Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Re-Visiting Viking Vinland: I. Locating 'Keelness', a Viking Shipwreck Site in North America

Version 1 : Received: 6 December 2022 / Approved: 8 December 2022 / Online: 8 December 2022 (01:25:31 CET)

How to cite: Haynes, R. Re-Visiting Viking Vinland: I. Locating 'Keelness', a Viking Shipwreck Site in North America. Preprints 2022, 2022120137. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202212.0137.v1 Haynes, R. Re-Visiting Viking Vinland: I. Locating 'Keelness', a Viking Shipwreck Site in North America. Preprints 2022, 2022120137. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202212.0137.v1

Abstract

The series 'Re-Visiting Viking Vinland' describe re-evaluation of Viking voyages from Greenland to North America, from about 985 to 1026 A.D. American landfalls were located using clues from Norse sagas, logic, creative imagination, and advanced imaging technology. Paper I describes a dramatic voyage of Leif Eriksson's brother, Thorvald, during the second of four successful 'Vinland' voyages. Thorvald borrowed Leif's ship for further exploration, was caught in a storm, "shattering" the keel, and disabling the ship. In Greenlanders' Saga: "They had to stay there for a long time while they repaired the ship. Thorvald said to his companions, 'I want to erect the old keel here on the headland and call the place Kjalarnes (Keelness)". Where was Keelness? Re-imagining the voyage, the search led from 'Leif's Booths', Leif's original 'Vinland' site in New Brunswick, Canada, to the north coast of Newfoundland. Using logic, a single satellite image, and follow-up drone scans, the Keelness site was found, very near L'Anse aux Meadows, the first authenticated Viking site in North America. Covid-19 restrictions, and lack of certified professionals, precluded site-visits or excavation. Advanced data-processing of drone data was used to confirm the site, while unexpectedly revealing several distinctive ship-repair features; with visible and thermal imaging supporting this site as 'Keelness'; perhaps the first Viking site unequivocally named in the Vinland sagas.

Keywords

Viking; Vinland; Keelness; remote imaging

Subject

Arts and Humanities, Archaeology

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