"Viking Settlemen ..." a L'Anse aux Meadows Travel Page by Bwana_Brown

In 1960, the first evidence of a Viking settlement in the New World was uncovered by Helge Ingstad, a Norweigen who had been on their trail for years. Based on geographical tips in the ancient Icelandic 'Viking Sagas', and helped by a local who pointed out some strange mounds, he stumbled upon L'anse aux Meadows. Founded in about 1000 AD, the Vikings had beaten Columbus by 500 years as they landed on this far northern tip of Newfoundland that had been used by the aboriginal tribes since about 6000 BC. This oldest European settlement in the New World was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978 and is presently administered by Parks Canada. Photo of a typical Viking sod hut that has been restored to what it would have looked like 1000 years ago. To view our experiences at Newfoundland's other UNESCO site, on our way to L'Anse aux Meadows, near St. Anthony, check out the Inland Fjords and Tablelands in my Deer Lake page!