Archaeology & History

Viking outpost discovered in Canada

By T.K. Randall
October 21, 2012 ·  21 comments

Image Credit: Jason Vanderhill It had long been suspected that the seafaring Vikings had traversed the Atlantic ocean as long ago as the 10th century, but it wasn't until the 1960s when two Norwegian researchers unearthed the remains of a Viking base camp in Newfoundland that this suspicion was confirmed. Now archaeologist Patricia Sutherland has announced new findings including Viking alloys and blade-sharpening tools that suggest a second outpost has been located in Canada.

Sutherland believes that parties of Viking explorers may have traveled to Canada in search of valuable resources such as furs and walrus ivory. It is also thought that they may have traded with Native Americans as part of what could have been a fully fledged transatlantic trade network.

Source: National Geographic | Comments (21)

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