Voyage to Vinland

FILM TREATMENT

Prologue (Skeleton in Armor)
The story begins in 1831 during a well-publicized excavation of a “Skeleton in Armor” near Fall River, Massachusetts. Many townspeople are gathered around the shallow grave of a large framed skeleton wearing a suit of brass armor. A call goes up to notify neighboring scholars and historians to come out and inspect the odd discovery.
The famous author Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is sitting in his study writing a poem about the find, with a book called The Tale of the Greenlanders nearby. He glances over and picks up a borrowed talismanic ring of the buried warrior. In a deep state of contemplation, Longfellow imagines an unfolding drama of the first recorded European voyage to North America. Longfellow whispers, “if only you could tell your tale.”

First Nordic Thing (Gathering of free men)
A group of tall people are gathered together in a long house called Brattahlid. A fire is burning in the center. They are engaged in animated discussion. In Nordic Scandinavia, such a gathering of free men to settle disputes, make legislative decisions, and consult on any matters pertaining to the community were called a thing, (pronounced “teeng”). Eric the Red addresses the group, "I think we all know the colonies of Greenland cannot support themselves. If we don't do something, and do something quick, we will fade away. The land is poor, the weather worse, and there are too many of us for what little resources we share. Even our gods are not friendly." Abruptly Sardis cuts him off, "As priestess of the Earth Mother I submit it is YOU who are not friendly to the gods. If you had made the proper sacrifices at the proper times and in the proper manner, as they had in olden times, we would have a future." Thorvald interrupts her, "enough of your sacrifices and rituals, you are never satisfied, Sardis. I propose we do what we always do in trying times, we go a viking!" Thorvald raises his fist in the air, flashing the same ring that Longfellow was holding in the last scene.
“I know a place where there is sure to be gold. I want to lead an expedition to acquire value items. Great wealth for all the men who come! We need clout for our trading with Iceland and Mother Norway.” Everyone is listening attentively, transfixed almost. Thorvald is the second son of Eric the Red, imposing in stature at 6 feet 9 inches, and a trusted friend to all the men. "What say, older brother Leif?" Another tall Ericson, Leif responds, "not on this one – I am going hunting with father this summer,” he motions to indicate another Ericson brother. Thorvald acknowledges, “I already know Thorstein wants to go. Right?” Thorstein responds, “I'm in.”
Sardis is livid, “you are fools, we only have to make sacrifices and pray to the gods!” Another Ericson sibling, a half-sister named Freydis chimes in, “Go on your trip fools. I will make a sacrifice with Sardis for you and hopefully Odin will smile on your rash plans.”

Eriksfjord, Greenland
Thorvald and his crew are loading the longship Dragonwhip, a distinctly different ship to other Viking trading vessels in the fjord. A crew of 25 men work as a team and load wooden shields, richly decorated spears, battle-axes, along with casks of water and dry goods into the ship.

Sardis’ First Offering
Sardis oversees a nocturnal pagan ceremony to ensure a safe voyage and victory in battle for Thorvald. The ceremony is conducted next to a small volcanic crater covered with tundra and grass. The entire population of the village gathers to watch. Seven Viking maidens with braided golden hair and black cloaks occupy spaces of equal distance from each other on the lip of a crater. They each come forward and light a torch from a roaring fire in the center. Returning to their original positions they hold the torches upright. Then they start a haunting chant evoking a lost world. Sardis appears and calls upon Odin, god of war, to favor Thorvald’s raid. She then calls upon Aigir to “not raise storms in anger and wreck Thorvald's ship.” At this point, a group of men standing in a group to one side begin beating drums. Sardis then takes a torch from the maidens standing on either side of her and begins the amazing feat of spinning a lighted torch at both ends in each hand. Mattias, Sardis’s husband, approaches her with two lighted torches and facing her begins spinning his torches in unison with her. They move closer and closer to each other as the drumbeats get louder until they are embracing their respective torches behind the backs of each other in a dangerous fiery embrace. The drumming stops abruptly and Sardis and Mattias assume positions on either side of a platform above the crater. A bellowing ox is lead to the platform by several men. The ox is lead into a stockade. A man passes Sardis a sword and Sardis chops the ox’s head clean off in one stroke. She picks up the ox’s head in two hands and shows it to the crowd of worshippers. They cheer. Sardis then throws the ox head into the raging fire shouting, “I consecrate this place with an oxen sacrifice! Farewell oh gods …” Leif puts his arm around his mother as they turn from the gory spectacle. His mother comments, “That’s enough for me.” Leif shakes his head in agreement as they walk off.

Thorvald’s Raid
Thorvald Erickson emerges from the narrow confines of the cuddy in the Dragonwhip’s bows. He takes a drink from a ram’s horn cup. As planned, his ship is sailing directly towards the Tweed River located on the northeastern coast of England.
As Sardis’ offering is taking place, the Dragonwhip’s crew is rowing up a misty river at dawn. Thorvald makes sight of their intended target. The men don their weapons and armor, as a few others anchor the boat behind a cluster of trees. Soon all men are rushing quietly to the city walls. Thorvald is the first up a makeshift ladder, swiftly cutting the throat of a sleeping sentry. The Vikings pour over the city wall and descend upon the sleeping city. A man runs down the street clutching a crucifix shouting, "From the fury of the Northmen, o’ Lord God deliver us from evil!" A decisive battle ensues in favor of the Vikings. There is fire, men being killed in the streets, and screaming everywhere.
A roundup of the remaining boys and old men of the town, including the mayor, are brought before Thorvald in the city square. “Where is the gold?” Thorvald demands as he slaps the mayor around. "There is nothing left for you to take,” exclaims the mayor. He continues, “We were devastated the last time. The Lord will make you pay for your greed! The knights of Christ are close at hand and will come like wind on horseback and strike you dead. Leave or face the wrath of God." Thorvald takes this as an insult to his gods and kills the mayor in front of the demoralized crowd. “I tried negotiate,” he tells the crowd, “but the mayor would not relinquish the secret of the gold."
The men begin ransacking the village anew searching for anything of value. The church is hit the hardest. A few brass candlesticks and some silver items are found, but nothing close to the riches they envisioned on the trip over. Tired from the long journey and morning fight, the Vikings feast on the villager’s provisions and choose any bed they desire. Most help themselves to whatever they fancy, including the wives and daughters of their captured colony. Later, Thorvald is found in the mayor’s home having consensual sex with his beautiful daughter Anna. The men are somewhat perturbed that he would take them back to a village with no riches just so he could see this woman again in the pretext of securing resources for the colony.
Just as Thorvald is getting dressed, a cry goes up that armored knights of Christ are approaching. The Viking crew quickly gathers what few possessions they can and beat a hasty retreat back to their ship, as mounted knights rapidly approach and attempt to cut them off. The knights succeed in cutting off and capturing three of the Vikings. A volley of arrows is exchanged between the two parties as the Vikings hurriedly escape to their ship and set off down the river. Thorvald and Thorstein bravely fight off three mounted knights in shallow water, before swimming out to the boat. Once out of harm’s way the men come together and give thanks to Odin for allowing their narrow escape. Remembrance is made for the three heroes left behind who will surely be executed. Stock is taken of the raid loot. In addition to a small amount of bronze, silver and iron weapons, four from the village are captured by the Vikings, including: Anna, a Catholic monk named Tryker (who is handy at many trades), and two other men’s women. On the long journey back to Greenland, the men become despondent of the outing’s poor fortune and begin to resent Thorvald even more for being happy with Anna.

Second Nordic Thing
Upon returning to their Greenland homes, Eric the Red immediately calls the voyagers and all surrounding villagers together to hear about Thorvald’s journey. Once everyone gathers, the thing begins and the voyagers recount the events of their trip. The villagers are gravely disappointed to hear so few riches were acquired and several men lost. Eric is pressured to appoint a mediator to dictate how Thorvald should repay the families who lost a son or husband. Thorstein gives an impassioned plea in support Thorvald, emphasizing his bravery in battle. It is decided that Thorvald must stay at home and work for the families of the men killed in the raid for a number of years.
After the verdict regarding Thorvald, Eric’s oldest son Leif suggests a new strategy for acquiring resources. Instead of another raid, Leif suggests going to Norway to meet the new Christian King Olaf, and trade Greenland wares as a way of ensuring the colony’s survival. Sardis is opposed, “We need to stay here where we are. This is where the gods meant us to be. Leif wants to take our resources and our best men on some wild gamble based on his whim and prayer? What if the men never come back? Remember what just happened.” She argues that by tilling the soil, fishing the sea, and hunting out on the ice pack the Greenlanders can find everything they need. Leif counters by pointing out those strategies are simply not working. He suggests they will never fish from the sea or hunt on the ice pack again without securing precious wood needed to repair their boats. Leif finishes, “I'm not looking for women or gold, just a fair trade for our Greenland products.”
Eric the Red finally sees the logic in a trading mission. Eric is worried at the chance Leif may not return at all because the Greenlanders still profess polytheistic beliefs, while the Norwegian king is known to despise pagans and torture them ferociously. But Leif is determined to make the journey for the betterment of the colony. Several men come forward and volunteer to go with him. It is the only way.

Sardis’ Second Offering
Leif loads up his merchant ship Sunchaser for the journey. It is a knarr, (pronounced “kah-narr”) a utilitarian vessel – wide, designed for sailing, almost impossible to row, with a shallow draft and fitted together with wood and iron rivets like a Chinese puzzle.
Meanwhile on the shore nearby, Sardis conducts a pagan ceremony to ensure the safety of the journey. Eight Viking maidens with braided golden hair, and sky blue cloaks each embrace a staff with a bronze handle. They occupy spaces equidistant from each other on a circle of flowers and shells. Then they start a haunting chant. Sardis calls upon the goddess Ran, god of the seashore, and Aigir, god of the ocean, not to raise storms in anger and wreck Leif’s ship. Sardis then calls for a sacrifice and the maidens, in unison, each reach into a pouch around their waist and pull out handfuls of shells, leaves and flowers. Sardis says, “I do consecrate this space with salt water, incense and fire. Farewell, and scatter them in the center of the circle.”

Leif’s Conversion
Soon Leif’s knarr is on its way. Leif describes to Boe, the first mate, how at 13 he first went to sea in a vessel built, manned, and owned by his kinsfolk. “It is not an easy art to be captain of a boat like this. There are no maps. You only have the currents, the sea birds, the shoreline and the night sky to go by. It is a poor captain who must resort to rowing,” Leif observes. As the Sunchaser passes Iceland, Leif says, "Three times I’ve made this passage alone, I have always passed this land with no remorse. My father and our family were banished from that land – Iceland. The exile made us stronger.”
Two weeks into the voyage a fierce gale blows the ship off course to an unknown shore. With repairs to the ship required, Leif anchors the boat and sets off with a few men to explore the new land. They arrive at a castle wall somewhat nervously. The tower sentry recognizes one of Leif’s men and normal trading relations ensue. During a welcoming dinner Leif is introduced to the Earl’s family, including his beautiful daughter Thorgunna. Soon a tumultuous love affair begins between the two. In a few weeks, Leif’s ship is ready to sail. When the men are preparing to depart the daughter comes to the ship and informs Leif she is pregnant. He denies her request to accompany them to Norway because of her high status, and instead leaves her with many gifts.
Leif and his crew arrive in Trondheim, the capital of medieval Norway. Leif is escorted to the king’s court where he is informed that he will not be allowed to trade because of his religious beliefs. Desperate, Leif relates to the king that he would like to know more about this new religion sweeping over his kinsmen. Suddenly the king’s demeanor changes and he sets up a meeting with the Bishop for the evening. Leif is ordered to arrive with all his crew. A surprise guest comes out to meet Leif and his crew before the meeting with King Olaf and the Bishop. It is Bjarni Herjolfsson, a fellow Greenlander. Bjarni has recently converted to Catholicism and extols his personal beliefs. Leif and his men warm up to the idea, and when the Bishop arrives with the king, Leif suddenly has a flash premonition. On his own volition, Leif rises from his seat and declares his belief in Jesus Christ. One by one each crewmember stands and is blessed by the jubilant Bishop. King Olaf is also very pleased. The next day all are baptized.
The trade embargo with Greenland is over. King Olaf facilitates a favorable trade for the new converts, but does not include wood. Perplexed, the Greenlanders meet Bjarni Herjolfsson another time and he tells Leif and his men of a time when he was blown off course far to the west on his way to visit his father in Greenland. Bjarni and his crew encountered a land wholly different from the ice-encrusted Greenland – a land covered with low hills and forests. After a difficult return trip they reached the Greenland settlement where Bjarni’s father lived. Leif remarks, “you saw this fine land and did not explore it – why?” King Olaf orders Leif and Bjarni to sail together to this land for their wood. The king also orders Leif to bring five Catholic priests back to Greenland and proselytize the true faith to his kinsfolk.
Leif returns with good news and bad news. The good news is that he successfully negotiated an end to Norway’s trade embargo with Greenland and returned home with ample goods for the colony. The bad news – for his family – is that Leif became a new convert to Christianity. Leif’s mother, however, takes an instant liking to the new faith. Leif’s siblings, especially Thorvald and Freydis, are very perturbed. Sardis curses him. Leif takes the taunting without reaction.

Third Nordic Thing
With all assembled, Leif announces his plan to explore the strange and promising new land described by Bjarni. Sardis interrupts him, “We need to stay here where we are. This is where the gods meant us to be, and now Leif rejects that. In the Golden Age sacrifices were made that allowed for the prosperity that made for its name. Now the time is ripe to make those sacrifices again.” Eric the Red silences her and tells Leif to continue. “I can do this trip independently with the profits I made, and this is what King Olaf has requested of me,” Leif responds. “Even your brother Thorfinn is coming with me, Sardis. Today you stand alone against the village on this.”

Voyage to Vinland
With his profits from the Norwegian trading mission, Leif purchases Bjarni’s ship, the Novgorod. Leif makes the Novgorod ready in Greenland and plans to retrace the direction traveled by Bjarni, utilizing Bjarni as the lead navigator. His crew is comprised mostly of the same newly Christianized men from his Norway trip.
Leif disembarks with 35 men on his voyage to the New World. Among them is Tyrker, the Southerner from Germany captured by Thorvald. Desperately seeking timber resources, Leif and his crew begin to explore the various landfalls as Bjarni Herjolfsson had done 15 years earlier, but in opposite order with resources becoming more abundant the further south and west the Vikings travel.
First they sight Furdustrand, or the “Land of Frost” on the northern Labrador coast where trees are devoid.
Next, they come upon Helluland, the “Flat Stone Land” of Newfoundland Island. They sail in to shore, cast anchor, lower a boat, and go ashore, but they do not see many resources there. The uplands consist of rocky peaks. Bjarni observes that the beach extending to the mountains resemble one single slab of rock. “This land seems to be of no value,” Leif says. “Are you sure there is a better land?” Leif demands of Bjarni. Yes, Bjarni says, he is certain. Thorfinn, however, insists this is the land Bjarni had seen and demands to be taken back to his wife. He complains that giant ogres and evil sprits will surely kill them if they continue. The Christians laugh at his superstition.
After a few days at sea, Leif and his crew sight an even better land – a land bordered by white sandy beaches giving way to abundant forests sloping gently down to the sea. Again they sail in to the coast and cast anchor, lower a boat, and go ashore. “This land,” says Leif, “shall be given a name in accordance with its nature, and be called Markland.” The crew quickly returns to the ship and begins heading southwest once again in order to ride out an incoming storm.
They are at sea for several days before sighting land once more. They sail in west and come upon several picturesque offshore islands. The weather is fine so they go ashore one of the islands and look around. A few men put some dew to their lips and they comment that they have never before tasted anything so sweet. They return to their ship and sail northward past the cape into a very shallow bay. Their ship goes aground. Some of the crew are so impatient to get to land that they don’t want to wait for the tide to rise under their ship, so these men lower the small boat and row to the mainland. As soon as the tide refloats the ship, Leif brings the Novgorod to a place where a river flows into the bay, then up the river into a scenic lake. There they cast anchor and carry their leather bags ashore, begin to assemble their lean-tos, and meet up with the earlier landing party who are shocked to have seen moose.
Most of the men are very impressed with the new land. The salmon are bigger than the men had ever seen before. The land appears so bountiful that Bjarni predicts the cattle will not need fodder all winter. Indeed, there was little frost during the winter and the grass hardly withered. Day and night were of more equal length than in Greenland or Iceland. On the shortest day of the year, the sun was visible at breakfast time as well as in the middle of the afternoon. Thorfinn is the only one frightened by the new and strange place. He talks constantly about returning to Sardis and his wife.
Leif and crew decide to stay by the lake where they have the boat anchored. They prepare for winter, building a typical Norse longhouse they call Leifsbudir, meaning “Leif’s Building.”
When they finished this, Leif tells his men, “I now intend to divide our party into two groups and explore the country. One group is to stay here at the houses, the other is to get to know the country, but not to go so far away that they are not able to get back home in the evening, and they are never to be separated from each other.”

Sardis’ Third Offering
Back in Greenland, Thorvald is nearly done with his servitude to the wronged families and yearns for the sea. Freydis expresses her contempt for Anna and Leif’s mother for being Catholic. At Brattahlid a traditional summer solstice celebration takes place, much to the consternation of the new Catholic priests. Huge bonfires are constructed and burned. Sardis, who has been worried about the fate of her brother Thorfinn, complains to the townspeople that the expedition has not returned because they are swallowed up by the god’s Ran and Aigir who are angry at being abandoned. The new Christian God does not favor them and are false, Sardis says. She whips the villagers into a killing frenzy. Sardis demands that the priest be brought before her and prove that God favors them. Eric the Red comes into the ritual circle and says no such harm shall befall the priests. They do not want to incite a war with King Olaf. Instead, Sardis burns a human effigy of a preist.

Vinland
Meanwhile back in Vinland, Tyrker the Southerner goes missing. Leif is much distressed by this, for Tyrker is a close friend and he is very worried about people getting lost. Leif speaks harsh words to his companions for losing sight of Tryker and makes everyone turn around and search for him. Thorfinn thinks it is the work of trolls. They turn back only a short distance when Tyrker comes walking towards them. They are relieved to see him. Leif notices at once that Tyrker's spirits are high. Leif says, “Why are you so late, and why did you not stay in the company of the others?” Tyrker at first speaks a long time in German, rolling his eyes and grimacing, but the others did not understand what he is saying. A little later he says in the Norse tongue, “I did not walk much farther than you, but I can report on something new, I have found vines and grapes.” Leif replies, “Is that true?” “It is certainly true,” Tyrker extorts, “for I was born where there is no lack of vines and grapes.” Tyrker immediately directs the group back to a large patch of growing grapes. They sleep that night next to the grape vines.
In the morning, Leif says to his crew, “From now on we shall have two tasks to do and we shall alternate them so as to do each job every other day. We shall gather grapes, and we shall cut vines and fell timber, to make a cargo for my ship.” This became the task for the crew until they broke camp at Leifsbudir in the spring. As they were sailing away from Vinland, Leif commands the ship to ashore to erect a rune stone that reads, Leivur Eriku-Resr, which translates, “Leif to Eric, raises this monument.” Upon reaching the coast of Greenland, Leif’s crew rescues a shipwrecked party near the Eastern Settlement.

Fourth Nordic Thing
When Leif returns to Brattahlid there is much merry-making to celebrate the fruitful expedition and the riches to be found in Vinland. Once everyone is gathered, a Greenlander thing begins spontaneously, as Leif recounts the trip events for the eager crowd. When comments from the crowd begin, Leif’s brother Thorvald notes that in his opinion the new land had been explored in too restricted a fashion. So Leif says to Thorvald, “If you want to, go you to Vinland, brother, in my ship and take some of my men.” Eric the Red agrees a thorough exploration of Vinland is needed. Sardis predicts gloom and doom for the voyage, especially her husband and brother.

Voyage of Discovery
Thorvald begins early preparations for his own voyage to Vinland. Eagerly filling Leif’s shoes, Thorvald stresses the importance of extensively exploring this new land beyond what was already known. Leif recommends provisions for the ship and together the brothers choose 30 men from the Greenland colony to accompany Thorvald. In a week the crew sets the ship to sea and does not stop at any landfalls until reaching Leifsbudir.
Arriving in Vinland via the detailed directions from Leif, the men spend a quiet winter in the Cape Cod vicinity, primarily subsisting on fish and seeds. Searching for wild grapes in the summer, Thorvald and his men determinedly hack their way through the undergrowth to find the finest crops. They look for birds eating the grapes, smell for the distinct aroma, or just hope good fortune will lead them to the prized crop. Once a discovery is made, a shout goes up and the other men rush over and assist in the localized harvest. The men savor the flavorful taste of ripened grapes, gleefully eating them as they pick while other men sing jolly songs of their homeland as they stomp the grapes with bare feet. The pressing process takes a constant rotation of men all day for two weeks straight until the pressed fruit looked like a macerated jumble of skins. After punching down the grapes for the requisite two weeks they press the juice from the skins, placing it in barrels and sealing it for final fermentation.
Thorvald’s slave, the German named Tyrker who discovered grapes on the first voyage, is well acquainted with the procedure of winemaking. He tastes the wine at least once a week, adds sugar or yeast as needed, and continually fills the barrel with new juice to compensate for evaporation. In nine months Tyrker tells the crew the first sealed barrel will be ready for consumption. Tyrker is excited at the new harvest just as he was on Leif’s voyage, because again he can practice his winemaking techniques. This enlivens all the men because not only will they have their own wine, but they will bring home a cargo of the precious commodity to which the Vikings of Greenland used to import at very expensive prices.
After spending another productive winter at Leifsbudir harvesting trees, Thorvald prepares his ship in the spring and sets sail with all crewmembers to conduct a wide exploration of Vinland. After a brief grounding on Cape Cod, the crew ventures into a wide river and discovers an unusual grain cabin, but no other signs of habitation. Thorfinn is alarmed. He insists it is the work of evil trolls and wonders why they want to risk an encounter. They press on.
The crew anchors along the river and sets out to explore. Thorvald and his party come across three Indian boats upside down on the riverbank. They flip the boats over and discover nine sleeping Indians. They swiftly kill eight men, but one Indian manages to escape because Thorfinn misses an easy arrow shot. He races after the fleeing Indian but he is not swift enough and misses another shot.
Later that the day an Indian war party is seen approaching the Viking camp in a fleet of small boats. Thorvald and his crew quickly seek the refuge of their ship and prepare for an attack. A volley of arrows descend upon the Viking ship before the Indians turn and make a hasty retreat. Thorvald is the only person hit. He later dies from the arrow lodged in his armpit. His final words are to be buried in the precious land where they found grapes. “Only if this is done,” he gasps, “will my people return to get the most out of this bountiful land.” The exploratory journey is aborted and the ship returns to Vinland. Thorvald’s dying wishes are granted as he is buried in Viking tradition wearing his suit of armor.

Fifth Nordic Thing
Upon returning to Greenland, Thorvald’s crew recalls the incidents of their voyage at the next thing. Because the crew returns safe, minus Thorvald, Sardis agrees to become a Christian. Thorstein is distraught that Thorvald will not rest among his kinsmen and makes an effort to return to Vinland to collect the body, but is sea tossed and returns to Greenland. A sickness overcomes his crew and half die during the long winter, including Thorstein. The funerals are half pagan, half Catholic. Thorfinn survives because he refuses to visit anyone all winter. He believes seeing visitors will bring evil spirits. It is he and Sardis, who, many years later, recount orally the stories of “Vinland the Good.”
The final scene before the credits roll is of the “Skeleton in Armor” displayed in a Fall River museum exhibit. A poster over the display case shows the year 1843. From another corner of the room a fire breaks out. Slowly the exhibit housing the skeleton is being consumed by fire. A flame pops into the display case just as we get a close look at the talismanic ring fitted onto a finger bone. Soon the roof collapses and utterly consumes the entire building and of all its contents.

TEXT OVER SCREEN
The Viking discovery of the fabled land in North America known as Vinland has captured the imagination of countless generations. First chronicled in the Norse sagas passed down orally from the early 11th century, Leif’s voyage to North America was primarily documented in two written accounts as told in The Tale of the Greenlanders and Eric the Red’s Saga, both written in Iceland where the Greenland colonists had originated.
There is overwhelming evidence to suggest Vinland was present day New England – the only location on the eastern seaboard where wild grapes grow from Connecticut to southern Maine, but nowhere else farther north. This view has not always been popular, and remains controversial today. Placing Vinland in present day New England, however, is exactly where the logic of “Occum’s Razor” tells us it belongs. The intrepid Vikings of 11th century Greenland should be relegated their proper place in history. Leif Ericson and his crew were the first recorded discoverers of North America.
The various Greenland settlements lasted for several hundred years. At least two subsequent attempts were made at settling Vinland. Eric the Red and Leif lived the rest of their natural lives at Brattahlid in Greenland. Both were buried in the family plot near Thorstein. All the Nordic Greenland settlers eventually vanished without a trace, possibly being killed off by Thule Eskimos, or more likely immigrating en masse to Vinland in the 14th century. The bones and most of the “Skeleton in Armor” artifacts were lost in 1843, when a fire broke out and completely destroyed the Fall River Atheneum, where the relics were kept on display.

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