L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland

15 July 2012.

The ship anchored near red dot, we went in Zodiacs to a dock,

then bus to the Visitor Centre.

This is the earliest known European settlement in the New World (c. 1000 AD).  The archaeological remains, discovered in 1960, are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Three Norse buildings have been reconstructed to give visitors an idea of what the settlement was like. It's thought the Vikings moved on because the natives were unfriendly (but they didn't leave in a hurry).
"The site is dominated by barrens, coastal bogs and stunted forests known locally as tuckamore, home to over 280 different plants. In the past four to five thousand years many people have lived at L'Anse aux Meadows ... among them a small group of Norse sailors." (Parks Canada)

The Vikings are coming.

Jane Thomson and Tony Beck.
Keen photographers will go to any length for the best shot.

These are the excavated ruins that have been covered with sand and turf.

Artefacts found on the site, clockwise from bottom left:
Spindle whorl, Cloak pin, Needle hone, Butternut (!), Fragment of bone needle.

Wood carving on the reconstructed Norse houses.
This reminds me of stone carvings in the Isle of Man

Dead murres hanging in a corner - still eaten by the locals.

Jimi poses with a spear (harpoon?).

A Viking and Patricia

Atuat with helmet, spear and shield

Poles lean up against a sod house.

Me in front of doorway to main reconstructed house. 

The reconstructed houses are within a fenced area. These
must have been cosy houses with their thick turf walls.