Photos

Happy Friday everyone. It's hot and humid today so I took an early walk and now I am back trying to cool off a bit. 

Today I thought I would show you some photos.

Shall we start with some Vikings in L'anse aux Meadow, Newfoundland. This is as far north on the main island you can go. It is beautiful but stark. 

We are standing on a rise and looking down to the archeological park. This is where the Viking made the first European settlement in North America and it is the only documented sight that they settled. Locals thought all the mounds had been Native American sites, but when dug, they discovered they were Viking sights. The big give away was finding bog iron (as the Native Americans didn't do any iron work and the Viking did) and well as a button and a weaving spindle top. Luckily those Vikings in Iceland kept historical records called the Sagas so there was written material to go back to trace when and who might have been here. (Even though the Sagas were written after Viking times.)

They believe this was more of a trading settlement rather than a permanent settlement. The Vikings came and left, but they believe they didn't leave in a hurry as they left very little remains behind which means they had time to pack up and clear out before they left.

 The sight is run by Parks Canada and is also a Unesco World Heritage Sight. In the archaeological area they built a Viking Longhouse which you could walk through and talk with people.

 This dragon head is part of the statue below. You can see the park visitor's center in the background. This statue is on the walkway down to the archeological site. On the right you can make out the dragon wings which stands for the Viking. On the left is a more abstract piece that stands for the Native Americans that lived in Newfoundland when the Vikings arrived. Each side is made by a different artist.

 The artist who made the Native American side used the shapes of certain animals. Here you can see the bluish lobster claw.

It was hard to photograph up close but there was an outline of a whale, fish, seal and a couple of animals within the art.

 And another statue at the entrance of the park. 

 All of the sites that contained Native American artifacts received this symbol on them. There were no Native Americans living here when the Viking arrived but they have lived here at other time periods.

Near the National Park is a Provincial Park called Norstead. It showed what life was like for the Vikings when they were here. I wasn't too certain how good it would be, but it  actually was quite informative. 

Yes, the Vikings brought women with them. I found this area interesting as it showed weaving, cooking and a kind of one needle knitting I want to try.

And this Viking ship was built in Maine and sailed here in 2000, which was the 1000 anniversary of the Vikings arriving in Newfoundland. 

Luckily it wasn't very crowded that day so we could really chat with the people working there and find out a lot of info.

And finally a few other views from L'Anse aux Meadows.

Have a wonderful weekend!