The first permanent settlement of Vikings in North America—a seaside outpost in Newfoundland known as L’Anse aux Meadows—has tantalized archaeologists for more than 60 years. Now, scientists at last have a precise date for the site: Tree rings show a Viking ax felled trees on the North American continent exactly 1000 years ago, in 1021 C.E. The result is a star example of a relatively new dating method using a spike in solar radiation that left its mark in tree rings around the world.
“The precision is astounding,” says Rachel Wood, a radiocarbon scientist at the Australian National University who wasn’t involved in the new study. “The idea to use these short-term sharp fluctuations in radiocarbon … has been around for a few years, but it is great to see it actually being used to date an important archaeological site.”
