According to ancient Norse stories known as the Vinland Sagas, long before Europeans discovered the New World, a high-prowed vessel from Greenland cast anchor in an inviting bay somewhere along the coast of North America.
It wasn’t until the 1960s that proof of the Viking presence came, on the tip of Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula, with the discovery of a small bronze cloak pin.
Norwegian explorer Helge Ingstad and his wife, archaeologist Anne Stine, were searching for Norse landing places along the coast. With the help of local resident George Decker, they would uncover the only Norse encampment ever to have been discovered in North America.
Following excavations, they determined Leif Erickson and crews of Norse explorers arrived here over a thousand years ago. The archaeological remains of the Norse encampment were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.
Now you can let your inner Viking shine at the oldest known European encampment in North America. See original artifacts, meet costumed Viking interpreters, tour full-scale replicas of the Norse sod buildings and pick up Viking skills from blacksmithing to weaving.
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Photo: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. (Source: D. Gordon E. Robertson)