Qilakitsoq

Qilakitsoq is an abandoned settlement on the Nuussuaq peninsula across the fjord from Uummannaq, and in 1972 two brothers hunting grouse there found eight bodies in a rock crevice, six women and two children, dated to around 1475 and preserved by cold and dry air rather than any deliberate process. Their clothing survived with them, seventy-eight garments of sealskin and bird skin, which is the largest such find from the Thule culture.

What you'll find

• The crevice - the rock overhang where the eight bodies lay for five centuries.
• The 1475 dating - the fifteenth-century age established for the find.
• The preserved clothing - seventy-eight sealskin and bird-skin garments recovered.
• The abandoned settlement - the ruins of the site the group came from.

When to go

June to September is the boat season. Sea ice closes the fjord in winter and spring. Charters must be arranged from Uummannaq.

Practical notes

The mummies themselves are displayed in Nuuk, not here; the site is ruins and an empty crevice. There is nothing built for visitors and no facilities. Access needs a chartered boat.

Nearby

Uummannaq is across the fjord, and Ilulissat is south.

Key facts