L’Anse aux Meadows NHP

Next morning we reached L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Park.

L’Anse aux Meadows is an archaeological site, first excavated in the 1960s, of a Norse settlement dating to approximately 1,000 years ago.

It is the only undisputed site of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact of Europeans with the Americas outside of Greenland.

The Saga of the Greenlanders and the Saga of Erik the Red, which were written down in the 13th century describe the account of the Norse presence in North America notably of Leif Erikson in the Saga of the Greenlanders and the Saga of Erik the Red, which were written down in the 13th century.

Archaeological evidence suggests the settlement served as a base camp for Norse exploration of North America, including regions to the south. The site contains the remains of eight buildings constructed of sod over a wood frame. 

It is a National Historic Site of Canada and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO  and is managed by Parks Canada

The park headquarters is a short building near a hill that is well disguised by the surrounding topography. It contains innumerous displays of the Norsemen and their voyages described in the sagas. There is also a lot of information on the Norse outstanding navigation skills and navigation boats.

After visiting the headquarters’ museum we joined a guided tour of the archeological site.

Just before returning to the museum we stopped to admire The Meeting of Two Worlds bronze sculpture

It was created by Luben Boykov and Richard Brixel, and symbolizes the historical meeting between the Norse and Indigenous peoples of North America representing the around the world migration of the human race.

After leaving the site we drove to Norstead but it was too late to visit so we had dinner and camped by the road.


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