Evidence of early Norse metalwork in Canada

9 December 2014 Last updated at 11:41 ET
Evidence of early Norse metalwork in Canada



Archaeologists have examined bronze found inside a broken stone vessel


Archaeologists have found further evidence of a Viking presence in Arctic Canada.

Norse artefacts have been uncovered in mainland Canada and the Arctic islands over the past several decades.

Analysis of a broken stone vessel discovered on Baffin Island has shown it to be a crucible used for metalworking.

It could be the earliest evidence of high-temperature nonferrous metalworking north of Mesoamerica.

Mesoamerica describes an area of Central America and Mexico before Spanish exploration and conquest in the 1500s.

Archaeologists believe Norse seafarers travelled from Greenland to parts of Arctic Canada where they met hunters known as the Dorset, who mysteriously disappeared in the 14th Century.

The Dorset culture occupied parts of Canada for 2,000 years before Inuit moved in from Alaska.

More:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-30384038