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This is why the Vikings left Greenland. Scientists point to a non-obvious factor
The Vikings lived in Greenland for several hundred years. Where did they get their wood then, and why did they leave the world’s largest island? The latest scientific research answers these questions.
“Vikings” is a general term for the people who inhabited Scandinavia, meaning today’s Norway, Denmark and Sweden, between the 8th and 11th centuries. During their sea voyages, the followers of Thor explored and colonized other parts of Europe, islands in the North Atlantic and even Asia. The defeat of the King of Norway in 1066 is considered the symbolic end of the Viking Age. Harald III the Harsh was then defeated at the Battle of Stamford Bridge by Harold II Goodwinson.
Vikings in Greenland
Recent research is shedding new light on the Viking presence in Greenland. Most fascinating is why the Vikings left the world’s largest island.
The Vikings appeared in Greenland in the late 10th century. They disappeared from there almost five hundred years later. Why? The main reason may have been very mundane and well known to us. The authors of a study published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) point to rising sea levels.
