Around 1000, Norse voyagers established a small settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. Archaeological remains confirm the first known European presence in the Americas, centuries before Columbus. The exposed site was occupied only briefly, probably as a base for exploration and resource gathering.

The archaeological discovery gave material support to the Vinland narratives preserved in Icelandic sagas. Their accounts combine practical details of navigation and settlement with literary treatments of conflict, wonder and the limits of exploration.