The Vikings and America

For more than a century laymen and scholars have argued over the question of Vinland, that mysterious ''land of grapevines'' which, according to medieval Icelandic sagas, the Viking Leif Eriksson discovered almost a thousand years ago. Was Vinland real? Do the clues suggesting a North American location point to a specific place? Why did the Vikings eventually leave the New World?Drawing on fifty years of study and a deep knowledge of the historical and archaeological evidence, Professor Wahlgren addresses these questions in a brilliant and marvellously readable account. Excavations at L''Anse aux Meadows in northern Newfoundland show that the Vikings were present around ad 1000. But was this Vinland? Professor Wahlgren argues for a location farther south and also suggests Viking exploration far to the north. He also reveals that eventually a worsening climate and attacks by native peoples ended the first European presence in the New World.

Product details

• Authors: Erik Wahlgren
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 03.04.2000
• EAN: 9780500281994
• ISBN: 978-0-500-28199-4
• No. of pages: 192
• Dimensions: 160 mm x 241 mm x 16 mm
• Series: Ancient Peoples and Places; Ancient Peoples and Places
• Subject: Non-fiction book