Buried Norsemen at Herjolfsnes: An Archaeological and Historical Study

This is the facsimile version of the fascinating book, originally published in 1924, in which Poul Norlund gives the first gathered, concise description of the old Norse settlement of Herjolfsnes on the south tip of Greenland, presenting the archaeological findings made by an expedition in 1921, led by Norlund himself.

The fate of the Norse settlers who lived at Herjolfsnes for nearly half a millennium after its founding in the 10th century by Herjolf Bardsson remains unknown. As early as the early 19th century, artifacts were being discovered at the site of the settlement at Herjolfsnes, and during the 1800s it became known that this was a Norse settlement site; but it wasn’t until 1921, when the National Museum of Denmark-fearing that the rising water line would submerge the site entirely-funded an expedition, led by Norlund, that the site was thoroughly examined and excavated. Apart from buildings and human remains, their findings consisted mainly of remarkably well-preserved garments and costumes, of a type and quality thitherto unknown except from paintings from the Mediaeval period. For this reason, Norlund’s expedition and findings have been characterised as some of the most important in Europe in the 20th century. Buried Norsemen at Herjolfsnes gives Norlund’s account and the expedition’s archaeological findings in Norlund’s own words and is an indispensable source to anyone interested in the subject matter.