Jump to content

Sandnæs

Coordinates: 64°14′37″N 50°10′32″W / 64.24361°N 50.17556°W / 64.24361; -50.17556
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Location of Sandnæs in the Western Settlement, Greenland

Sandnæs, often anglicized as Sandnes, was the largest Norse farmstead in the Western Settlement of medieval Greenland.[1] Similarly with the Norwegian city of Sandnes, its name meant "Sandy Headland" in Old Norse. It was settled around AD 1000[1] and abandoned by the late 14th century. It was located at the site known as Kilaarsarfik[2] today,[3] at the head of the Ameralla Fjord south of modern Nuuk's peninsula.

The farm was well-placed and possessed a large pasturage enabling its proprietors to successfully raise cattle, compared with goats and sheep at the other Western Settlement farms. It also included the area's church.[3] However, the conditions throughout the site's existence were apparently filthy.[4]

The site has been excavated, proving among other things that the Vikings continued to trade with the American mainland after Leif Ericson's failed colonization attempt.[5] An arrowhead likely from the Point Revenge culture of Native Americans in Labrador has been found in the graveyard at Sandnæs.[6] There is also evidence of iron extraction at the site.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Miller, Barbara. "The History and Development of the Needle Case Archived 2012-09-13 at the Wayback Machine". Accessed 16 May 2012.
  2. ^ Spelled Kilærsavik before the introduction of home rule in 1979.
  3. ^ a b Enghoff, Inge B. Meddelelser om Grønland: Man and Society 28: "Hunting, Fishing and Animal Husbandry at the Farm Beneath the Sand, Western Greenland". Museum Tusculanum Press, 2003.
  4. ^ Buckland, P.C. & al. "Bioarchæological and Climatological Evidence for the Fate of the Norse Farmers in Medieval Greenland". Antiquity 70 (1996), 88–96. Accessed 16 May 2012.
  5. ^ Guðrún, Anna & al. (March 2016). "Archaeological finds in Greenland". Archived from the original on 2016-04-01. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  6. ^ Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The Viking Voyage. "Markland and Helluland: Archaeology". Accessed 16 May 2012.
  7. ^ Nielsen, Niels. Meddelelser om Grønland: "Evidence of iron extraction at Sandnes, in Greenland's west settlement". C.A. Reitzel (Copenhagen), 1936.

64°14′37″N 50°10′32″W / 64.24361°N 50.17556°W / 64.24361; -50.17556