Dhaka, Oct. 13 -- Viking explorers reached North America around 1,000 years ago, nearly five centuries before Christopher Columbus arrived in the Bahamas in 1492, according to the BBC.

The Norse travelled across the North Atlantic using Iceland and Greenland as stopping points before reaching parts of what is now Canada. Their journeys were later recorded in Icelandic sagas, which researchers have found contain reliable historical details.

The BBC said a Norse settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland was discovered in 1960.

A dating technique used by researchers in 2021 established that Vikings had occupied the site in 1021, suggesting it served as a base for further exploration.

According to the sagas, Norse explorers travell...