L’Anse aux Meadows is the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Newfoundland containing the archaeological remains of the earliest known European settlement in North America.
The site preserves the remains of an eleventh-century Norse settlement at the northern tip of Newfoundland. Excavations found turf buildings with features associated with Norse construction, including a smithy and evidence of ironworking. Radiocarbon research has placed Norse activity at the site around the year 1000, broadly matching accounts of voyages westward in the Icelandic sagas.
L’Anse aux Meadows is often described as proof that Christopher Columbus was the first European to reach the Americas, but the archaeological evidence predates Columbus by centuries. It is also not generally considered a large, permanent colony; evidence suggests a short-lived base or settlement connected with exploration and resource gathering. The site’s name is French and is commonly pronounced approximately “Lans oh Meadows.”