L'Anse aux Meadows | |
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![]() Recreated Norse buildings at L'Anse aux Meadows | |
Coordinates | 51°35′47″N 55°32′00″W / 51.59639°N 55.53333°W |
Website | L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site |
Official name | L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | vi |
Designated | 1978 (2nd session) |
Reference no. | 4 |
Country | Canada |
Region | Europe and North America |
Official name | L'Anse aux Meadows National Historical Site of Canada. |
Designated | 28 November 1968 |
Location of L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland |
L'Anse aux Meadows (lit. 'Meadows Cove') is an archaeological site, first excavated in the 1960s, of a Norse settlement dating to approximately 1,000 years ago. The site is located on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador near St. Anthony.
With carbon dating estimates between 990 – 1050 CE,[1][2][3] tree-ring analysis dating to the year 1021[4][5] and a mean carbon date of 1014 overall,[2] L'Anse aux Meadows is the only undisputed site of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact of Europeans with the Americas outside of Greenland.[3] It is notable as evidence of the Norse presence in North America and for its possible connection with Leif Erikson as mentioned in the Saga of the Greenlanders and the Saga of Erik the Red,[6] which were written down in the 13th century.[3] Archaeological evidence found at the site indicates that L’Anse aux Meadows may have served as a base camp for Norse exploration of North America, including regions to the south.[7]
Spanning 7,991 hectares (30.85 sq mi) of land and sea, the site contains the remains of eight buildings constructed with sod over a wood frame. In excess of 800 Norse objects have been unearthed at the site.[8] Evidence of iron production and bronze, bone and stone artifacts have been identified.[9] The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1968 and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978.[10] Parks Canada manages the site as outlined under the Parks Canada Agency Act (1998) and the Canada National Parks Act (2000).[11]
With an assumed total systematic error of 30 ± 20 years, as a mean for various tree rings, the calibrated age range of L'Anse aux Meadows is AD 975–1020. This agrees well with the assumed historical age of ca AD 1000, a result which has also been recently corroborated by high-precision accelerator dating at the University of Toronto.
This is a substantial base for analysis , which yields an entirely credible range of dates between 990 and 1050 and a mean date of 1014 CE , which is popularly rounded off at 1000 CE .
Modeling results were remarkably consistent, and model A suggests Norse occupation began Cal AD 910–1030..... A weighted mean of twig dates—notwithstanding issues associated with combination of 14C ages from multiple individuals—provided a result of AD 986–1022
Our result of AD 1021 for the cutting year constitutes the only secure calendar date for the presence of Europeans across the Atlantic before the voyages of Columbus. Moreover, the fact that our results, on three different trees, converge on the same year is notable and unexpected. This coincidence strongly suggests Norse activity at L'Anse aux Meadows in AD 1021. In addition, our research demonstrates the potential of the AD 993 anomaly in atmospheric 14C concentrations for pinpointing the ages of past migrations and cultural interactions.
L'Anse aux Meadows is the first and only known site established by Vikings in North America and the earliest evidence of European settlement in the New World. As such, it is a unique milestone in the history of human migration and discovery.
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