The Search for Vinland: Reconciling Literature and Archaeology

• Main Author: Anderson, Clifford W.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: ODU Digital Commons 2001
• Subjects: Norse history; Vikings; Exploration and discovery; North America; Archaeological Anthropology; Canadian History; European History; L'Anse aux Meadows; Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/history_etds/52; https://doi.org/10.25777/k3j4-gt32; https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/context/history_etds/article/1052/viewcontent/Anderson_TheSearchforVinland_2001_Redacted.pdf

It is now generally accepted that Columbus was not the first white European to have visited or attempted colonization of North America. It is also generally accepted that the only hard evidence available on the subject suggests that Norse settlers made the first attempt around 1000 CE. The term most often associated with the Norse settlement in question is "Vinland." However, several scholars are unwilling to associate Vinland with the location of the relevant archaeological find at L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland. Utilizing an analysis of the two sagas that refer to the settlement and an authentication of the cartographical evidence, this study will attempt to reconcile literature, archaeology and geography.