The Norse people were the first Europeans to set foot on Greenland soil. They arrived from Iceland at the end of the 10th century, and in the course of the following decades they founded settlements in three areas along Greenland’s west coast: The Eastern Settlement (Østerbygden: South Greenland), the Middle Settlement (Mellembygden: the Paamiut area) and the Western Settlement (Vesterbygden: the Nuuk area). The Norse society in Greenland existed throughout the middle ages, but finally disappeared in the course of the 15th century under circumstances still unknown.
LIFE OF THE NORSEMEN: HOW WAS IT ?
The Norse settlers were not a homogenous group. On the contrary, their society was strictly organized in layers, the social structure of which is reflected in the ruins we see today:
At the bottoms of the fjords, on the wide, abundant pastures, the large farmers dwelt with their families, farmhands and large numbers of cattle.
The humble farmers had to make do with the less abundant inland pasture, and therefore had to supplement their economy with hunting.
The poorest farmers were left with the rocky areas on the coast. They had to survive mainly on hunting and fishing at sea.
The rich farmsteads consisted of various buildings scattered over a larger area. A large dwelling house with many rooms (i.e. the longhouse) formed the centre. Large cattle sheds for various types of livestock containing fodder storage rooms belonged to complex, besides storerooms and further storage buildings, as often as not also a church building.
The humbler farmsteads were concentrated (= centralised), with cattle shed, dwelling house and storeroom all under one roof.
The houses are built of turf and stone; the dwelling rooms’ inside walls often being boarded with wood. The outhouses are built of stone – and filled out with turf depending on the need for insulation: Cattle sheds are built of thick turf walls; storerooms usually of stone only.
Earlier on it was believed that the longhouse dated from the earliest settlement, and the centralised habitations from the later settlements, this development arising from the need for huddling together for warmth as a consequence of a colder climate. Today, however, the various types of farmstead are believed to be determined by social status. Nevertheless, some longhouses did in fact become “centralised” (and some of the outhouses abandoned), and this may be interpreted as a result of a tougher climate.
FARMER LIFE IN MEDIEVAL GREENLAND
The Norsemen were basically peasants, and it was this life style they laboriously and enduring many hardships strove to transfer from Iceland to Greenland.
Those who settled in the fertile and spacious plains at the bottom of the fjords were able to feed a considerable herd of cattle and a small flock of sheep and goats on the pasture and the hay.
It must have been tough, though: One cow needed approximately 4 tons of hay per year, and had to be held inside the cattle shed for about 200 days a year. A medium-sized farm, feeding 15 cows and 50 sheep for instance, would be consuming 90 tons of hay per year! This fairly large amount of hay was partly provided by means of hay-making on the mountain pastures.
The less wealthy peasants had to supplement their economy with hunting and fishing – both at sea and on shore.
WHY DID THE NORSEMEN DISAPPEAR ???
The Norse settlements in Greenland were based on a delicate balance between culture and nature. Even slight changes could cause problems.
The Norsemen met with a worsening of the climate: During the period of their settlement in Greenland the average temperatures fell. Simultaneously, the king and church in Norway increased their demands of taxes. Maybe failing connections to Scandinavia caused a lack of basal necessities like timber and iron. Maybe the population had grown so large that the food production became insufficient – or nature overexploited. Maybe .... Research continues!
It should be taken into account that the Norsemen were peasants who supplemented their income by hunting the same animals as the Eskimos. If they did not in times of crisis switch to hunting entirely, it may be due to the fact that their hunting implements and methods were vastly inferior to those of the Eskimos.
ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN ESKIMOS AND THE NORSEMEN
From objects found in Eskimo ruins it can be deducted that there has been some kind of contact between the Eskimos and the Norsemen, but it is hard to tell just how much contact it was.
Previously, the Norsemen’s disappearance was attributed to violent attacks by the Eskimos, but this interpretation can now be rebutted. The Norsemen did not disappear because the Eskimos exterminated them. The explanations need to be far less simple, as stated above.
TODAY’S VISIBLE RELICS OF THE PAST: WHAT DO WE SEE?
Today, in the Eastern Settlement, covering the districts of Narsaq, Qaqortoq and Nanortalik, about 400 Norse sites are registered by Greenland’s National Museum. A registration indicates only that the site is known and assumed to be a ruin; it has not necessarily been excavated, or even confirmed to be a ruin.
The registration process is continuous. Discoveries of new sites should therefore be reported to the local museum.
The ruins found in the district of Narsaq date from the earliest settlement period at the end of the 10th century towards the final phase of the Norse period by the middle of the 15th century.
The Norse Greenlanders have been a subject of research and excavations for more than 250 years. The results of this extensive research can not be portrayed here. Instead, a few important features will be presented.
RESEARCH: HOW DO WE KNOW ?
The first person to investigate the Norse settlements archaeologically was the Norwegian priest Hans Egede, who in 1723 sailed along Greenland’s Southern coast in search for descendants of the Christian Norsemen. He conducted excavations – among other places at Hvalsey church – yet without realising that he actually was right in the middle of the Norsemen’s Eastern Settlement, which he presumed to be located on the East coast of Greenland.
During the following 100 years, the quest for Christians and for the Eastern Settlement on the East coast remained the major focus of the investigations. Then it was recognized that the Eastern Settlement was located in Southwest Greenland, and that it was necessary to systematise the knowledge gathered so far. This attitude was adopted in the fieldwork as well.
In 1880, Gustav Holm investigated the “Julianehaab District” and scientifically described 40 sites (about 400 ruins in all). This effort was followed up by Daniel Bruun in 1894, who visited 83 sites. He introduced the numbering system which we still use today.
From the 1920s and during the 1930s, archaeological activities were intense, yet interrupted by the war. When resumed afterwards, it was mainly by private individuals, such as C. L. Vebæk, who for instance investigated the Landnám Farm in Narsaq.
In the 1960s, the tremendous development of the Greenlandic society necessitated intensified listing efforts, and as a result, the number of known Norse sites was almost doubled. The approach to the investigations also changed: The focus shifted from the large “classical” farms and churches to the mere humble sites, as well as the cultural contacts between Eskimos and Norsemen. In addition, the research is still becoming more and more interdisciplinary.
NORSE RUINS NEAR THE TOWN OF NARSAQ
In the immediate vicinity of the town of Narsaq, there are 3 Norse farm sites:
Ø 17 a, near the “Royal Greenland” factory,
Ø 17, in the churchyard,
Ø 18, “Dyrnæs”.
Ø 17 a: Landnám Farm
The Landnám Farm is situated behind the “Royal Greenland” factory, close to the Community Centre A-21, where the museum’s Norse exhibition can be seen. There are about 10 buildings to be found on this site, the original farm having probably consisted of more, since some must have been washed away by the sea. Only the dwelling house ruin has been excavated.
The dwelling house is a longhouse: originally containing only one room, and later extended at both ends. Inside the house is a system of ditches for draining off seeping water from the rooms, as well as for water supply. In other words: There was running water inside the house.
One interesting object among a considerable number of other finds from this site is a small stick carved with runes. The type of runes represented here is the oldest found in Greenland – dating from around the year 1000. Some of these objects can be seen at the museum’s Norse exhibition at the Community Centre A-21.
Ø 17: Site in the Narsaq churchyard
This site has not been excavated archaeologically – and is quite unlikely ever to be it. The objects found here were unearthed by digging graves.
The finds were made at the highest point of the churchyard, and the observations made during the diggings seem to indicate a habitation: Signs of a fireplace and a cooking pot were found. Also loom weights and a whetstone belong to the finds – they seem to indicate a living room.
Daniel Bruun made a visit to the site in 1894. He noticed the remains of 6 outhouses or fences in the vicinity of the churchyard. He observed further, that many of the houses of the trading post “Nordprøven” – i.e. Narsaq – were built of stones from the ruins.
Ø 18: Farm with church: probably Dyrnæs or Hardsteinaberg
The church may be the one called “Dyrnæs” by the Icelander Ivar Bårdsøn in his Account of Greenland from around the year 1350. Its parish was, according to the text, “the largest in Greenland”. It is also possible that the same site is the parish, which in other sources is spoken of as “Hardsteinaberg”.
The site has not been excavated archeologically, and only a few of the ruins’ functions can therefore be established.
Knud J. Krogh has, however, noticed that when a church has collapsed the way this one has, its ground plan must be cruciform, i.e. with a choir and nave. This type of church was built in Greenland mainly in the 13th century.
In this area – yet in a due distance from the ruins – the headquarters for the geological exploration of the Ilimaussaq Complex were situated in the period 1956-85. Here for instance the uranium deposits at Kvanefjeld were investigated. This camp was called “Dyrnæs Camp”, which is the main reason for the local residents’ still using the term “Dyrnæs” for the area today.
OBJECT FINDS
By far the largest part of the object finds from the Norse ruins are today being kept at the National Museum in Copenhagen. However, a representative part of them is expected to be returned to Greenland – some of them, hopefully, to the districts they have been found in.
PRESERVATION
Ruins are historical relics of the past and should as such be preserved for the present and future.
They are constantly affected by environmental influences – by nature (frost, coastal erosion, undergrowth, storms etc.) as well as the visitors’ wear.
It is therefore important to respect the ruin sites in order to prevent further destruction and erosion.
Since the historical sites are listed as conservation areas, it is however a criminal offence to vandalise a ruin or even remove anything from it.
RELICS OF THE PAST ARE COMMON HERITAGE AND MUST BE PROTECTED !