The Viking Discovery of America

Faced with crowded and harsh conditions in their Greenland home, a group of Vikings took the reins of fate into their own hands. With incredible luck, skill and fortitude, they discovered lands filled with a profusion of wood, wild game, and fertile land. In the sagas that grew from this discovery, the lands were given names that resonated with hope and promise.

Almost 1000 years later, a husband and wife team united their considerable talents. Intrigued by allusions in the ancient sagas to fabled Vinland, they considered the scholarship on Viking culture and technology; they studied maps; and they researched intensively the prominent theories on Vinland's location. Finally their efforts bore fruit when a remote Newfoundland peninsula yielded up a soapstone spindle-whorl, a Viking ring pin, and what had to be the overgrown remnants of over a dozen Viking buildings. Centuries of historical thought were overturned as it became obvious that Columbus' discovery of America had been scooped-over four centuries before he was born.

The Viking Discovery of America

unites both of these stories. Entwining fascinating details about shipbuilding, navigation, culture and lifestyle together with an in-depth account of the detective process.

The Viking Discovery of America

brings to life the amazing true tale of a voyage once thought impossible.