Vikings Unearthed FULL SPECIAL | NOVA | PBS America 

Out of the many, *this is definitely one of the best documentaries on Vikings* I've seen in quite a while. - If one could wish, then there would be *_more_* PBS Viking docus in the future of the same caliber and top-notch production. Episodes that would cover the overall mindblowing accomplishments, Viking conquests and numerous *escapades in Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, Middle East, Britain, France, etc.* Hopefully _@PBS America_ is already considering this..?! Kudos.

How can they start the show with....."Did the Vikings reach North America?" When there's a 100% confirmed Viking village in Newfoundland in Canada?

When John Guy wrote about his first encounters with the Beothuk in Newfoundland he remarked at how European they appeared in clothing and stature. Now we know why!

I was a young pilot in 1986 , flying a twin otter down the south coast of Labrador not far from Red Bay .I saw very similar mounds on the ground that look very much like the original mounds found in L'anse aux meadows. I have always felt that it may be a Viking site more north .

Proud to be of Viking heritage

Scandinavian immigrants were building sod houses in the Minnesota area in the 1800s, so it seems to me that sod buildings are possible in the Colonial period, too - maybe a trapper, or survivors of a shipwreck? But that's why all the evidence needs to be weighed together. Thank you for sharing these. Please put the original publication date in the description. I dug it out from the end of the clip (copyright BBC 2016). As someone who really wants to learn, it's helpful to know when documentaries came out, as this one sets the scene for other developments in the past 8 years. Thank you!

So interesting!!! Speaking of the Dragon-Ships, after seeing how the Oak clinker-built planks would allow the ship to twist and flex as it cut-through the water and ride the waves - I can easily visualize what it must have been like for the People sailing in them; especially with full-sails and stormy seas, it must have felt as though the ships were alive - like riding on the back of a flying dragon! …What a thrill!!!

Love Viking history and these kinds of programmes 🤘

I'm Canadian, And they should have been given the time it takes, and not just 14 days ,, !!

😢Getting a haircut in Cincinatti, Ohio, I was chatting with the barber about the next day being Columbus Day. When I stupidly pointed out that there was solid evidence that the Norse had "discovered" America five-hundred years before Columbus, he lost his shit. Totally American, he had an Italian name, Talk about tribal. I thought he was going to assault me. Facts can be so infuriating sometimes.

On the "slag" that wasn't and the "roasting pit", the Bretons, Basque and Normans all fished off the Grand Banks from 1500 AD onwards. So the C14 dates placing the "site" around the 17th century would better fit a European fishing camp were repairing or replacing tools, hooks, or lead sinkers, and/or fish drying occurred rather than a "viking" settlement. The site appeared water logged, so most likely clay soils and the stratigraphy unclear. So my guess is that this was a seasonal occupation site and not a permanent settlement. Europeans preferred building on clay soils which are impermeable to water so any wooden structures would not wash away. I'm not sure if Vikings had a similar preference. But I'm sure as farmers, they would be very attune to the landscape and the archaeology would reflect a different land use pattern.

Hello from Newfoundland, Canada. I live just over 2 hours drive south of Lance Aux Meadows. It's been thought that the Vikings had been in this local area as well but no solid evidence like Lance Aux Meadows. Maybe one day, more sites will be found.

Thanks so much for posting.

Very cool vid, scratching down through time.

Thanks guys for the update, that`s was cool!

Very very educational! Hello from Philippines

brilliant!!! thank you so so much for this information :)))

1:23:45 ... All the desk work and mapping is great stuff!! ... But once you pick up that first shovel full of dirt!!! .. now you are really looking!!! :)

The Vikings walked the streets of Constanople, which did not change name to Istanbul until the 30:s, by Ataturks government, who wanted to distance Turkey from its Ottoman past. The Old Norse name of Constanople was "Miklagård", meaning "very", "large", "estate/trading place"; "the very large city". The word İstanbul originates in the Greek phrase “στην Πόλι” (stim poli) meaning “in the city”. I.e. both the Vikings & the Turks just called it "the City".. The Rus' provided the earliest members of the Varangian Guard, from 874. Immigrants from Scandinavia kept an almost entirely Norse cast until the late 11th century, when the Guard began to see increased numbers of Anglo-Saxons after the Norman conquest of England. Also a lot of trading, etc.

Modern English is derived from the Anglo- Norse language spoken by the descendants of Viking settlers in England The Vikings eventually settled in about half of England, an area running from London in the south to Northumbria in the north. It was called the Danelaw

Good documentary!

we visited Roskilde, Denmark and the museum in Oslo, Norway.

25:00 "... the monastery is set on fire -- and part of it burns to the ground ..."

These Scandinavian raiders, for me, were not "Sea-Wolves"; instead they were "Mongols in Ships". They brought slaughter on a scale over and above any wolf-pack attacks. Similar to the Khan's forces, they were wanton murderer(s) and slavers. That which they wanted they took, anything they didn't understand they destroyed. They only traded with entities who possessed armed-forces capable of annihilating them. They were, however, excellent boat/ship builders and repairers, they were master-mariners of their time; and they were brave. Good old Snorri, and his "tales of daring-do!"

Apparently there is only one sailing "school" left that teaches navigation by the stars.......somewhere over by Papua New Guinea, if I remember correctly. Love your educational videos.

Nice program. The only thing I wonder about is the turf (sod) houses. From what I understand they were common in Colonial times especially in Canada and of course the US also. At any rate, PBS always comes through with interesting programs. BTW I'm born and raised in Ohio, moved to Danmark in 2006, if you ever have the opportunity to visit Danmark, Roskilde Viking museum is a must see and if you are very adventerous you can buy a rowing place on a Viking ship and row like the Vikings did out to sea! You can watch master shipbuilders building Viking ships using only authentic tools and methods of building, it's really an interesting thing to see and experience.

Vikings had definitely travelled to Canada and even as far as New Zealand. History has some catching up to do in regards to accuracy and truth.

the biggest longship, found so far, was found in ireland

Sadly, archaeological opinion (summarised in the Wikipedia article on Pointe Rosee) casts doubt on the identification of this site as a Viking settlement. But it was worth trying! There must be some evidence remaining of Vinland settlements somewhere. The other parts of the video on Greenland settlements and L'Anse aux Meadows is very well presented.

Something I love about the Viking expansion and some of the more conspiracy suggestions of how far they got in places like the Americas, and how experts usually come out and say "it's unlikely; but even we're not sure anymore!" For example there is a suggestion that a certain Mesoamerican (I believe Astek) adaptation of one their gods (Feathered Serpent drawn as a human I think) MIGHT have been the result of them encountering a Viking party come REALLY far south. Personally I don't put faith in this theory anymore then I do the theory "Ancient Egyptians where in South America" baseless claims... but then again it took centuries to figure out if the Viking tales of Vineland where real or not, and even after we found a settlement location was found on Canada's East Coast it took decades before experts came out to confirm that yes it was a Viking Settlement and yes it fits the description of Vineland... so MAYBE they followed the coast that far South (though the god looking like it does being directly a result of Vikings and Mesoamericans near the Gulf of Mexico meeting; that's most definitely not what's happening)

My family is Viking. Thanks for this.

amazing. so good

This was an amazing documentary. Really interesting and beautifully presented. Thanks. ☮️ I thought Australia was the largest island in the world rather than Greenland?

The Title scene is filmed in Shetland during the annual Up Helly Aa ceromancy held ay the las Tuesday in January every year.

Look at the oak island on the east coast nova Scotia has 2 oak islands that lead to New Ross. The islands mark there trading posts

Thank's for the video. I'ts remind me about Gudrid Thorbjørnsdatter, who was the first women there landed in North Amerika ( Vinland ), also a grath story.

This is an excellent documentary

The norse word «Vin»is used in a lot of placenames in Norway today and the meaning of the word describes rich grasland or meadow. It is more likely that vinland means rich grasland even though it would be more fun if it had to do with grapes. It is interesting that the site today also has meadow in its name.

Outcome may vary depending on the interests of funding source for each excavation site.

Greenland is thought to be an archipelago under the ice, Madagascar is the largest island!

If the Vikings had landed anywhere else in Newfoundland besides the desolate L'Anse aux Meadows area they'd still be there today. The province has many beautiful inlets and bays elsewhere around the island that would have been perfect for living.

People have been sailing into America and Canada for thousands of years

I read that they found viking boat anchor holes in rocks on the north shore of lake superior

Very cewl. Makes me wanna go digging in my back yard. Maybe I'll find some artifact. ... or just really old dirt.

Vikings had slaves in L'anse aux Meadows. There is always something new to learn.

I always thought Columbus never made it to North America - IT WAS Juan Ponce de León In 1513 that claimed the area around today’s St. Augustine in Florida for the Spanish crown.

any chance they made it down the St Lawrence towards the great lakes?

A fascinating people.

If the vikings found or discovered America it would prove to me, the things that I thought about and I need as I new to be true that the vikings did discover America , would give me a rubber stamp they I have always believed that they the vikings did live in America.

Those first clips of parades and the burning of the ship come from Scotland, in the Northern Isles where we have a strong relationship with the norse, pagan culture

the church,, forgot, to mention, that the ones that stayed, improved our farming techniques a huge amount, especially the danes. they, also, gave ordinary people, a fairer say, in how things would be run

One mistake in this documentary, Greenland is not the largest island, Australia is! Excellent documentary I hop you find a positive outcome ✌❤

Thank you for this video❤

From Dr. Parcak's Wikipedia page: "In 2011 a BBC news report stated that she had "discovered" 17 previously unknown pyramids in Egypt as well as more than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 settlements. The Minister of State for Antiquities, Dr. Zahi Hawass, criticized the report, saying that this was "not accurate" and the BBC apologized. None of the 17 pyramids Parcak claimed to have discovered have ever been found." "A BBC co-production with PBS, NOVA/WGBH Boston and French Television, Vikings Unearthed (first broadcast April 4, 2016) documented her use of satellite imagery to detect possible remains of a Norse / Viking presence at Point Rosee, Newfoundland. In 2015, Parcak stated that remains could likely be a "turf wall and roasted bog" iron ore; however, an excavation conducted in 2016 proved that she was wrong and that the "turf wall and accumulation of bog iron ore" were actually the results of natural processes."

42:17 Now, that guy can truly say "Folks! Look at that shit!!"

So how come there are also lines on the modern structures? 31:11

How is this NEW, as a male 67 year old, I remember being taught this in school in England in the Late 1960s. Or was it just a guess by my History Tutor?

The Greenland Vikings paid taxes to the King of Norway with shiploads of fur and timber. Granted, Greenland has fur seals, but mink? Beaver? One fun idea is to dig through 14th century tombs, and earlier, and search for remains of fur that originated from North America.

❤ U PBS!

Just a point: there is a school of thought that it was NOT monks who wrote the Icelandic Sagas but Celtic women who wrote them down. One of the first Icelandic settlers was a woman from the British isles who settled there after her husband/partner was killed in "England". It was also more likely that the story tellers were women because the inside of the house was a woman's domain while the outside of the house was a man's domain.

Results may vary according to apophenia levels. This makes a great documentary for psychologists studying bias 😅

Point Rosse and L'Anse aux Meadows is approx 600km away by boat.. sounds like a good distance between settlements

One thing to realise about Viking culture is that everyone is capable of being a slave and that everyone is therefore basically a slave

I found a small object buried in the ground I really think it Viking artifact. I live on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia. I need a professional to look at it.

Look up Sop’s Arm Whitebay. Vikings were there.

Norway should ask half of Canada as their rightful colony

…” fregdamen frá Ísland í noreg sammla var, Niðarós var staden ók Eirik han var jarl…”.

Siir Henry Sinclair was murdered on his return from North America in 1400 AD. Sir James Gunn was buried in Westport Massachusetts. Both men were Vikings and Templars. !!!

Inaccurate in places the vikings didnt march to ripon they would have navigated up the river Trent why else build a horse shoe shaped fort beaching on the river they navigated and attacked up the Thames as far as Reading in berkshire the navigable rivers gave them access deep into the country

Guess the Vikings found their match on the shores of Estonia :D

I find it odd that Lindisfarne wasn't mentioned as the first strike

Interesting documentary but was made in 2016. They leave the ending open ended, but sadly a report has come out since stating there is no evidence of Viking Settlement in the area. "In their November 8, 2017, report to the Provincial Archaeology Office in St. John's, Newfoundland, Parcak and Mumford wrote "There are no clear findings of human activity prior to 1800. that they "found no evidence whatsoever for either a Norse presence or human activity at Point Rosee prior to the historic period" and that "None of the team members, including the Norse specialists, deemed this area as having any traces of human activity." As absolutely no evidence of a Norse presence was found, and with many of the Norse experts stating that this was not a likely site for a Norse settlement, no future excavations are planned for Point Rosee. Parcak and Mumford state in their report that their findings do not warrant a return to Point Rosee. Parcak has not applied for any new archaeological permits to excavate at Point Rosee since 2016."

Apparently they have been down in new zealand

LOL "Did they discover North America long before Columbus?" Was said as if it is not a scientifically proven fact yet. Hello From Newfoundland, Canada.

The modern Russia owes it's roots to the Vikings. Long ago the Vikings sailed up the rivers of the 'then Russia' and conquered and settled the land as the Viking ''RUS'', whence the name Russia comes from.

I'm a viking descendent from Rolo William the William the Conqueror William the Conqueror all the way down to Robert the Bruce & Queen Elizabeth I know that Rolo had made it to North America so to watch this program was so Amazing thank you for your going to your satellite 🛰 to find them ❤❤❤

Maybe Vikings landed 500 years before NASA on the moon....????

Wanted to watch this. But the ads came fast and furious. Got very irked. Tapped out.

As a Canadian Professional archaeologist I’m not really happy about their excavation methodologies. And why the Canadian government allows it is beyond me.

They ain't ready for the Irish conversation yet

The butternut proof seems sketchy to me. Don’t nuts float? Can’t birds carry the nuts further north? Not proof of anything. Anyone could have carried the nuts north.

the explorers were scandinavian, what they did, was called going viking, so, calling them vikings is incorrect

Greenland. I thought green washing was a new thing. Nothing changes.

A lot of viking blood flows in the Russian people.

Could this have been a lightning strike?

no.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%B8nikia Hva har dette med vikingene og jøre ?

Newfoundland😊

Sounds like the ship they found with all the dead guys piled on each other..and then there's dogs bones and birds and such on top....Dogs and Birds arent *usually* sacrificial animals... I think this boat was basically a dump.Who's to say those vikings weren't killed by some people already inhabiting that part if the land, piled them up in their boat like trash and continued to throw the carcasses of dead animals and shit on the pile as it was likely away from the village and those that killed the men. I mean let's face it Vikings were a hateful group of human back then.

Newfoundland vikings where there before Columbus

I loved it when they found the stone buried under the soil and just like that they said its strong evidence it could be a furnace of the vikings. Likewise for the marshy ground assuming to be grass walls. And the seed was the strongest evidence to me. Sometimes these archaeologists are so funny.

Greenlandsaga. Sey. They stey in vinland only 3 years.

Turf building techniques have been in common practice up to the 19th Century by settlers and natives of North America. Vikings were hardly the only users. It's a readily available building material, especially for temporary or seasonal structures. Fishing season settlements have dotted the coasts of Newfoundland for 500 years. Left unused and maintained, they weather away to dark deposits like those found at Rosee. Good try finding the elusive Viking settlements though!

You are discounting the Atlantians. Stories of Europeans settling the americas thousands of years ago abound

wasnt there a viking sword found in texas?

2:25

THE WELSH landed in America in the 6 th century . PRINCE MADOG .

I always thought it is very strange that anyone was willing to trade with wikings at all. Everyone must have known about their violent ways and still they were let in to trade and barter under civil circumstances. I have a hard time understanding the thought-process behind that.

These excavations happened in 2016. In 2017 a provincial report said there was "no evidence whatsoever for either a Norse presence or human activity at Point Rosee prior to the historic period"

They lived in dirt houses... soil, any wonder they had worms.

Too bad that the Point Rosee site turned out to be nothing.........