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Archaeologists battle cold to unravel Viking mysteries

Two Jacksonville men explore frigid trails of evidence in Science Channel series

Matt Soergel
msoergel@jacksonville.com
Mike Arbuthnot (left) and Blue Nelson are Jacksonville-based archaeologists and hosts of "America's Lost Vikings" on the Science Channel. [Provided by the Science Channel]

A couple of Jacksonville-based archaeologists went on the trail of Vikings in North America, though they can't tell you yet much of what they found. You'll have to wait for the next episodes for that.

Mike Arbuthnot and Blue Nelson are the hosts and stars of "America's Lost Vikings," which is trying to figure out just how wide a range ancient Vikings had in what they called Vinland. The six-part show debuted last week; the second installment is at 10 p.m. Sunday on the Science Channel.

They start at the confirmed Norse settlement of L'Anse aux Meadows, at the northern tip of Newfoundland, in Canada, which was founded about the year 1000. By the end of the first episode, they're convinced that that Vikings roamed far beyond that one solitary spot.

What can viewers expect in future episodes? The archaeologists can't say much, other than Nelson's promise: "They could watch a couple of Florida boys freeze their butts off in, what, five countries?"

Arbuthnot and Nelson are archaeologists in the Jacksonville office of Search, Inc., an international firm. They previously combined on a 2017 History Channel show, "Found," which traveled the country to tell the stories of old artifacts and heirlooms.

"America's Lost Vikings" looks to be a little more immersive, as the two, among other adventures, row a Viking boat through freezing water, learn to fight with Viking weapons and try to recreate the ancient process of iron smelting.

In the first episode, Nelson, who is a gregarious, unassuming host, went into a lab in Toronto to subject himself to extreme cold, wearing replica Viking clothes. It wasn't just a stunt, he said: They wanted to learn whether those ancient people could have survived a northern Newfoundland winter (the answer is yes).

They also did an aerial lidar scan of the Newfoundland site that’s now part of the archaeological record there. It gave clues to the buildings that once stood: How old they were, what they might have been used for?

"It looks like we’re just having fun on TV," Nelson said, "but real archaeology is happening, and real reports are being generated."

The Vikings quite possibly had a presence in North America that lasted for centuries, Arbuthnot said.

“They were in Greenland for almost 500 years, and we know that in almost the very beginning of their settlement in Greenland they started their exploration of North America, the year 1000," he said. "How much interaction did the Norse have with North Americans in the next centuries? That’s a great question.” 

Though the Vikings left a light archaeological footprint, there are some intriguing clues to follow: An ancient Norse coin was found in Maine in 1957, and Viking artifacts have been found in arctic Canada.

"And most of the experts agree that the Vikings must have made it to the U.S.," Nelson said. "Now it’s up to us to find that evidence.”

Matt Soergel: (904) 359-4082