NITO Svalbard in collaboration with Longyearbyen Cultural Centre and Svalbard Museum arranges a lecture with Frode Skarstein. After the lecture, members of NITO are invited to dinner together with the speaker.

Helge Ingstad (1899–2001) was one of Norway's last great explorers. From his life as a fur hunter in the Canadian wilderness, the journey continued to Greenland, Svalbard and the Apache areas in North America. His greatest discovery came in 1960, when he found the remains of a Norse settlement in Newfoundland. Together with his wife, the archaeologist Anne Stine Ingstad, he was able to document that Norsemen had been in America almost 500 years before Columbus. 

The story of L'Anse aux Meadows is also a tale of strong personalities, scientific conflicts, and the battle for credit for one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. Was Ingstad really the first to know where to look? How did he find the sites? And why did the great discovery end in bitter conflicts with archaeologists and Canadian authorities? 

Based on his biography of Helge Ingstad, Frode Skarstein takes us behind the well-known story. Through letters, diaries, archive material and conversations with key participants, he paints a picture of a remarkable explorer – and the lesser-known aspects of his greatest triumph.