Sandhavn is a joint Norse (Viking)/Inuit(Thule) site located on the south coast of Greenland, approximately 5 km west-northwest of the Norse site of Herjolfsnes and within the area known as the Eastern Settlement. The site contains evidence of co-existence between medieval Inuit (Thule) and Norse (Vikings) during the 13th century AD: Sandhavn is to date the only site in Greenland where such co-habitation is in evidence.
Sandhavn Bay is a sheltered bay that extends along Greenland's southern coast for some 1.5 kilometers. It has a narrow entrance and a wide sandy beach bordering the harbor, making it a rare and exceedingly attractive location for trading even today.
Sandhavn was likely an important Atlantic trading site during the 13th century AD. The Norwegian priest Ivar Bardsson, whose journal written in AD 1300 refers to "Sand Houen" as the "Atlantic Harbor" where merchant ships from Norway landed. Structural ruins and pollen data supports the notion that Sandhavn's buildings operated as mercantile storage. Archaeologists suspect that the coexistence of Sandhavn resulted from the lucrative trade capabilities of the coastal location.
Cultural Groups at Sandhavn
The Norse occupation of Sandhavn extends from the early 11th century through the late 14th century AD, when the Eastern Settlement essentially collapsed. Building ruins associated with the Norse include a Norse farmstead, with dwellings, stables, a byre and a sheepfold. The ruins of a large building which might have functioned as storage for Atlantic trade import/export is called Warehouse Cliff. Two circular fold structures are also recorded.
The Inuit culture occupation (which dates roughly between AD 1200-1300) at Sandhavn consists of dwellings, graves, a building for drying meat and a hunting cabin. Three of the dwellings are located nearby the Norse farmstead. One of these dwellings is round with a short front entranceway. Two others are trapezoidal in outline with well-preserved turf walls.
Evidence for exchange between the two settlements includes pollen data which suggests that the Inuit turf walls were partly built from the Norse midden. Trade goods associated with Inuit and found in the Norse occupation includes walrus tusks and narwhal teeth; Norse metal goods were found within the Inuit settlements.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to the Viking Age; the Thule Tradition; and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Golding KA, Simpson IA, Schofield JE, and McMullen JA. 2009. Geoarchaeological investigations at Sandhavn, south Greenland. Antiquity 83(320).
Golding KA, Simpson IA, Schofield JE, and Edwards KJ. 2011. Norse–Inuit interaction and landscape change in southern Greenland? A geochronological, Pedological, and Palynological investigation. Geoarchaeology 26(3):315-345.
Golding KA, and Simpson IA. 2010. The historical legacy of anthrosols at Sandhavn, south Greenland. World Congress of Soil Science: Soil Solutions for a Changin World. Brisbane, Australia.
Mikkelsen N, Kuijpers A, Lassen S, and Vedel J. 2001. Marine and terrestrial investigations in the Norse Eastern Settlement, South Greenland. Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin 189:65–69.
Vickers K, and Panagiotakopulu E. 2011. Insects in an abandoned landscape: late Holocene palaeoentomological investigations at Sandhavn, Southern Greenland. Environmental Archaeology 16:49-57.
