Kujataa Greenland: Norse and Inuit Farming at the Edge of the Ice Cap

Kujataa Greenland: Norse and Inuit Farming at the Edge of the Ice Cap is a cultural landscape in southern Greenland that illustrates the introduction and development of farming in a subarctic environment. The property brings together Norse medieval settlement remains and later Inuit farming landscapes showing adaptive agricultural practices at high latitudes.

Remains at sites such as Brattahlid (Qassiarsuk) and Igaliku document Norse longhouse foundations, field systems and church sites dating from the Viking Age and medieval period, while surrounding contemporary and historic Inuit farms demonstrate continued attempts to cultivate the coastal lowlands. The combination of archaeological remains and living farmsteads shows cultural continuity and adaptation on the margins of the Greenland ice cap.

The Kujataa sites are located on southern Greenland’s coast near the settlements of Qassiarsuk, Igaliku and Narsaq and are accessible from regional ports and air links to the larger towns in the area.

• Continuity of farming traditions: The property links Norse medieval farmsteads established from about AD 985 with later Inuit and colonial-era farming practices that continued in southern Greenland.
• Brattahlid and Erik the Red: The Norse Eastern Settlement site at Brattahlid is associated with Erik the Red and is among the most archaeologically significant Norse sites in Greenland.

What to See #

• Brattahlid (Qassiarsuk) Norse settlement: The Norse farmstead at Brattahlid (Qassiarsuk) includes turf and stone house foundations and archaeological remains linked to Norse farming and settlement.
• Igaliku archaeological area: Igaliku contains ruins of Norse and later Greenlandic farm complexes with visible field boundaries and church remains from the medieval period.
• Narsaq and surrounding farms: Modern and historical Inuit farming and pastoral sites around Narsaq and nearby coastal settlements that demonstrate post‑Norse adaptation of agriculture in subarctic conditions.