The discovery of L' Ans aux Meadows proved that the Vikings beat Columbus to the new world, but it was never certain when they got here.
It is still unknown how early they discovered North America, but an interesting new dendochronology study looked at tree rings of timber fragments found at the site, and looked for specific patterns of tree ring growth that resulted from solar radiation events with known dates.
Long story short, the new study of timber fragments from L' Ans aux Meadows establishes that the trees were cut down in 1021 A.D. - exactly 1,000 years ago.
45 years before William the Conqueror landed in England, Vikings were living in North America. Pretty cool.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03972-8
