The laurels of America's discoverer belong to Columbus. However, they tried to take away the palm from him more than once. In particular, the Scandinavians have claimed it more than once. How many copies were broken when the Vinland map was discovered! Another story is no less indicative - the story of the Kensington Runestone, in which the descendants of the Vikings also "inherited".
FIND ON A FARM
November 1897. Olaf Ohman, a Swedish native, uprooted stumps at his ranch in Minnesota with his youngest son Edward. When he drove a shovel into the ground again, a strange creak was heard. The man understood: there was an object under the poplar. "Treasure" - flashed through Olaf's head. He sent the youngest for the eldest son, and when he appeared, the three of them began to dig hard. Finally, a piece of some large stone appeared in front of them, sandwiched between the intertwined roots of a poplar. The rancher initially thought it was just a huge boulder. And what is the use of it? No! However, looking closer, Olaf realized that he was quick to draw conclusions. The stone bore inscriptions in a language he did not understand. He told the boys to dig until the stone was freed from the ground. And so they did. Ohman's guesses were confirmed:the stone was practically covered with text. The farmer did not think of anything better than loading a stone into a cart and taking him to the small town of Kengsington, where a community of his former compatriots, Swedish emigrants, lived. One of them guessed that the inscription was in runes. After some consultation, the members of the community came to the conclusion that it would be nice to show the stone to some specialist. A copy of the inscriptions was made and sent to OJ Braid, who was studying Scandinavian languages at the University of Minnesota. The professor carefully studied the copy and did not express any desire to travel to the site, as requested by the community members in the letter. Braid was sure that the inscriptions on the stone were a crude forgery. Olaf Ohman was terribly upset: thanks to his find, he dreamed of becoming famous. But he had to come to terms with his fateload the "artifact" on the cart and take it back.
8 READY AND 22 NORWEGIANS
The stone lay idle for several years, until in 1907 it was noticed by the former compatriot of Ohman Hjalmar Holand. He was imbued with the idea of proving that the runes on the stone were original, found a specialist in the ancient Scandinavian writing and ordered a translation for his own money. The translated text looked like this: “Eight Goths and twenty-two Norwegians went to explore the lands lying west of Vinland. We camped on two rocky islands one day's journey north of this rock. One day we went fishing, and when we returned home, we found ten people bleeding and dying. God Almighty, keep us safe from evil. Ten more men remained at sea to watch over our ships fourteen days' journey from this island. Year 1362 . Columbus discovered America in 1492. But, if the inscription on the stone is original,someone has already done this before him. Then Christopher Columbus was late with his discovery by as much as 130 years!
Holland unconditionally believed that the first were the Scandinavians and spent fifty years of his life to prove it to the whole world. Holland's triumph happened in 1940, when the stone ended up in Washington at the Smithsonian Research Institute. There Holland found a supporter in the person of Dr. Matthew Stirling, director of the American Bureau of Ethnology. He called the stone "possibly the most important archaeological site found so far in North America." The word "possibly" is key here. Matthew Stirling was not ready to take full responsibility, especially since other scientists categorically disagreed with his assessment. It didn't matter to Holland, however. At every corner he shouted that this was the original and cited Stirling's words as proof.
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THE AGE OF VIKINGS
The excitement around the stone was such that Professor Eric Walgren from the University of California at Los Angeles took over its study. After a thoughtful and careful study of the runes, he came to an unambiguous conclusion: the runes on the stone are a gross forgery. Firstly, in ancient times, the descendants of the Scandinavians simply did not use most of the words. Secondly, some were of English origin. Thirdly, the endings of individual words are not characteristic of the XIV century, but they were widely used in the XIX century. Fourth, all the numbers in the text are written in Arabic, but at that time Roman numerals were used to write the runes.
When Eric Walgren came forward with his revelations, Holland's supporters attacked him. The professor stood his ground and demanded proof. The runestone defenders rushed to the archives and were able to find information that the Vikings used, among other things, Arabic numerals. They were again criticized: "The existence of similar words and grammatical forms in various Scandinavian dialects of the early and middle Middle Ages in itself is not sufficient evidence," wrote R. James and Nick Thorpe in the book Ancient Secrets. "Although individual elements of the Kensington Runestone may be authentic, runologists believe that the text should be considered as a whole before approaching the question of its authenticity."
The heated debate went on for many years. The version of the "Scandinavian footprint" haunted various people, but most of all - the Scandinavians. In their opinion, the Vikings could easily have gone to the other end of the world in 1362. By this time, they had a great experience of traveling far beyond their shoulders. In the 8th century, they terrorized England, Ireland, Scotland. At the end of the 9th century, they reached the shores of France, a little later they discovered Iceland and Greenland and reached North America. The appetites of the Scandinavian rulers grew by leaps and bounds. In 1316, Magnus II Ericsson ascended the Norwegian throne, later elected king of Sweden. He led an active aggressive policy, tried to conquer Livonia, Estonia, Novgorod. In 1354 he asked a certain Powell Knutsson to sail to Greenland to "protect" the Christians there. According to Holland's assumption,Knutsson's expedition, consisting of Swedes and Norwegians, could deviate westward, land at Vinland, and then penetrate inland. The members of the expedition could have been partially killed by the aborigines, which was reflected in the runes of the Kensington stone. The survivors of the massacre could become the founders of a tribe of "white Indians" - mandates who lived along the coast of the Missouri. However, these are only assumptions: there are no records of Knutsson's trip to America.there are no records of Knutsson's travels to America.there are no records of Knutsson's travels to America.
The defenders of the Kensington Stone received their last blow in the 1970s. Three former Swedes at once admitted on their deathbed in making a forgery in order to fool the scientists who looked down on the Vikings.
WHAT WOULD THE CHILD LOOK FOR
Now the Kensington Stone rests in the Runestone Museum in Alexandria, a city located ten kilometers from Washington. This museum was specially created for a single exhibit - a runic "artifact". Looking ahead, let us say that its authenticity is still under a big question, but this does not prevent the Americans from making another enticement out of this. And what else can modest Alexandria attract tourists? But now she has a good bait for travelers. The Americans have arranged this case with fanfare - as they can. As soon as a tourist crosses the borders of the memorial park, his gaze rests on a huge figure of a Viking, on whose shield is carved the motto: "Alexandria is the cradle of America." And at his feet rests a boulder - a copy of the same Kensington "cobblestone" with runic text. Nearby is a sign with an English translation. So that everyone can read and make sure that the matter was exactly as the runes say. Why did the Americans need a second version of the discovery of America - the Scandinavian? The only reason is banal making money. In the USA, any idea has the right to exist, the main thing is to make a profit. So, in Boston there is a museum of "bad" art, where the most tasteless examples of painting are exhibited. Vomiting exhibitions are held in New York, attracting many visitors. In the city of St. Joseph, shows of the most unusual items removed from the stomachs of patients during operations. And they are also crowded with visitors! Therefore, the runestone museum is simply doomed to success. And the fact that so many copies are broken around him only adds to his popularity. Why did the Americans need a second version of the discovery of America - the Scandinavian? The only reason is banal making money. In the USA, any idea has the right to exist, the main thing is to make a profit. So, in Boston there is a museum of "bad" art, where the most tasteless examples of painting are exhibited. Vomiting exhibitions are held in New York, attracting many visitors. In the city of St. Joseph, shows of the most unusual items removed from the stomachs of patients during operations. And they are also crowded with visitors! Therefore, the runestone museum is simply doomed to success. And the fact that so many copies are broken around him only adds to his popularity. Why did the Americans need a second version of the discovery of America - the Scandinavian? The only reason is banal making money. In the USA, any idea has the right to exist, the main thing is to make a profit. So, in Boston there is a museum of "bad" art, where the most tasteless examples of painting are exhibited. Vomiting exhibitions are held in New York, attracting many visitors. In the city of St. Joseph, shows of the most unusual items removed from the stomachs of patients during operations. And they are also crowded with visitors! Therefore, the runestone museum is simply doomed to success. And the fact that so many copies are broken around him only adds to his popularity. Boston has a museum of "bad" art, which displays the most insipid examples of painting. Vomiting exhibitions are held in New York, attracting many visitors. In the city of St. Joseph, shows of the most unusual items removed from the stomachs of patients during operations. And they are also crowded with visitors! Therefore, the runestone museum is simply doomed to success. And the fact that so many copies are broken around him only adds to his popularity. Boston has a museum of "bad" art, which displays the most insipid examples of painting. Vomiting exhibitions are held in New York, attracting many visitors. In the city of St. Joseph, shows of the most unusual items removed from the stomachs of patients during operations. And they are also crowded with visitors! Therefore, the runestone museum is simply doomed to success. And the fact that so many copies are broken around him only adds to his popularity.only adds to his popularity.only adds to his popularity.
Lyubov DYAKOVA