Viking Shadows
In The Valley
The communities in Codroy Valley
By Nathan Barnes/CNA journalism
Known for its agriculture and incredible vistas, what lies beneath the barrens of the Codroy Valley may soon help re-write history.
For the last two summers, archaeologists have investigated the possibility of settlements left behind by Vikings in rural Newfoundland. If confirmed, it would be the most southerly point in North America to boast a Viking settlement.
The area that archaeologists excavated in 2015 was found using satellite imaging that led researchers to Point Rosee, a barren spit of land on the southwest coast of Newfoundland.
Wayne MacIsaac, an amateur archaeologist, is not surprised the satellites recorded something worth investigating near his home in St. Andrew’s.
“The Vikings had settled in Iceland, and then they had expanded to Greenland, and from Greenland they were more or less coastal explorers,” said MacIsaac. “So they followed the Labrador coast down to
Edwin and Gearldine Gale own and run E.W. Gale Ltd. in Millville. They have been running the store together for the 34 years.
Kyle Greenham/ CNA journalism
L’Anse aux Meadows, but nobody really knows how far they went beyond that.”
To date, L’Anse aux Meadows is the only confirmed Viking landing in North America. The site, located on the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland, rewrites history about first contact with the Americas. It confirms, to some degree, the Norse Sagas, which had been considered tall tales by many historians prior to the discovery. The site most recently found by archaeologist Sarah Parcak on Point Rosee, was located using a new method called satellite archaeology. Geographic anomalies seen from space are leading archaeologists to exciting new discoveries.
The point, which can be found after a beautiful hike up the coast line, juts out into the Atlantic Ocean next to a small town called Millville and its fewer than 200 residents. Time in Millville seems to stand still for visitors. Postcard picturesque views are found everywhere you look. Farms, corner stores, shorelines and quaint family homesteads sparsely cover the landscape. The feeling of easy going, small-town life drifting in the country air is seen with every wave and smile offered to strangers.
Point Rosee sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean westward near the town of Millville. Residents of the community use the area for recreation.
Kyle Greenham/ CNA journalism
Codroy Valley resident Patsy Brownrigg suspects that with a possible Viking site outside its back door, the town will receive more visitors.
“Naturally, I think it’s going to bring in more traffic, but I think that there’s some work to be done on part of the people to come together because we need to be ready if that’s going to happen,” said Brownrigg. “I don’t think it’s going to be a major influx, but I think it’s something we need to come together on.”
Coming together as a community is nothing new for those in the Codroy Valley. Recently, residents held a fundraiser for Fort McMurray, Alta. The northern Alberta community, which is a place many Newfoundlanders call home as they work in the tar sands, was the site of a massive evacuation after wildfires forced more than 80,000 people from their homes.
“We come together often as a community,” said Brownrigg at the fundraiser, as traditional music wafted through the club and people waltzed across the room.
“It could be for an individual, it could be for a cause, it could be for a school fundraiser. Yeah, we come together a lot for this sort of thing.”
Like most rural areas, the corner store is a hub for townspeople. A road sign directing people to the store says, “A little bit of everything.” At E.W. Gale Ltd., store owner Edwin Gale smiles and says people know him as “Hockey,” though, he admits he’s not much of a fan. He and his wife Geraldine have been running the store for the 34 years.
“The first two (archaeologists) that came - they pull into the store looking for Point Rosee,” Edwin said. “Of course, they never had no idea where it was. They were going to walk, so I said, ‘My old truck is there. Take my truck,’ and they were pretty amazed by that.”
The following year, a crew of about eight people made their way out to Point Rosee including lead archaeologist Sarah Parcak. This time, though, they had cameras and the footage they captured became a documentary on the PBS program Nova and also on BBC One.
The archaeologists say more testing is needed on the handful of artifacts the unearthed – remnants of a hearth and some bog iron. But Geraldine seems hopeful the testing will ultimately prove Vikings did inhabit the area. When Parcak arrived in
The Grade 5 class at Belanger Memorial learn about ancient peoples in their social studies curriculum. Most of the students said they have also seen the TV show The Vikings.
Kyle Greenham/ CNA journalism
Millville for the dig in 2015, Geraldine said she could sense things had changed.
“… When she left, she was really excited,” said Geraldine.
It’s not just the adults in the community who are interested in what may be hiding beneath the bog at Point Rosee. Kayden Martin, a Grade 5 student at Belanger Memorial School, says he knows a lot about the Vikings.
“They’ve got braided beards, they probably fight a lot, they discovered a lot, but I’ll find out more for sure,” said Kayden.
Evan Lewis, one of the other children in the Grade 5 class, says he thinks the discovery potentially means the site might become a full-blown archaeological dig.
“People might feel happy that they live in a place with Vikings,” said Evan, though, he imagines he would have enjoyed a much larger seat at the Viking table. “I’d wanna be the boss of the Vikings - king Viking.”
While nothing has been confirmed, MacIsaac believes Point Rosee may have been part of a much larger settlement.
“It’s not just the land features; it’s the parallels to the Norse Sagas . . .,” said MacIsaac. “In the sagas, they say that the colony was at the end of the mountains they had seen further north. They describe that it was by a fresh water salmon river that flowed through a salt water lake and through a gap in a sand bar. All of those details are here.”
Near the community of St. Andrews is where Wayne MacIsaac has identified another secondary site as a potential Viking settlement. Should Point Rosee be confirmed, he hopes archaeologists will investigate it further.
Kyle Greenham/ CNA journalism