'Secrets of the Viking Stone': What is Kensington Runestone? Here's the truth behind its cryptic engravings
In Science Channel's new special, 'Secrets of the Viking Stone', actor Peter Stormare ('Fargo') and history enthusiast Elroy Balgaard set out to solve the mystery of the famed Kensington Runestone, which if proven authentic, could mean that Europeans came to America much earlier than Christopher Columbus. However, since its reported discovery in 1898 by Swedish-born Olof Ohman, there have been many mysteries surrounding the object. Some believe fervently that the stone is real, however, others doubt its authenticity.
What is Kensington Runestone?
In 1898, Swedish-born Olof Ohman said that he found the 202-pound greywacke stone covered in runes while he was clearing land he had recently acquired, of trees and stumps before he could plow. He claimed that the stone was near the crest of a small knoll; rising above the wetlands, lying face down and tangled in the root system of a stunted poplar tree that was estimated to be about 10 to 40 years old.
The stone was 30 inches tall, 16 inches wide and 6 inches thick. It was Ohman's son, Edward Ohman, who noticed the markings. These markings were later identified as Scandinavian runic writing, with the generally accepted translation reading, "We are 8 Goths [Swedes] and 22 Norwegians on an exploration journey from Vinland through the West. We had camp by a lake with 2 skerries [small rocky islands] one day’s journey north from this stone. We were out and fished one day. After we came home we found 10 of our men red with blood and dead. AVM [Ave Virgo Maria, or Hail, Virgin Mary] save us from evil. We have 10 of our party by the sea to look after our ships, 14 days’ journey from this island. Year 1362."
Why Kensington Rune is thought to be fake
At the time that Ohman reportedly discovered the stone, the National Romanticism movement was rising. Leif Ericson, who is thought to have been the first known European to have set foot on continental North America (Vinland) about 500 years before Christopher Columbus, was being widely discussed and there was a renewed interest in the Vikings across Scandinavian Europe. There was also some tension between Sweden and Norway, with Norway going on to gain independence from Sweden in 1905. Norwegians claimed that the stone was a Swedish hoax, and some Swedes agreed due to the mention of a joint expedition of Norwegians and Swedes. That the stone was discovered by Swede seemed far too unlikely to be a coincidence.
On sending the stone to the University of Minnesota, the stone was declared to be a forgery. The reason for this is because experts thought there were too many discrepancies in form and vocabulary from the known languages of 14th-century Scandinavia, and that the language of the inscriptions was modern compared to Nordic languages at the time. The stone was also declared a fraud when copies of the inscription were sent to researchers in Scandinavia. Additionally, the condition of the rock was also suspicious. Experts believed that had the stone been exposed to wind and rain for hundreds of years — if the printed date were true — then the inscriptions would have shown more signs of weathering.
'Secrets of the Viking Stone' premieres on Sunday, January 3, 2021, at 10 pm ET/PT on Science Channel.
