Stop 28 L'Anse aux Meadows

Speechless.

The singular importance of this site taxes my ability to document what I felt here.  The site is where the eastern and West migration of humans from Africa first met.  This is what is represented by the sculpture.  I can remember that when I was being taught in grade school that Columbus had "discovered" America that there was some evidence that Vikings had visited North America long before Columbus.  It turns out that those possibilities were just being explored by work at this site.  It was in the early 1960s that a Norwegian explored, Helge Ingstad contacted a local First Nation resident asking about evidence of earlier dwellings and was taken directly to the site that we visited today. His archeologist wife, Anne Stone instead led the excavations that resulted in finding several artifacts, including a bronze fastening pin and part of a spindle used for weaving that proved this was a Norse settlement.  A staff member at the visitor's center used to play on the remnants of the structures when he was a kid.  

It is so compelling that all of this history was rewritten in my lifetime.  This is the only known Norse settlement in North America.    The first iron smelter in North America was formed here.  I learned that peat was the source of the iron that was used to make the metal used for manufacturing nail and other iron tools.  Contrary to the Virginia Dare story, the first child of European parents was born here, a boy named Snoori.  You'll see that name all over the area surrounding L 'Anse aux Meadows.

We had a fabulous meal at the Norseman.  We saw a replica of a Viking trading boat, a Knarr,   It is housed in Worsted and built by Robert Stevens.  The boat was built to recreate Leif Ericsson's1500 mile journey from Greenland to Newfoundland.  The design was based on some similar boats found in Denmark.  We visited the museum associated with this find in Roskilde, Denmark when we visited the nordic countries back about 10 years ago.  Unfortunately, there were some key design differences between the Knarr and the boats that were found that made Stoori unutterable.  A real problem for a 1500 mile voyage across the North Atlantic.  The first attempt had to be aborted and further research led to a design modifications that allowed the voyage to be completed.

Our tour guide could have been a stand up comic.  Jamie was so funny and knowledgeable.  

She wasn't the only funny one.  This day made the whole trip to Newfoundland worth it, as if it needed to be justified.  It had already been great.  What great people and a beautiful, if foggy and cold and wet place.