# Viking settlement in Newfoundland dated to 1021



## Hugh (Oct 21, 2021)

Well it looks like there's a definite date for the date some of the wood that was cut for their buildings. 

Exactly a thousand years ago Viking seamen were cutting those trees down.

 (Of course I guess they could have been their earlier.)

From today's Guardian:
_A new type of dating technique using a long-ago solar storm as a reference point has revealed that the settlement was occupied in AD1021, exactly a millennium ago and 471 years before the first voyage of Columbus. The technique was used on three pieces of wood cut for the settlement, all pointing to the same year._

Interesting comment re the Sagas:
_Oral histories called the Icelandic sagas depict a Viking presence in the Americas. Written down centuries later, they describe a leader named Leif Erikson and a settlement called Vinland, as well as violent and peaceful interactions with the local peoples, including capturing enslaved people.
The 1021 date roughly corresponds to the saga accounts, Dee said, adding: “Thus it begs the question, how much of the rest of the saga adventures are true?”_

Here's the link:








						Solar storm confirms Vikings settled in North America exactly 1,000 years ago
					

Analysis of wood from timber-framed buildings in Newfoundland shows Norse-built settlement 471 years before Columbus




					www.theguardian.com


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## Stephen Palmer (Oct 21, 2021)

Fascinating.


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## Valtharius (Oct 21, 2021)

I have a sudden desire to learn Old Norse.


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