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/s41586-021-03972-8auk1124;
Good evening sir, I trust the day behaved itself for you and all who are in your life are well.
Thanks for the interesting update, I've been following this with interest for most of my life.
When I was in Canadian school in the late '60's and through the '70's, there still wasn't consensus that the ruins were Viking or if so how long they'd been there.
One of the articles I read a year or more back now said there's evidence to suggest they were there for several hundred years, if not permanently, then returning often during that time frame.
Another interesting tidbit is that the Vikings traded with the Dorset culture, not the Inuit/Thule culture who inhabit the Arctic now.
There's speculation as to what happened to the Dorset, but no consensus again other than they vanished about the time Columbus showed up far to the south.
Thanks again and all the best.
Dwayne
