Brattahlíð, Norse ruins in Qassiarsuk, Greenland.
Brattahlíð is an archaeological site with remains of a Norse settlement in Qassiarsuk, in the Kujalleq municipality, Greenland. The foundations show farm buildings made of stone, including a longhouse structure with thick walls and floors of flat stone slabs.
Erik the Red founded this settlement in 982 after his banishment from Iceland, establishing the first European colony in Greenland. Of the 25 ships that left with him, 14 reached the shore and allowed the colonization to begin.
Visitors see how the Norse adapted their farming traditions to arctic conditions, building with stone and turf in patterns familiar from Iceland. The reconstructed chapel stands where Thjodhild, Erik the Red's wife, built her place of worship after converting to Christianity.
The site lies about 5 kilometers southwest of Narsarsuaq airport at the head of Tunulliarfik Fjord. Visitors can walk to the ruins from Qassiarsuk village, and sturdy footwear helps on the uneven ground.
The builders used whale bones in the construction of the farm buildings, an unusual material that shows adaptation to local resources. Specialized stalls built with flat stones helped manage livestock through the harsh winters.
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