Analysis of wood from timber-framed buildings in Newfoundland shows Norse-built settlement 471 years before Columbus.

A new type of dating technique using a long-ago solar storm as a reference point has revealed that the settlement was occupied in AD1021, exactly a millennium ago and 471 years before the first voyage of Columbus.

The technique was used on three pieces of wood cut for the settlement, all pointing to the same year.

The Viking voyage represents multiple milestones for humankind.

The Viking Age is traditionally defined as AD 793 to 1066, presenting a wide range for the timing of the transatlantic crossing.

In all three pieces of wood examined, from three different trees, 29 growth rings were formed after the one that bore evidence of the solar storm, meaning the wood was cut in 1021, said the University of Groningen archaeologist Margot Kuitems, the study’s first author.