no pillaging took place. However, unlike the conditions in those winter camps, the
L’Anse aux Meadows site served as a port-of-trade, or gateway. It was a safe haven, where
goods from remote areas were collected and prepared for shipment back home. It was
controlled by a chieftain or king via a deputy. In this case it was controlled by Eiríkr
rauði (Erik the Red), and after his death by Leifr. The presence of large storage rooms at
L’Anse aux Meadows is consistent with a port-of-trade function.
CORRELATION OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL
AND LITERARY EVIDENCEThe function, the structures, the size, the social organisation and the time and length
of occupation of L’Anse aux Meadows clearly parallel those of Straumfjo ̨rðr. The climate
historian Astrid Ogilvie has shown that in the eleventh century temperatures were
warmer, with a special warming peak around the year 1000 (Wawn and Þórunn
Figure 44. 3 Plan of the L’Anse aux Meadows site. (Plan by Vis-à-Vis Graphics, St. John’s.)–– chapter 44 : The discovery of Vinland––