Unlocking Minnesota's 'DaVinci Code': Kensington Rune Stone

[emad]

Unlocking Minnesota's 'DaVinci Code'

Kensington, Minn. (WCCO) Researchers have found new evidence of a secret code concealed on the Kensington Runestone, one of the most controversial pieces of Minnesota history.

The rock was found near Alexandria, Minn. a century ago. It bears an inscription that places Norwegians here in 1362.

Were Vikings exploring our land more than 100 years before Columbus? Or is the Kensington Runestone an elaborate hoax?

New research suggests the rune stone is genuine, and a hidden code can prove it.

http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_143121108.html

[billbuckhead]

1. What is it with Norwegians and Minnesota?

Garrison Keiller will surely have a lot of fun with this.

[enki23]

2. yeesh. i love minnesota, my birth state... but...

the idea that ancient norwegians not only made it to the new world, but made it all the way to MINNESOTA to leave an old rune stone where they knew their far future decendants would someday congregate is... well, way too silly for minnesota. minnesota can be silly, but it's a droll sort of silly. it's not "vikings left a single runestone in minnesota, and ufo's stole my daughter's appendix" kind of silly. it's hats with furry earmuffs and funny accents and good public school systems sort of silly.

[semillama]

3. I wrote a brief article on the Runestone for Fortean Times

a few years back - appeared in issue 144, april 2001. It was a summary of a conference session on the runestone (or KRS for short) I attended.

I lean towards authentic. The geology supports it. The out of place runes have all been located in period documents. Of course, the big strike against it is it's location, but stranger things have happened.

I find it interesting that none of the debunkers I've seen have dared say anything about the geological analysis of the stone itself.

[Astarho]

4. Linguistics supports it too

At least somewhat. If it was a forgery, the forger knew things about medieval Swedish that were not known in the late 1800s. The discoverer Ohman, although Swedish himself, spoke a different dialect than what was written on the stone.

Also, sailing up the St. Lawrence river and through the Great Lakes to Minnesota would be relatively easy for Viking sailors.

edit - spelling

[Codeine]

5. Nope.

The new evidence is the discovery of documents written in 1885 by a Swedish tailor in runes, which had long since passed out of use as the usual means of writing Swedish. These documents provide examples of a secret variety of the runic alphabet used by tradesmen in the 19th century. Some of the unusual runes on the Kensington Rune Stone turn out to belong to the secret tradesmen's version of the alphabet. Since Scandinavian scholars believe that this version of the runes did not exist in the 14th century, the use of these runes favors a 19th rather than 14th century origin.