Leif Erikson Reaches North America Before Columbus
Leif Erikson sailed west from Greenland around 1000 AD and established a Norse settlement at a place he called Vinland. The sagas describe three areas he explored: Helluland (likely Baffin Island), Markland (likely Labrador), and Vinland (likely Newfoundland). For centuries, historians dismissed the sagas as legend. Then in 1960, Norwegian explorer Helge Ingstad and his archaeologist wife Anne Stine found the remains of a Norse settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows on Newfoundland's northern tip. They excavated eight buildings, including a forge and a carpentry workshop, along with a bronze cloak pin and iron rivets. Carbon dating placed the site around 1000 AD. The discovery proved Europeans reached North America nearly 500 years before Columbus and earned the site UNESCO World Heritage status in 1978.
October 9, 1003
1023 years ago
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