of Norse populated areas including Scandinavia and Finland from 500 to 1300 CE. Large scale production of bog iron was also established in Iceland at sites known as "Iron Farms". Smaller scale production sites in Iceland consisted of large farmsteads and some original Icelandic settlements, but these seemed to only produce enough iron to be self-sufficient. Even after improved smelting technology made mined ores viable during the Middle Ages, bog ore remained important into modern times, particularly in peasant iron production. In Russia, bog ore was the principal source of iron until the 16th century, when the superior ores of the Ural Mountains became available. North America Pre-Columbian Iron may have been produced by Vikings at Point Rosee and other locations in Newfoundland around 1000 CE. Excavations at L'Anse aux Meadows have found considerable evidence for the processing of bog iron and the production of iron ore. The settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows was situated immediately east of a sedge peat bog and 15 kg of slag was found at the site, which would have produced around 3 kg of usable iron. Analysis of the slag showed that considerably more iron could have been smelted out of the ore, indicating that the workers processing the ore had not been skilled. This supports the idea that iron processing knowledge was widespread and not restricted to major centers of trade and commerce. 98 nail fragments were also found at the site as well as considerable evidence for woodworking which points to the iron produced at the site possibly being used only for ship repair and not tool making. Colonial North America Bog iron was widely sought in colonial North America. The earliest known iron mines in North America are the mines from St. John's, Newfoundland, reported being in operation by Anthony Parkhurst in 1578. The first mining efforts in Virginia occurred as early as 1608. In 1619 Falling Creek Ironworks was established in Chesterfield County, Virginia. It was the location of the first blast furnace facility in North America. Lake Massapoag in Massachusetts was drawn down by deepening the outlet channel in a search for bog iron. The Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site, on the Saugus River in Saugus, Massachusetts, operated between 1646 and 1668. The site contains a museum and several reconstructed buildings. The success of the Saugus Iron Works, and the rapid depletion of the region's natural bog iron,