Geography

New archaeological information uncovered at L’Anse aux Meadows

Memorial University researchers have discovered a previously unknown archaeological layer at the L’Anse aux Meadows National Historical Site. While working about 30 metres from the 1,000-year-old Norse ruins at the very tip of Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula, Dr. Paul Ledger and his colleagues, including Dr. Veronique Forbes, encountered new evidence for human activity at the site. While the new location did not produce any culturally specific artifacts, archaeologists did discover charcoal and wood-working debris. Laboratory analyses also confirmed insect remains, including early records for beetle species assumed to be post-Columbian (1492) additions to the Canadian fauna. “We are still not sure what this new deposit is,” said Dr. Ledger, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. “Its general character and microscopic content resembles Norse deposits elsewhere in the North Atlantic, but carbon dating indicates it dates from the late 12th to mid-13th century, after the Norse settlement.” This would suggest the deposit contains material left by the region’s Indigenous Peoples. Their findings are published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. View the full article online.