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L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site

Canada
Date of Inscription: 1978
Criteria: (vi)
Province of Newfoundland and Labrador
N51 28 0 W55 37 0
Ref: 4

Brief Description

At the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland, the remains of an 11th-century Viking settlement are evidence of the first European presence in North America. The excavated remains of wood-framed peat-turf buildings are similar to those found in Norse Greenland and Iceland.

L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site | Dick Houghtton © Dick Houghtton More pictures ...

Statement of Significance

This archaeological site at the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland contains the excavated remains of an 11th century Viking settlement consisting of timber-framed turf buildings (houses, workshops, etc.) that are identical with those found in Norse Greenland and Iceland at the same period. The site is thus unique evidence of the earliest known European presence on the American continent.

Criterion (vi) L’Anse aux Meadows is the first and only known site established by Vikings in North America and the earliest evidence of European settlement in the New World. As such, it is a unique milestone in the history of human migration and discovery.

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