Wikipedia
Norstead can refer to:
- Norstead (Newfoundland), a reconstructed Viking-age village and port near L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site, Newfoundland and Labrador
- Norstead (Missouri), a reconstructed Viking-age farm settlement in Northern Missouri
Norstead, since 2009 Ravensborg, is the name of a recreated Viking Age farmstead in northern Missouri which began construction in the spring of 2007.
It is associated with The Vikings NA re-enactment group, but is not formally a part of that body.
While not permanently inhabited, it is intended that the site will be used to recreate a Viking Age farmstead which will allow Viking Age living history enthusiasts to experience life in a longhouse over a period of several days at a time. Such extended living is a form of experimental archeology and is expected to shed new light on how ordinary folk lived and functioned in such an environment. This is in contrast to the more normal temporary reenactment environment which relies heavily on tented structures.
When these gatherings take place, tents of the kind known from archeology of the period will be used to supplement the sleeping space.
The site currently consists of a longhouse, a cookhouse and an open sided forge shelter and it is planned to erect further buildings in 2009.
As of 2009, the site has been renamed "Ravensborg."
Norstead: A Viking Village and Port of Trade is a reconstruction of a Viking Age settlement. Located near L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Norstead won the provincial Attractions Canada award for "Best New Attraction" in 2000, and was the centerpiece of a series of events held that year to commemorate the 1,000th anniversary of the Vikings' arrival. The site also houses a 54-foot replica Viking knarr which sailed from Greenland to L’Anse aux Meadows in 1998 with a crew of nine men.