Does the
obscure island of Nomans Land harbor an
important link to the distant past?
Problems With the 'Experts' Conclusions (Cont.)
(Cont.)
new development, the influence
of the Roman alphabet. The Roman lettering system's influence in Scandinavia
moved with the spread of Christianity. It greatly influenced the development of
the last major variant of the runic alphabet during the tenth and eleventh
centuries. But even if Eriksson did not pick up any of the new language himself,
he undeniably was with others who should have. When he returned to Greenland he
was charged with spreading the new faith there, and according to Olaf
Tryggvesson's saga in the "Heimskringla" (written down in 1230),
"had with him for it a priest and other teachers". One of these men,
maybe not even a Norseman himself, may have hacked the brief monument on Noman's
Land.
Three other points should be raised
too. First off, the initial discovery of the stone, that of Captain Wood as
recorded in his wife's diary, was made by a man nearly illiterate in his native
tongue, let alone competent in an ancient system of writing. Secondly, the
stone's location makes no sense for a forgery. Nomans Land is an isolated, ill
suited place for a forgery. What profit could a forger have by placing his work
off an obscure beach on a remote island? Beyond that, at the time of its
discovery the stone was in the water constantly except at extreme low tide. Even
then waves washed over it! Given the vast number of suitable boulders available
along the island's coast on which to hack a forgery, what fool would battle the
waves to place it facing the sea in the sea?
The third point is the condition of
the inscription at the time of its discovery. It was already very well
weathered. This despite the fact that the base rock is a very hard material that
would presumably weather slowly. The condition of the inscription in the 1920s
was so bad that the lower two lines could not be interpreted from the photos.
This strongly indicates that the inscription had to date to a period long before
the rock's discovery in 1925. The case against forgery is strengthened by this
probable fact. What forger would go to all the trouble of creating the
inscription and then not calling attention to it?
The overwhelming evidence indicates
that the 'experts' who dismissed the stone earlier this century, may be grossly
in error. As often is the case, these experts cloaked in their academic aura of
omniscience may have made a grave misjudgment.
Harvard University's esteemed
Professor C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky, noted that if indeed it proved to be
authentic, then "this would be one of the most important antiquities of the
New World."
Re-Discovering the Stone
In the late 1970s I led
a project to relocate and recover the runestone for proper, detailed analysis.
The intent was to determine conclusively if the stone had any merit as a
historical artifact.
I obtained a Massachusetts State
Archeological permit and worked my way through all of the red tape to get
permission for a civilian not only to visit the island (then under Navy
jurisdiction), but to have the Navy fly me there. Working with the US Navy I led
two expeditions to Nomans Land. Both were timed to coincide with extreme low
tide. On the first visit I was able to pinpoint the stone's location while
flying low along the coastline in one of the Navy helicopters. However, positive
identification of the stone was prevented by wave action and the encrusted
growth of marine life.
The second trip to Nomans Land met
with better conditions and we were able to clear away enough of the marine
encrustation to view the face of the stone bearing the inscription. Sadly, I
found that the action of wind and waves had taken a heavy toll of the inscribed
letters, but they could still be made out. An interesting corollary is that
letters clearly visible when standing beside the stone, did not show at all on
the photos we took. This supports my belief that the 'experts' in the 1920s were
not seeing the whole picture when studying Gray's photos. It also documents
Moltke's statements about the critical nature of lighting and conditions when
attempting to read a runic inscription.
All of the work, as indeed all of
my research, was self-funded. With the stone located and all the permits to
remove it in hand, I ran into a complication. The Navy helicopters could not be
used to airlift the stone to the mainland because that would compete with
civilian contractors. The high cost of bringing in a civilian helicopter from
out of state (none large enough was available in Massachusetts at the time) was
simply beyond my means. I strove to secure funding from other sources, such as
the National Geographic Society, but was turned down at every step. I overcame
many, many obstacles to get as far I as I did, but having exhausted my own
personal financial resources, I could not afford to finish this important job.
The Current Project
Left where it is, the
rock will continue to be destroyed. Its removal will not impair the scenic or
natural beauty of the island. It is but one boulder among thousands that ring
the island. If it proves false, then nothing has been lost. But should it, after
careful study, prove authentic or even likely to be so, the history of the Norse
contacts with North America will have to be reassessed. In short, it may be a
very important rock.
Our goal is to recover the stone
from its current location in the waters off Nomans Land island. Given the wave
action and the fact that the stone is nearly submerged most of the time, it is
physically impossible to study the stone on site.
Our plan is to move the rock to a
suitable location where it can be studied properly to determine its
authenticity. A permanent home for the stone might be found on the nearby
Martha's Vineyard. There it will be able to be seen by those interested in this
possible link with America's distant past.
The stone may indeed prove to be
from more recent times, but sufficient cause exists to warrant proper,
scientific study before reaching that conclusion. Given the chance that it might
date from circa a millennium ago, it would be criminal to allow wind and waves
to finish the job of erasing its well-worn lettering.
