Mythical Viking Sunstone Found

JonB

Don't Take Crap from Life
Sep 16, 2012
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Mythical Viking Sunstone Found



Plausible evidence of Viking sunstones has eluded scientists until now.

A Elizabethan shipwreck near the channel islands, between England and France, has yielded up what appears to be an ancient sunstone - the near-mythical navigation tools of the ancient Vikings. Archaeologists conjecture that the stone, a piece of Icelandic Spar would have been used because of its unique refractive qualities. Calcite crystals like Icelandic Spar create a double image, splitting light into two rays. If the crystal is held east-west, the double image becomes a single image and thus allows a sailor to locate the sun. The crystal's refractive qualities continue to be useful even in low light, on a cloudy day, or for a while after the sun has set. That the crystal was found aboard an Elizabethan era ship shows a long history for the sunstone in navigation - by the 16th century, European navigators had compasses, but the sunstone would have been a reliable backup. Stones like the one found aboard the shipwreck have yet to be found in Viking settlements, though recent excavations have found fragments.

It's unlikely that a complete crystal will ever be found in a Viking site because Vikings preferred to commit their dead to funeral pyres - cremating them and their grave goods. Scholars have long disputed the existence of sunstones because they're contained in the saga of Saint Olaf, a tale with many magical elements. The stone was found in the shipwreck not more than three feet from other navigation tools. Researchers in a previous study confirmed that a fragment of calcite crystal could be used for navigation. The crystal found in the English Channel would be useless for navigation today, as it has been abraded by centuries of sand and salt.

Source: Live Science [http://www.livescience.com/27696-viking-sunstone-shipwreck.html]
Image: Alderney Society Museum [http://www.alderneysociety.org/]


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Tireseas_v1legacy

Plop plop plop
Sep 28, 2009
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So they found a not very shiny rock? Okay, that's nice...

Now if you'll excuse me while I not plan a heist for what is clearly not an artifact capable of bridging the this realm with the void and unleashing a million years of darkness...
 

Daaaah Whoosh

New member
Jun 23, 2010
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As the page loaded, I first thought of that magical cube from Thor, then I thought of Glowstone from Minecraft. Needless to say, I was slightly disappointed, although most things that belonged to Vikings are still pretty damn awesome.
 

Abomination

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Dec 17, 2012
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And for those of you who don't know "Vikings" on the History Channel is an amazing show and everyone should watch it.

You should watch it for two reasons, the first is because it's an awesome show and the second is that it's an actual history show on the History Channel. Not some damn ancient aliens or ghosts mumbo-jumbo bullshit. Encourage those guys to produce more stuff like this.
 

Cody Holden

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May 4, 2011
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Sseth said:
Abomination said:
And for those of you who don't know "Vikings" on the History Channel is an amazing show and everyone should watch it.

You should watch it for two reasons, the first is because it's an awesome show and the second is that it's an actual history show on the History Channel. Not some damn ancient aliens or ghosts mumbo-jumbo bullshit. Encourage those guys to produce more stuff like this.
I concur. It's a great show..

Although I'd be hesitant about using the fact that it is aired on the "History" channel to be a testament to its historical accuracy. That channel is hilariously fucking bogus at times, or entirely irrelevant to what it's supposed to be.

Anyway, still a great show! I was just thinking of this when I saw the story.
Well, it's about a period in Scandinavian history that we know jack-shit about, so I'm taking it with a grain of salt and enjoying the plot.

Besides, goddamn vikings.

Also, it's not "People With Jobs" #139925854, so it's a step in the right direction.
 

Abomination

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Dec 17, 2012
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Sseth said:
Abomination said:
And for those of you who don't know "Vikings" on the History Channel is an amazing show and everyone should watch it.

You should watch it for two reasons, the first is because it's an awesome show and the second is that it's an actual history show on the History Channel. Not some damn ancient aliens or ghosts mumbo-jumbo bullshit. Encourage those guys to produce more stuff like this.
I concur. It's a great show..

Although I'd be hesitant about using the fact that it is aired on the "History" channel to be a testament to its historical accuracy. That channel is hilariously fucking bogus at times, or entirely irrelevant to what it's supposed to be.

Anyway, still a great show! I was just thinking of this when I saw the story.
While it likely doesn't follow the historical trials and tribulations of a particular viking earldom (the damn thing is set in "Scandinavia" which is a MASSIVE geographical region, it could be anywhere in Denmark but it's likely Norway) it is a good "time piece" or "slice of life" of the everyman of the 9th century.
 

Keneth

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Oct 14, 2011
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I find this image macro to be relevant to the current discussion.

OT: Proving once again that my Northern European ancestors were more then just violent seafaring barbarians. They were violent seafaring barbarians with magic compass rocks. Zing!
 

gigastar

Insert one-liner here.
Sep 13, 2010
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PunkRex said:
Excellent first steps, now, bring me those dragons.
Nono, have to go through lesser mythical creatures before making our way up to dragons.
 

Gilhelmi

The One Who Protects
Oct 22, 2009
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See that annoys me about 'some' "Scientists". Just because something was mentioned in a mythical story, they automatically assume it is not real.

Troy is a perfect example. The Trojan Horse was believed to be a Myth, solely because Troy was thought to be a myth. Even after the discovery of Troy the 'some' still thinks its a myth because the horse has never been found. Thing is, it will never be found all we have are the accounts from that war.

[sarcasm]Yep, the Lion is a myth also, because it appeared in the book "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe"[/sarcasm]
 

Lonewolfm16

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Feb 27, 2012
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Gilhelmi said:
See that annoys me about 'some' "Scientists". Just because something was mentioned in a mythical story, they automatically assume it is not real.

Troy is a perfect example. The Trojan Horse was believed to be a Myth, solely because Troy was thought to be a myth. Even after the discovery of Troy the 'some' still thinks its a myth because the horse has never been found. Thing is, it will never be found all we have are the accounts from that war.

[sarcasm]Yep, the Lion is a myth also, because it appeared in the book "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe"[/sarcasm]
The issue is that when the only significant evidence of something is written in a book that describes magical anvil splitting swords and runic magic, that is probably not a very good source. If the only book that mentioned lions was "the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe" then historians would have good reason to question their existence until better evidence came to light.