c. 1000 CEReputable sourceWell documented
The Norse Reach Vinland
On the timeline · around c. 1000 CE ·
What happened
Around the year 1000, Norse seafarers from Greenland reached the northern tip of Newfoundland and built a small settlement, the remains of which were excavated at L'Anse aux Meadows. It is the only confirmed Norse site in the Americas and the first known European presence in the New World.
Why it matters
L'Anse aux Meadows is proof that Europeans reached the Americas roughly 500 years before Columbus, though the Norse did not stay. It marks the first, fleeting contact between the Old World and the New.
How we know
The site, discovered in 1960, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose Norse-style buildings and artifacts date to about 1000 CE.
Sources
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre. L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site · Reputable source
Related timelines
- The Vikings → — The Norse voyages to North America