Point Rosee

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Point Rosee
Point Rosee is located in Newfoundland
Point Rosee
Location of Point Rosee in Newfoundland
Nearest city Port aux Basques
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Point Rosee (French: Pointe Rosée[1]) is a headland near Codroy[2] at the southwest end of the island of Newfoundland, on the Atlantic coast of Canada, where a team of archaeologists led by Sarah Parcak and Gregory Mumford have discovered what they believe to be a Norse settlement. If confirmed, it would be the second Viking settlement discovered in the Americas.

Examining infrared satellite images and high-resolution aerial photographs in 2015, Parcak found a site where dark soil discoloration and rectangular features suggested the presence of ancient buildings. Magnetometer readings at the site showed high concentrations of iron. During a two-week exploratory dig in June 2015, trenches then uncovered turf walls, a style of construction used by Vikings, and signs of roasting bog iron to produce metal: a boulder that had been used as a hearth and cracked by heat, and residues of ash and iron.[1][3][4][5][6][7][8] According to Douglas Bolender, an archaeologist specializing in the Vikings, only the Norse would have been smelting iron in this region.[9] Carbon dating indicated the site dates to between 800 and 1300 CE.[7] Further excavation is planned in 2016.[3][6] The archaeologists think the site may have been a temporary iron-working camp, but it is possible it was a permanent Norse settlement.[4][8] However, Birgitta Wallace, an expert on the Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows, is unsure of the identification as a Norse site.[5]

The site, which is identified as Stormy Point on the 1916 Scarborough Company Map of Newfoundland, and recently dubbed Point Rosee by the researchers,[3] is a headland above a beach in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, approximately 500 kilometres (310 mi) south south west of L'Anse aux Meadows, which is near the northernmost point of Newfoundland, and the only confirmed Norse settlement in North America.[1][3][9] The site is approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) north north west of the ferry port of Channel - Port aux Basques. Some area residents hope the discovery will boost tourism in the Codroy Valley.[10]

Parcak's research was in connection with a Nova documentary called Vikings Unearthed, which aired in April 2016 and featured Point Rosee.[3][4][5][7][9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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