these resources so that they could be brought back to Greenland: ‘They did nothing but
explore the land’ (ES and HB); ‘for the profitable resources’ (ES and HB); ‘Thorvald...
thought that the land had been explored in too small a portion’ (ES and HB); ‘good for
both property and fame’ (GS). The GS does state that Karlsefni’s expedition ‘took with
them all sorts of livestock because they intended to settle if they could’ (emphasis added).
On the other hand, ES asserts that Thorstein took ‘little livestock... no more than what
they took of weapons and provisions’ (ES and SB). The participants in the Vinland
expeditions were not families but male work crews, hired for a particular voyage for a
share in the profits. Only a few women were present to handle domestic chores.
Þorsteinn Eiríksson’s voyage was launched specifically to retrieve the body of his brother
Þórvaldr. This would not have been necessary had the site been intended for permanent
occupation.
The initial buildings were ‘booths’, sod walls roofed over with tent cloth, giving rise
to the name Leifsbúðir. It was only when the expedition decided to spend the winter that
they built ‘big houses’. No buildings were constructed for livestock, but the animals
grazed out of doors all winter.
The size of the expeditions varied between 30 and 70 people. Karlsefni’s crew of 160
is a fictional combination of three separate crews into one. The crews reflected the west
Norse social stratification. At the top was the leader, in all cases a member of Leifr
Eiríksson’s family. The leader might be accompanied by his or her spouse. The leader
could have a business partner, one or more traders with their own ship and crew. The
crews consisted mostly of hired workers but included some of the leader’s personal staff.
Slaves such as Tyrkir the German were also included for special chores.
The activities consisted first of exploration. As useful resources were encountered,
they were collected and brought to the base in order to be carried back to Greenland.
The resources in question were grapes, lumber, especially ‘grape trees’, and furs. In GS,
the same settlement was occupied by all the expeditions. There were no aboriginal
people at Straumfjo ̨rðr, but the Norse encountered large groups of native people in both
Hóp and Markland.
The expeditions took place shortly after the year 1000. Each expedition stayed one to
three years. In the end, they were given up altogether. The presence of aboriginal people
was given as the major reason.
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE – THE
L’ANSE AUX MEADOWS SITEL’Anse aux Meadows is located on the western side of the northernmost tip of
Newfoundland’s Northern Peninsula, on the Strait of Belle Isle, facing Labrador
(Figure 44. 1 ). It is an easily recognisable landmark for any navigator en route from the
north: at the entrance to a large strait, with distinctive landmarks such as Belle Isle,
Cape Bauld and Cape Onion, Great and Little Sacred Islands (Figure 44. 2 ). The site
comprises eight buildings located on a former beach terrace surrounding a sedge peat
bog. A small brook cuts through the terrace. There are three dwelling complexes, each
consisting of a large hall and a small hut. One complex also includes a small house. A
fourth complex, consisting of a charcoal kiln and a hut with furnace for direct-reduction
iron manufacture is located on the seaside portion of the terrace, at some distance from
the dwellings (Figure 44. 3 ).
–– Birgitta Wallace––