Researchers in Newfoundland and Labrador have found a possible second Vikings settlement in North America.

They have discovered a Norse-like hearth and eight kilograms of early bog iron in the southwestern-most coast of Newfoundland. It was found by examining infrared satellite images picking up manmade shapes that were camouflaged by vegetation, leading the researchers to find fire-cracked stone and some mangled scraps of iron.

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Lead researcher Sarah Parcak, a professor of anthropology at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, said that the images were shot by cameras that were situated 400 miles above the earth. The team scanned for a number of clues that could point to the site, such as discolored soil and vegetation changes. The newly discovered Norse settlement is called Point Rosee.

Because of the method, Parcak’s team were also able to discover 17 pyramids, 1,000 tombs and approximately 3,000 forgotten settlements.

“I am absolutely thrilled. Typically in archaeology, you only ever get to write a footnote in the history books, but what we seem to have at Point Rosee may be the beginning of an entirely new chapter,” she added.

She believes that the new site could expose more secrets about the Norse tribe and possibly prove that they were the first Europeans to temporarily occupy North America, and had travelled much further into the New World compared to the theories formulated about them in the past.

The first Viking settlement in North America was found in 1960 at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. It is believed to be the first contact between Europe and North America, as many as 500 years before Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas.

Researchers have been having a difficult time tracking down the Vikings because of their transient movements. They travelled light and left nothing behind. Norse had journey in longships with a strong oak keel and sails spun from wool. Their set of food includes lamb smoked using reindeer droppings, fermented salmon. It is believed that their Viking ships contain things that were either being recycled or rot away.

The team will still conduct more research to confirm whether the site was indeed a Viking settlement. They will return to the site on winter season to continue the research.

Tagsviking, Norse, Viking settlement, Newfoundland, North America