- 5/7/2025
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00:01Greenland, the Viking bridge to America.
00:04This feels like the edge of the earth.
00:06Why did its Viking population vanish without a trace?
00:10Last recorded event in Viking Greenland history occurred right here on this spot.
00:16This is incredible.
00:18We investigate their mass disappearance.
00:21This is the first time that we've actually come face to face with real Vikings.
00:25And whether against all the odds, they ended up deep in America.
00:31Awesome!
00:34The Vikings.
00:36We're on the trail of where they went in America.
00:39This could change American history as we know it.
00:42I'm archaeologist and military vet, Blue Nelson.
00:46And I'm archaeologist and ocean explorer, Mike Arbuthnot.
00:50I'm having trouble standing up.
00:52We'll go to any length to uncover the real history of America.
00:56Got it, man.
00:57I think we're game on.
00:58We've worked together for almost 10 years.
01:01But we've never tackled a mystery as big as this.
01:04Holy cow.
01:05And my Viking blood means that this investigation is personal.
01:09These are my cousins.
01:09We'll be using cutting-edge technology and hands-on archaeology to reveal how the Vikings survived.
01:19I mean, this is like something from a horror movie.
01:21And how far into America they really went.
01:24Together, we're on the hunt for America's lost Vikings.
01:29Greenland, ancient domain of the Vikings, and site of one of archaeology's greatest mysteries.
01:42This bridge between Europe and America is home to the Vikings for 500 years.
01:55Until the early 1400s, when they suddenly disappear.
01:59At some point in the 15th century, all the Greenland Norse, the Vikings, vanished.
02:08I mean, that's one hell of a mystery.
02:10It is.
02:10It absolutely is.
02:11I mean, you know, where did they go?
02:13The story of how the Vikings arrived in Greenland is told in the sagas.
02:19Ancient tales which describe Viking history and folklore.
02:25Alright.
02:26So what do we know?
02:28We know Eric the Red discovered Greenland in 982 AD.
02:32Having established a settlement, Eric heads back home to Iceland.
02:37To tell of the Greenland he has discovered.
02:39You know, Eric the Red was one hell of a salesman.
02:43Because if he sold me Greenland and I got here, I don't want my money back.
02:48I mean, this place, it's beautiful.
02:49It is.
02:50But it ain't green.
02:52It may look inhospitable.
02:54But from the initial few hundred Vikings that land with Eric, the population booms.
03:01For 500 years, the Vikings not only lived here, but they flourished here.
03:05It was from here that they launched their expeditions into America.
03:10According to the sagas, it's from Greenland the Vikings sailed to Lonsa Meadows in Newfoundland.
03:15And on to their utopia of Inland, which we believe lies in America.
03:20They always came back here to their Greenland home base.
03:26So why did they suddenly disappear?
03:32There's no written evidence that they ever returned to Iceland.
03:36Could they have ended up in America?
03:38In our quest for answers, we've come to the southern tip of Greenland.
03:46That's the man.
03:48We're meeting UNESCO site manager, Ali Backhard.
03:52Morning.
03:53Morning.
03:55A nice balmy day.
03:57Yeah, nice cold.
04:00He knows that as archaeologists, our priority is to see what remains of this Viking stronghold.
04:07Let's go out and see some ruin sites.
04:10Yeah.
04:11Yeah.
04:18We're heading up the fjord to the site known as Valsi.
04:22You can see all these stones that fall down the mountain.
04:26Just below that, there's a church.
04:28Oh, yeah.
04:30You know what's kind of neat to think about is that the Vikings would have seen this place similar to the way we're seeing it right now.
04:36You know, they'd have been coming up the fjord, staring out an impressive structure beneath an even more impressive mountain.
04:46And I, for one, can't wait to get ashore and walk in the footsteps of my Viking ancestors.
04:54I'm excited to see this.
04:55Yeah.
04:56This is like a dream come true.
04:58This feels like the edge of the earth.
05:01Yeah, to you it is.
05:03To me, it's the center of the world.
05:08It's estimated that Greenland reached a population of around 3,000 Vikings.
05:12And there are Christian sites such as Valsi spread across the country dating back to the 10th century.
05:25According to the sagas, Erik the Red and the first Greenland settlers are pagan.
05:30However, like their Viking brethren in Europe, they soon turned from Odin and Thor to Christianity.
05:44Huge structure.
05:45This is incredible.
05:53This is totally amazing.
05:56Wow, look at this arch.
05:58Just facing east towards the rising sun.
06:02So this would have been, you would have had pews behind us, and you'd have had the, uh...
06:08The altar here.
06:09The altar.
06:10Wow, and these little insets, huh?
06:11For, for treasured items and relics.
06:14Yeah.
06:15Yeah, crucifix.
06:17In the other window up there, you'd have the church belt.
06:21So this is where your church belt would have went?
06:23Yeah.
06:24This is incredible.
06:25Incredible.
06:30According to Eilbeck, this church was built in the 14th century.
06:34This place is one of the five main churches, but this is the last place where we have written sources about the North in Greenland.
06:43A couple was married here in 1408.
06:46The wedding of Thorstein Olofsson and Sigrid Bjorn's daughter takes place at Valsi on September 16th, 1408.
06:56We have some young people come here, get married, which is incredible.
07:01Good for them.
07:02But the last recorded event in Viking Greenland history occurred right here on this spot.
07:08Yeah, so after that, we, we don't know.
07:13We can only guess.
07:14And it's one of the mysteries of the North in Greenland.
07:19How could the Greenland Vikings be celebrating a wedding one day and vanish the next?
07:28To solve this mystery, we need to scour this ancient site for further clues.
07:33Wow, it's huge.
07:38Look at this, Blue.
07:39Are these all different rooms down here?
07:42Yeah, this is a home.
07:46There's more to Valsi than just the church.
07:49We're standing in the grounds of a large Viking manor house.
07:54It would have cow stables, sheep stables, barns.
07:57Still standing are the remains of what would have been an impressive two-story banquet hall.
08:04Look at the size of the blocks.
08:06Wow.
08:06This must have been a pretty important community.
08:10A banquet hall such as this would have provided a focal point for the Viking community.
08:14In this remote place, any visitors would have stayed for weeks or even an entire season.
08:24This would have been a site to rekindle bonds and perhaps tell tales of the Viking sagas.
08:31It's a vital image of a thriving community.
08:35So where did all these people go?
08:37Did they die here or did they flee elsewhere?
08:41We have the old stories about Inuit and the North regarding conflicts that they were at war with each other.
08:55Armed with kayaks and harpoons, the Thule compete for the same land and resources as the Greenland Vikings.
09:03The Thule originate in northern Alaska and by the 12th century have spread along the Arctic coast to Greenland.
09:11The story is about Inuit coming.
09:16They rode into the beach here and killed everybody.
09:19Wow.
09:20Right here.
09:21It's an attack.
09:22Yeah, that's what the story says.
09:24At this church?
09:25Yeah.
09:26And the story says it was the last of the North.
09:30We think of the Vikings as fearsome warriors, but perhaps in the Thule, they finally met their match.
09:41Were they massacred?
09:44Or did they flee the threat of violence?
09:47Perhaps to North America.
09:49We're investigating the mass disappearance of the Vikings from Greenland.
10:05We've heard stories from UNESCO site manager, Ali Backhard, about attacks by the Inuit.
10:14And one centers on one of the last Viking chiefs.
10:18The Greenlandic name for him was Umotok.
10:24He was killed by the Inuit and his legs and armament gently removed from his body.
10:30Gently?
10:31It sounds weird.
10:32Yeah.
10:32Well, it's the Sourish.
10:34We don't have any evidence.
10:36Well, do you have any dates?
10:37No, because it's stories.
10:40We don't know.
10:41There are a lot of theories.
10:43And that's what makes it interesting, too.
10:47Yeah, the plot dickens.
10:48Yeah, it does.
10:53The light is fading away.
10:55It's half past two in the afternoon.
10:58So it's getting darker this time of year, very early.
11:04So let's go back.
11:05Let's do that.
11:06Good call.
11:10These chilling tales have been passed down by the Greenlandic Inuit.
11:20And we need to get to the bottom of them.
11:29Well, I think we need more evidence that the Greenland Norse met a violent end as a result of conflict with the Thule.
11:36There's an archaeologist here at the National Museum.
11:39This guy knows everything on the subject matter.
11:42Archaeologist Christian Cock Madsen has spent years studying Viking sites across Greenland.
11:53I'm hoping he can tell us if there's any truth to Alabaq's tales.
11:57We just met with a fellow that was telling us Inuit oral traditions that claim that the Thule ran the Norse off.
12:05Does the archaeology support that?
12:06Does the archaeology support that at all?
12:07Well, you would expect to find things like burned down farms, people being killed by weapons or trauma we could see on the bones.
12:17And we have nothing of the sort.
12:19Okay.
12:20So we really don't have any archaeological evidence to suggest any type of violence between the two different people.
12:25You know, then what happened?
12:28Where'd they go?
12:29Yeah.
12:30That's, of course, the million dollar question that's been keeping us motivated for many, many years.
12:35So it doesn't appear the Vikings were massacred by their Thule neighbors.
12:40Dr. Madsen has a clue that could take this investigation in a whole new direction.
12:47First of all, you must ask yourself, so why were they here to begin with?
12:52Why did people move across the North Atlantic in open boats, take all their belongings and just head out?
12:57Did they do it on a whim?
12:59We don't think so.
13:01For Eric the Red and those Vikings brave enough to cross the Atlantic in his footsteps,
13:08Greenland offers the chance to strike gold, white gold.
13:13They were coming here to harvest walrus ivory, the white gold of Greenland.
13:21Walrus ivory is one of the most profitable industries of the medieval world.
13:26The Greenland Vikings export tusks to Europe, where they would be carved into beautiful objects.
13:32This piece is a built buckle made of walrus ivory.
13:39You see, there's some very nice detail.
13:41Wow.
13:42They were quite good craftsmen.
13:43Maybe that has to do also with, again, the long winters.
13:46Yeah.
13:47Yeah.
13:48This is showing off.
13:49Yeah.
13:50Okay.
13:51A thriving walrus ivory industry would certainly explain the grandeur of the settlement we visited at Balzee.
14:02This all begs the question, why would the Greenland Vikings abandon their white gold?
14:07If they weren't massacred, did something else wipe them out or drive them to leave?
14:16I've come across another theory that might explain their disappearance.
14:21The little ice age begins in the 14th century, bringing harsher winters to Europe and North America for centuries.
14:30For the Greenland Vikings, this means a major logistical problem. Sea ice.
14:37It's mind blowing the thought that a temperature change can actually bring about so much sea ice that Greenland more or less becomes isolated from the rest of Europe.
14:49And there's another devastating effect. Farming on Greenland becomes increasingly difficult.
14:57Could you imagine, like, within the course of a few generations, going from being a farmer to just scrapping by?
15:05Man, you're going to have some serious food shortages right away.
15:08Facing isolation, dying crops and livestock.
15:14Could the Greenland Vikings have succumbed to famine?
15:21The only other source of food around here is the ocean.
15:26Could they have survived off a marine diet?
15:28To find out, we're meeting up with a local.
15:33I've arranged to meet an Inuit seal hunter to hunt seal for us and show us just how difficult it would have been.
15:40Now, admittedly, we're going to use modern weapons, but hunting is hunting, and we just want to see the end result.
15:47Could they have survived on seal?
15:50Well, this is definitely going to be a first.
15:53Hunter Alatsiak has insisted on a very early start.
15:58How's it going? Blue Nelson.
16:01Nice to meet you.
16:03We're following his lead. After all, if anyone knows how to survive out here, it's a Greenlandic Inuit.
16:10How likely are we to catch a seal today?
16:13I'm sure we have a good one.
16:15We're putting our money on you.
16:20Unlike us, Alatsiak's got a hunting permit.
16:23So we're banking on him to score us a catch.
16:31And hoping to see for ourselves, was there enough food out here to survive the Little Ice Age?
16:39And how hard was it to catch?
16:43The Greenland Vikings did get to a point where, you know, food was hard to come by.
16:48What are they going to do? You know, seal, I think, is the next best option.
16:54The Vikings were known to go out in large groups armed with clubs to hunt walrus and other sea animals.
17:04But seals are a particularly slippery quarry.
17:08Do you see their heads in the water?
17:12Yes, I do.
17:14And sometimes they come up with just a nose.
17:18Just a nose poking up.
17:20They're difficult to see.
17:24Seals can stay in the water for up to 20 minutes at a time.
17:27We may be carrying a gun, but you can't shoot them if you can't see them.
17:37That's not one right there?
17:38No, it's not.
17:41Seaweed.
17:42Luckily, the Latziak has a trained eye.
17:49There's one over here.
17:52I mean, seriously.
17:54It would be a pretty good shot to do this.
17:56He's got his rifle.
17:58I wonder if we should get on the back, well, the backside of him.
18:01Let me shoot that.
18:03Oh, wow.
18:07Did you think you got him or no?
18:09No, I didn't get him.
18:10Okay.
18:14Oh, over there.
18:20You got it?
18:21Did you get it, Latziak?
18:23Dude, I didn't see it, did you?
18:24I think we lost this one.
18:30You got smart, yeah?
18:31You notice how he popped back up?
18:33Almost to taunt you?
18:40Damn, that was close.
18:45Come on, Seal.
18:47I'm looking forward to some Seal stew for lunch.
18:55But a Latziak has an Inuit technique up his sleeve.
19:07You call them like dogs.
19:18After an hour on the water, anything's worth a try.
19:21Gary, we need to do the, uh, the whistle.
19:24Still a dog whistle?
19:26You gotta call them, too.
19:28Let's see if there's one.
19:29There's one over here.
19:30And it seems to have worked.
19:35Get down.
19:36Get down. Watch out.
19:51We're investigating if the last Greenland Vikings were wiped out by famine,
19:55or whether they learned to adapt, possibly gaining crucial skills from the Inuit along the way.
20:03Right there, Latziak.
20:05Like how to catch a seal.
20:06Watch out, Max.
20:10Oh, I think that got him, yeah?
20:12Small one.
20:17A small one?
20:18Small.
20:19There's still plenty to eat, right?
20:20Whoa.
20:22Congratulations.
20:24Nice job, man. That was awesome.
20:25We got a hell of a hunter here.
20:26Yeah, man.
20:27Should we take this somewhere and skin it?
20:28Yeah.
20:29If you are an agricultural society or a pastoral society, and all of a sudden you're transitioning to basically exploiting marine resources,
20:42it's a pretty dramatic change.
20:44My bet is that the Greenland Norse looked to the Inuit for guidance on that.
20:50I think it's possible. I mean, I think they certainly looked to the diet, and we know that seals were abundant and still are.
20:56Now for the gory bit. Just gotta find a flat rock.
21:01This is how it was done, though, I'll bet you.
21:04Back in the day, you processed your kill on site.
21:08You just wanna take the bits that you're gonna need, process it right here.
21:13I'm sure they'd have done a better job getting it ashore.
21:18Man, you gotta watch yourself on these rocks, son.
21:21It weighs like 60 pounds at least.
21:22Man.
21:25The thing about seal fat, Mike, is it's low in cholesterol relative to, like, beef and pork.
21:31It's good for you.
21:32Yeah.
21:33Although, admittedly, it does not look too appetizing.
21:37There's a look.
21:39In true Inuit tradition, the hunter gets to taste the liver.
21:44Feelings are tested?
21:46Time to show my true Viking colors.
21:49Any, uh, Viking worth his weight in seal blubber would've had to do this.
21:55They had a stronger constitution than we did, Mike.
21:58All right, right? Bottoms up. Here we go.
22:01Eat them together?
22:02Show us.
22:03Ha Ha Ha.
22:04Ha Ha.
22:06Ha Ha.
22:07Ha Ha.
22:08Ha ha Ha.
22:10Ah.
22:12Ha Ha.
22:14Ah.
22:16Ha Ha!
22:18Ha.
22:20Woo.
22:22Oh, delicious.
22:27It's quite a bit of meat down there, it looks like.
22:30Perhaps seal would have been a viable diet for the Greenland Vikings.
22:36If they could catch them.
22:39That would feed a large family for several days, at least.
22:45And seal is good for more than just food.
22:48Wow, look at that.
22:49You see, they're using every single bit.
22:51You get a lot of resources from one and a new bird.
22:55You put the intestines in here, that could be used to lash tools.
23:00It could be used to make sinew for clothing, for stitching.
23:03This would have been a viable means of survival.
23:09Seal hunting may have been an option for the last Greenland Vikings, but it's tough.
23:15I'm not sure it could have sustained the entire population.
23:18But there are some people who might be able to tell us, one way or the other.
23:33We've come to the Viking homeland, Denmark, to pay them a visit.
23:38So, Blue, you are about to be in the presence of real Vikings.
23:43Oh, yes.
23:44This is awesome.
23:45This is it, man.
23:46The moment of truth.
23:48Professor Niels Linderup, from the University of Copenhagen, has some Vikings who'd like us to meet.
23:54These are the actual human remains from Greenland of those Vikings who've traveled up there and settled in the 10th century.
24:13This is the first time that we've actually come face to face with real Vikings.
24:21These remains span the 500-year period the Vikings lived in Greenland.
24:25These skeletons are from early settlement period, the very first wave, first generation of settlers.
24:34The two skeletons are laid out here from sort of the middle period.
24:39And we have some skeletons from the very late, sort of the end stage time of the settlements, the last Norse in Greenland.
24:48As an archaeologist, I've seen a lot of bones in my time, and this last set do not appear to have belonged to a healthy individual.
24:58The first anatomists who looked at those bones served also as a Red Cross doctor just after the First World War.
25:07And he had actually seen what starvation could do, sort of translated that into that the Norse had become degenerate, completely starved, and that's why they simply just died up there.
25:21Did famine kill off the Greenland Vikings?
25:25This is absolutely incredible.
25:28Or push them to leave, perhaps for America?
25:37The small, twisted bones of a third-generation settler suggest the Greenland Vikings may have struggled to survive the mini-Ice Age.
25:55Faced with starvation, perhaps they died on Greenland, returned to Iceland, or fled west to America.
26:03But the site where these Viking remains were found reveals another twist.
26:10These bones here were excavated more than 100 years ago.
26:13And those skeletons come from burial grounds, almost like a peat bog.
26:18Oh, right.
26:21As an archaeologist, I know from experience that decomposing peat could give these bones a misleading appearance.
26:29Aside from causing cracks and lacerations, it can physically shrink the remains.
26:37Looks like our theory of death by famine has hit the rocks.
26:41So I guess the bottom line, the archaeology and the skeletal evidence suggests that they did not just all die of starvation.
26:52No.
26:54But Professor Lenerup claims these bones still have a fascinating story to tell.
26:59We've been drilling out bits of bone from all these skeletons, and then we can analyze by way of what's called a stable isotope analysis.
27:10We can actually see what these people were eating.
27:13In the first wave of settlement, it's predominantly terrestrial.
27:22This is a beefeater here, then.
27:24Yeah.
27:26But then over time, throughout the settlement period, we see a change.
27:30It seems as if they had difficulty upholding sort of the animal husbandry model, but they need to eat.
27:39So what did they do?
27:40They start supplementing their terrestrial foods with seal.
27:44To that extent that at the very end of the settlement period, it's really predominantly like 70, 80 percent seal.
27:53Looks like I underestimated my Viking ancestors.
27:55What you're suggesting is that they were able to adapt and start living off of the resources that they had around them.
28:06Seal hunting, as we found out, isn't easy.
28:10This revelation gives me increased respect for these master adapters.
28:15So why did the Greenland Vikings vanish?
28:19To solve the mystery, we need a new line of investigation.
28:25What if they looked west?
28:28What if they went to North America?
28:29I mean, we know from the sagas that they were familiar with Markland and Vinland.
28:35The Viking sagas describe a utopia called Vinland.
28:41That we believe to be in New England.
28:45And some believe Markland is in Labrador, eastern Canada.
28:49But there's another place mentioned in the sagas, Helleland, believed to be directly west of Greenland.
29:01Let me show you this.
29:04This is a translation of a manuscript written by Bishop Gisley Odson.
29:09He lived from the years 1593 to 1638.
29:15What he said was, the inhabitants of Greenland departed on their own accord from the true faith and the Christian religion.
29:22And all honest customs and true virtues, having been repudiated, turned themselves towards the people of America.
29:31They reckoned Greenland to be the immediate neighbor of the western region of the globe.
29:35I mean, basically, this says that the Norse turned to the west.
29:41That's where they ultimately went.
29:43This document suggests that as their links to Europe declined, the Greenland Vikings took on the lifestyle of the Thule and maybe even followed them west into America.
29:54To check out this theory, we've come west ourselves to the Canadian Museum of History.
30:05Dr. Matthew Betts has some remarkable evidence that could support Bishop Odson's claim.
30:11These are Norse artifacts?
30:12Absolutely, yeah.
30:13You're looking at Canada's premier collection of Norse objects from the Canadian High Arctic.
30:17These clues point to a potential Viking presence west of Greenland across the High Arctic.
30:25Items include chainmail, weaponry, and even Viking cloth.
30:33I mean, this is incredible.
30:35But as an archaeologist, I know these are not definitive proof of a Viking presence here.
30:43We also know from the sagas that, you know, there were shipwrecks and ships blown off course.
30:50So, you know, this may be evidence of wrecked ships.
30:53You're right.
30:54This could be from a shipwreck.
30:57We need hard evidence.
31:00So this right here.
31:01Wow.
31:02Yeah.
31:05And I've spotted an intriguing carving.
31:08The fact it's faceless indicates it's Thule.
31:13But there's something unusual about it.
31:18This figurine was found in a Thule house on Baffin Island.
31:24An area many believe is Hellaland in the sagas.
31:28And so what you're looking at is an Inuit figurine carved by Inuit hands, which has elements of Inuit design, but also has elements that are completely foreign to Inuit design.
31:41The clothing is very different.
31:43A Norse medieval style of dress.
31:46Yeah.
31:46Which is complete.
31:47Exactly.
31:48It's completely foreign to Inuit dress.
31:50They wore parkas that sort of ended at the waist and tailored pants.
31:54Is there a cross right there on the chest?
31:55Yeah, it's hard to see on the original figurine.
31:58What archaeologists think is this is actually representing a Norse priest that probably would have been used to interact with other peoples, that they came together.
32:08They had some sort of confab.
32:09What they discussed, we don't know, but we know it was important enough for them to make this figurine.
32:13That is incredible.
32:16This exciting piece of evidence supports the theory that the Vikings may have traveled to Arctic Canada, interacting with the Inuit along the way.
32:26And there's more.
32:29Dr. Betts has taken us into the vaults to show us artifacts he believes could prove the Vikings spread further west across the Arctic and further into North America.
32:41We're deep in the vaults of the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec, trying to uncover what happened to the last of the Greenland Vikings, and whether they ended up on the North American continent.
33:05And one object has caught our attention.
33:11This here is a piece of antler that has been carved, faces carved on.
33:16Now, the top face, they think, is Inuit.
33:20Okay, you can see the features here.
33:22The face below it has got a much more pronounced nose and what appears to be a beard.
33:30We know that the Inuits didn't have beards like this.
33:33I think that we're looking at a Norse person.
33:36An Inuit and a Norse person.
33:38Basically, one body with a face on either end, representing two different cultures.
33:44Was this the proverbial olive branch?
33:46Was this a peace offering?
33:48Is this indicating friendship between the cultures or some sort of trade agreement?
33:53That is incredible.
33:55This doesn't say there was contact.
33:57I don't know what does.
33:57But there's another piece of evidence that could turn the mystery on its head.
34:05It's like a rib bone.
34:07And they've hafted a piece of metal into it, almost like a scalpel.
34:11What's really mind-blowing about this piece is where it was found.
34:17North of Hudson Bay and way west in the Arctic.
34:20This item, which appears to combine Inuit and Viking materials and technology,
34:27was found at Pierce Point in the Amundsen Gulf, near the border of modern-day Alaska.
34:33I mean, this really shows that the range of material was transported a good distance west into the Arctic.
34:43We can't be sure exactly why they left their home.
34:46But we do know the last Greenland Vikings were increasingly cut off from the western world
34:52and facing a worsening climate.
34:57Whether these items were traded or brought by the Vikings themselves,
35:02evidence like this suggests these born explorers may have moved west,
35:07into the high Arctic and beyond.
35:11But how did they get there?
35:13Blue, I think you're going to like this.
35:19This map shows the location of all the reported Viking artifacts
35:24that have been found in the Canadian Arctic.
35:26Check it out.
35:27It's a lot of dots.
35:29There's been a lot of stuff found up there.
35:31Way further west than I would have expected.
35:33I mean, that's almost to Alaska.
35:36Surprising, huh?
35:38Now, take a look at this.
35:39This route, right through here, is the Northwest Passage.
35:47Well, I mean, but here's the thing.
35:48I mean, the Northwest Passage, we know, is a very dangerous passage to navigate.
35:52Just filled with icebergs.
35:58If any Vikings had actually attempted to make their way through the Northwest Passage,
36:02they wouldn't have been doing it on ships.
36:04Oh, yeah?
36:05Well, what are you suggesting?
36:07Well, there's potentially another explanation.
36:11The Norse in Greenland would have had some exposure, we believe, to the Inuit,
36:16who did use dogs to pull sled.
36:18Take a look at this.
36:20This is the Gokstad sled.
36:22The Gokstad sled was found in Norway in the tomb of an important Viking.
36:27It's seven foot five inches long, and this technology is known to really help the trade
36:37that the Vikings did with the Russians through the cold winters.
36:41Vikings did know about the Icelandic sheepdog.
36:54I guess we would need to figure out if a sled like this could get pulled by a dog.
36:58I think what we need to do is put it to the test.
37:01Are you suggesting that we have one of these made and that we try it out?
37:05Experimental archaeology, my friend.
37:06Oh, I'm all over this.
37:07All right.
37:08Our quest for the Greenland Vikings is about to hit top speed.
37:11Could they have made it to the 49th stage?
37:24Woo!
37:25Awesome!
37:37Our investigation into the fate of the Greenland Vikings is gaining speed.
37:41Artifacts found in Canada suggest some Greenlanders may have moved west to the North American continent.
37:55We're about to test the theory that they harnessed Inuit techniques to reach as far as Alaska
38:06by finding out if a Viking sled could work with Inuit dogs.
38:11This is a heaven for dog lovers.
38:16It's incredible.
38:19Here to help us get acquainted is sledding expert Simone Ploude.
38:24Simone?
38:25Simone.
38:25So we've had a dog sled built and delivered here.
38:29And we're hoping to be able to use some of the dogs to take it out for a spin.
38:33Come with me.
38:34Come with me.
38:35His English is better than our French.
38:39Wow!
38:40So this is the Viking sleigh, huh?
38:48Nope.
38:49This is a recreation of one that was found with the Gokstad.
38:53We've used the plans to create a replica.
38:57But will it work?
39:01This is a little bit higher than I was expecting.
39:03Right.
39:04It's going to be a balancing act, huh?
39:06This could get ugly.
39:09I said we get some dogs harnessed up and see how it works.
39:12What?
39:12Okay.
39:13I'm ready.
39:14I think.
39:16Whoa.
39:16Time to see whether the Greenland Vikings could have made it to the high arctic via sled.
39:22Oh, oh, there.
39:23Come here.
39:24If we can manage to harness the dogs.
39:28It's a little different taking your dog out for a walk.
39:30Nice system.
39:32Here we go.
39:33All right.
39:34I've got this.
39:36There we go.
39:37Notice there's no break on that thing, right?
39:39All right, you guys.
39:40Don't kill us, all right?
39:41Keep us alive.
39:44Experimental archaeology.
39:45No doubt.
39:47No Valhalla today.
39:49No Valhalla.
39:50I need a shot of Valhalla.
39:52Now we're getting fired up.
39:57Mike's idea to recreate this journey into the icy wilderness sounded great on paper.
40:02But right now, I'm starting to have second thoughts.
40:14This is number eight.
40:16Okay, Mark.
40:16Oh, I'll tell you what.
40:35I don't think the Vikings would have used that sled with dogs.
40:41The front of the sled dipped before we could even get ourselves secure on there.
40:45Yeah.
40:47They pulled the front down, pulled the sled right out from under us.
40:50Yeah.
40:51I mean, it's a flaw in the design.
40:52Yeah.
40:52That was a solid fail.
40:56The Goxedad sled was originally used with horses, not dogs.
41:01Because the dogs have a lower center of gravity than the horses do.
41:04The horses would have been pulling up.
41:06I think that if the Greenland Vikings did make it to the high Arctic, that once again, they
41:12would have adapted.
41:13What do we do in the name of science, huh?
41:16Adopting Inuit techniques to conquer the massive distances between trading posts.
41:21If they used a sled, it was definitely engineered differently.
41:24And I think it would be a lot more like a modern sled is.
41:27Lower to the ground, a lower center of gravity.
41:29So I said we'd give one of those a ride.
41:32Yeah, I'm in.
41:32I'm driving.
41:33So after another quick lesson, in French, we are ready to head west.
41:45Do it.
41:46Ready for a ride?
41:47Oh, yeah.
41:49Perhaps like the Vikings, who may have left Greenland 600 years ago.
41:58Exactly why they would have left remains a mystery.
42:03But our investigation has suggested a growing relationship with Petule.
42:08Could the Vikings have reached not only the Canadian Arctic, but potentially explored as far
42:16west as Alaska?
42:18Ah, because of the
42:20Madison Rap槍?
42:22No.
42:22Oh, yeah.
42:23Ah!
42:23No.
42:23Oh, yeah.
42:24No.
42:26Man戰
42:28.
42:32An
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