analysis, and multi-specialist input are absolutely crucial before determining and expanding upon the site’s time period(s) and cultural affiliation(s). Likewise, the specific occupation span (i.e., longevity) and nature of the overall site at Point Rosee, which has been postulated publicly to be a “settlement” (versus a “camp,” or some other site-type), also remain unclear as of yet, requiring yet again broader exposure, context, material culture, and analysis. Much on-site recording and post-excavation research, processing, analyses, and other work have been and are still being conducted (e.g., TL/OLS dating pending), all of which have generated many reports, notes, and other findings dispatched regularly to the Newfoundland Provincial Archaeology Office (PAO). These preliminary records and reports are listed further below (and listed via Academia), and will form the main basis for the pending publications on the initial season at Point Rosee, and a much needed/desired follow-up season –ideally later this summer. In brief, a “Norse” date and “affiliation” do look rather promising, at this still early stage in the project, but we simply need more work at this site and more specialist input and peer-reviewed data before being confidant in stating this as “fact.” SPECIAL THANKS to the Newfoundland Provincial Archaeology Office (PAO), the people of Newfoundland, our funders (BBC; Pbs/Nova; National Geographic), and many consultants and others (listed within the online paper). (SELECTED) WEB LINKS TO VARIOUS MEDIA REPORTS: BBC News Magazine (March 31, 2016): http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35935725 BBC One Vikings’ documentary, airing Monday, April 4, 8:30 pm (U.K.): On TV in United Kingdom National Geographic Vikings’ story (online; by Mark Strauss, March 31, 2016): http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160331-viking-discovery-north-america-canada-archaeology/ Please note: The materials analyzed do not represent “slag” (mentioned in one photo caption), but are roasted bog iron ore (T. Birch & J. Still). New York Times (online; by Ralph Blumenthal, March 31, 2016): http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/science/vikings-archaeology-north-america-newfoundland.html?_r=0 Pbs/Nova Vikings’ documentary, streaming online, 3:30 p.m., Eastern time, Monday, April 4 (U.S.A.): http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ Pbs/Nova Vikings’ documentary airing Wednesday, April 6, 9 pm on Pbs: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ UAB announcement/post (March 31, 2016): https://www.uab.edu/news/faculty/item/6707-birmingham-space-archaeologist-uncovers-ancient-civilizations-teaches-the-world

Routes and places of the Norse in Vinland revisited., 2023

The early medieval age Norse Vinland expeditions are revisited in this article. Speculative routes and locations are derived and argued for. All six voyages are coherently treated in the frame of a fresh analysis and a self-consistent synthesis based upon the descriptions in the sagas and other historic sources. The main Vinland Saga sources are Eiríks saga rauða in the Hauksbók (and almost identical but later, in Skálholtsbók) and the so called Graenlendinga saga in Flateyjarbók (three detached chapters within Saga of Olaf Tryggvason). The early medieval age Vinland sagas tell the stories of Icelanders discovering Greenland and subsequently unknown land further west, which they dubbed Helluland, Markland and Vinland, respectively. Essentially all conceivable sites in the suspected regions towards southwest of Greenland have been considered and proposed by authors since centuries, notably since the 19th century. Despite these efforts, L´Anse aux Meadows, the World Heritage Site at the northern tip of Newfoundland, Canada, is presently the only firmly proven fix-point for a Norse presence in America shortly after the year 1000 A.D. Since its discovery in 1960 and subsequent excavation, the site has-and still is-providing a bounty of information about the Norse presence and capabilities in these early medieval times. However, while of utmost importance and intriguing, it fits not really well to the saga descriptions. The region also appears to be not the best choice for staying over winter or to acquire commodities, which could be found solely or in better quality further south. Hence, its discovery could not put the case to rest and research to localize the Norse voyages of the sagas in Vinland continues. Over the decades, following the discovery, many locations and routing combinations have been further scrutinized in the suspected region around the Bay of St. Lawrence by researchers and laymen alike. The very nature of the subject, namely the ambiguity of the saga information concerning routes and places, notably their inherent and partially drastic incompatibilities, makes it notoriously difficult to distill the conjectured, self-consistent historic content without some speculative-albeit arguable-assumptions. As a result, even in case a hypothesis is free of inconsistencies and fully in line with the outlined requirement profile, fully conceivable and arguable, it is by no means sufficient "proof" that it indeed reflects the past reality, unless unambiguous new archeological evidence emerges.

In this paper I wish to discuss what is (with the exception of tales from oral history) the earliest recorded conflict to have occurred in ‘Canada’; that between the Natives and the Viking settlers. This conflict is a part of Canada’s chronological history, though I argue that the conflict did not have as much impact in shaping the development of the country as later similar conflicts would. Instead of conceptions of Canada (geography, politics, culture, identity save for our concept of our own history) being shaped by this conflict I will argue instead that it is our concept of this conflict which is shaped by our conceptions of Canada, and more broadly North America. I will show this by outlining the conflict as it is defined in the surviving sources, the two sagas; The Saga of Erik the Red and The Greenlanders’ Saga. I will then go on to talk about the deficiencies in the texts which cause us to hesitate before we call these narratives history. From there I will detail early attempts to understand the conflict in terms of Canadian history, and how that evolved with the discovery of the site at L’Anse aux Meadows. I will show how, fuelled by our few concrete examples but ultimately because of our lack of viable evidence, we use examples from other early explorers to validate details from the sagas and to place the sagas more firmly in the tradition of early European and Native conflicts.

In around 1000AD the Norse (Viking) explorer Leif Eiriksson sailed into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and found a land rich in resources, including wild grapes. He named the land Vinland (Land of Vine). The stories of the Norse (Viking) explorations to North America are preserved in two ancient Icelandic Sagas, “The Saga of the Greenlanders” and “The Saga of Eirik the Red”. The Sagas include descriptions of places, wildlife and indigenous peoples in the Vinland region. This thesis investigates the potential location of the places in the Sagas and argues that the Vinland of Leif Eiriksson was practically the same area as Mi´kma´ki, the ancestral land of the Mi´kmaq people. The thesis further proposes a new Vinland-Mi'kma'ki Trail that would connect the various Vinland Saga sites with historical and mythological Mi´kmaq sites in Atlantic Canada. The idea with the Vinland-Mi´kma´ki Trail is to strengthen the existing tourism products in Atlantic Canada including the Viking Trail in Newfoundland and the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia. This thesis argues that the Vinland-Mi´kma´ki Trail will provide visitors to Atlantic Canada with an exceptional and inspiring experience, taking them on a journey of exploration and imagination, combining Native American and Viking history and heritage with French Acadian, Celtic, and modern-day Canadian cuisine and culture.

ARCTIC, 2010