Sandnæs, often
anglicized as Sandnes, was the largest
Norse farmstead in the
Western Settlement of medieval
Greenland.
Similarly with the
Norwegian city of
Sandnes, its name meant "Sandy Headland" in
Old Norse. It was settled around AD 1000
[Miller, Barbara.]
The History and Development of the Needle Case
". Accessed 16 May 2012. and abandoned by the late 14th century. It was located at the site known as Kilaarsarfik today,
[Enghoff, Inge B. ''Meddelelser om Grønland'': ''Man and Society'' 28:]
Hunting, Fishing and Animal Husbandry at the Farm Beneath the Sand, Western Greenland
. Museum Tusculanum Press, 2003. at the head of the
Ameralla Fjord south of modern
Nuuk's peninsula.
The farm was well-placed and possessed a large pasturage enabling its proprietors to successfully raise cattle, compared with goats and sheep at the other Western Settlement farms. It also included the area's church.
However, the conditions throughout the site's existence were apparently filthy.
The site has been excavated, proving among other things that the Vikings continued to trade with the American mainland after
Leif Ericson's
failed colonization attempt. An arrowhead likely from the
Point Revenge culture of
Native Americans in
Labrador has been found in the graveyard at Sandnæs. There is also evidence of iron extraction at the site.
[Nielsen, Niels. ''Meddelelser om Grønland'': "Evidence of iron extraction at Sandnes, in Greenland's west settlement". C.A. Reitzel (Copenhagen), 1936.]
References
Norse settlements in Greenland
Populated places established in the 10th century
{{Greenland-geo-stub