There have been hints of early Viking settlement in North America, but only one site ever confirmed in what is now Canada. But satellite images may have revealed a second site 300 miles south of the original.
The new site, called Point Rosee, has features corresponding to certain Norse tendencies. This included remains of Viking-like walls and boulders turned into makeshift metallurgy spots for iron, with some bog iron found nearby. Radiocarbon dating places the objects in the same era as Viking settlements in Greenland.
The telltale detail has been referred to as a "dark stain" seen from near-Earth satellites flying about 100 miles over where the ISS orbits, or about 383 miles up. Follow-up observations could go further to confirm that the site is a Viking site, although all evidence points to that conclusion right now. For instance, indigenous people in the region weren't known to use this kind of metallurgy, but Vikings were.
PBS' Nova will air a special on the site on Monday at 9 p.m. ET.
Source: New York Times