I talked to Unnur Thorsteinsdottir at DeCODE this week. She is the Vice President of Research and a very nice person!! We think there is a great scientific opportunity to do a population genomic study as part of the Fara Heim expedition.

If the Norse in the Arctic did settle for up to 400 years like they are suspected to have done there should be a genetic track. As part of talking to the ancestors of the non-Norse settlers about their history and stories of any interactions with Europeans we think this is a great chance to look for genetic traces.

Science has advanced so much over even the last 20 years that genetic sampling is as easy a mouth swab. It’s kind of funny that Icelanders of the 21st century may have developed the science to be able to prove the presence of Icelanders from 1,000 years ago.

Unnur is talking to her colleagues at deCODE about selecting someone to come onboard Fara Heim as our genetic advisor and detective.

Thanks Unnur,

David

Expedition Update:

1. We are going to start reaching out to the Northern communities to ask for stories, clues and actual sites and artifacts that relate to the presence of the Norse.

2. We are working on the magnetic anomaly detection and ground penetrating radar systems to do rapid searching.

3. We are evaluating how we can do a digital image search of the coast areas we think could have been used as Norse settlements or encampments. With the satellite imagery and computing power available now we are going to test a couple of sites to look for things that look man-made (like rectangular rock structures). We’re not sure what we will find but nobody has ever focused current technology to this search.

We have been given a rivet from the Roskilde museum. Anne Sorensen, who has published several books on Viking ships, graciously sent us a rivet. We will use this rivet to help develop our search protocols. Thanks very much Anne and the Roskilde museum.

http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/

A recent quote by Dr. Leigh Syms:

Fara Heim Expedition–An Exciting Search for Viking Occupations in Hudson Bay

One of the great mysteries of Viking settlements in North America is the disappearance of the last Vikings. Did they travel inland into the Bay? Did they eventually merge with Inuit camps and intermarry with the Inuit women? Early expeditions such as Knut Rasmussen in the 1920s reported “blond Eskimos”. This appears to be somewhat of a misnomer since they are described as having fair (as in brown) hair, blue or grey eyes, European facial features, and more beard than other Inuit pictures show, but they present an intriguing enigma. Viking artifacts have been found in Inuit camps on the east side of the Bay, indicating contact.
But did the Vikings set up their camps in the Bay, on their own or with Inuit partners? No one has searched for the evidence. One is reminded of the Viking site at L’Anse aux Meadows which remained a fabled site reported in Icelandic sagas until Helge Ingstad set out to find it and lucked in to find the people who could show him a strange site. It is entirely possible that Viking sites will be found in the Bay but it will require extensive searching and discussions with local Inuit elders about any such traditions. Fortunately the Fara Heim Expedition is well on its way in this regard.

E. Leigh Syms, PhD
Adjunct Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Manitoba
As the former Curator of Archaeology at The Manitoba Museum, he developed a travelling exhibit on the Vikings which is still circulating.

Check out the article in the St. Patrick’s Day Winnipeg Free press:

Check out the article in the St. Patrick’s day edition of the Winnipeg Free Press

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/seeking-out-ancient-norse-traders-143034685.html