New evidence of Viking settlement found in Newfoundland

Scientists believe they have discovered a second Viking settlement in southwest Newfoundland, using satellite images.

The potential site is approximately 500 kilometres from the previously discovered Viking settlement in L’Anse Aux Meadows, N.L., which was originally found in 1960.

A team of researchers has been using open-source Google imagery to detect any possible Norse-era sites along the coast of Nunavut’s Baffin Island, and all the way to northern New England.

Using the images from space, researchers looking for potential hot spots found shapes on the southwest coast of Newfoundland, said lead investigator Sarah Parcak, an archeologist at the University of Alabama. Her team then applied to the government of Newfoundland to do a basic site survey.

“We thought what we found was most likely going to be historic or indigenous,” Parcak said in an interview on CTV News Channel on Friday.

But digging at the remote area, called Point Rosee, unearthed some telltale signs of Norse-era settlement, including bog iron, turf walls and a hearth. Carbon dating also pegged the site’s date ranges between the ninth and thirteenth centuries AD, Parcak said.

Parcak also said that the geography of the site is further evidence of a possible Viking settlement because it is situated near beaches and natural resources such as wood, fish and water.

“It’s the kind of spot the Norse would have ideally settled, so all of the evidence right now is quite suggestive,” Parcak said.

While it is an exciting development, the area has not yet been confirmed as a Viking settlement site.

“But I think what we’ve found is very intriguing and certainly merits years of further investigation,” Parcak said.

'Edge of European frontier'

If confirmed as a Viking settlement, the site could provide a wealth of insight into early North American history, said Douglas Bolender, one of the researcher who made the potential discovery last June.

“This is at the very edge of the European frontier in the Viking world, where people were setting out in relatively small boats and exploring an entirely new horizon and meeting new people for the first time in North America,” said Bolender, who is an archeologist with the University of Massachusetts.

He added that new archeological site would “open up our ability understand what the Norse were doing there, the range of activities that they had, how long they were actually in the new world, and potentially why they ultimately left. “

Bolender said researchers are being cautious about calling it a Viking settlement.

“We have very limited exposure and would really like, and are looking forward to, the opportunity to go back and really confirm that there’s no alternative explanation for this material.”

Archaeologists are set to resume excavation at the site this summer.

Thousands of people visit L’Anse aux Meadows each year to tour the only confirmed Viking settlement in North America.

The uncovered remains of the Viking village have been replicated by Parks Canada for historical purposes.