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Truthmatters
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/04/viking-seafarers-may-have-navigated-legendary-crystals
For centuries, Viking seafarers ruled the North Atlantic, braving open seas peppered with icebergs to travel thousands of kilometers to their colonies in Iceland and Greenland—all without compasses. How they performed such a feat, especially given the region’s heavy clouds and fog, has long puzzled scientists. Now, one group of researchers has an answer, based on computer simulations—and legendary crystals.
For decades, researchers have suggested that enigmatic “sunstones” mentioned in Viking tales such as “The Saga of King Olaf” were the key to navigating under less-than-sunny skies. The sunstones of legend could identify the sun’s location even if it was occluded by clouds; however, no such stones have been found in the handful of Viking shipwrecks that exist. “This is all speculation, really,” says Stephen Harding, a biochemist at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom who wasn’t involved in the new study. But he notes that possible evidence of sunstones exists—including a rough, whitish crystal found near other navigational aids in a 16th century English shipwreck. It’s not unreasonable, he adds, that English sailors learned navigational tricks from the Vikings, who plied the same waters and raided the British Isles centuries earlier.
For centuries, Viking seafarers ruled the North Atlantic, braving open seas peppered with icebergs to travel thousands of kilometers to their colonies in Iceland and Greenland—all without compasses. How they performed such a feat, especially given the region’s heavy clouds and fog, has long puzzled scientists. Now, one group of researchers has an answer, based on computer simulations—and legendary crystals.
For decades, researchers have suggested that enigmatic “sunstones” mentioned in Viking tales such as “The Saga of King Olaf” were the key to navigating under less-than-sunny skies. The sunstones of legend could identify the sun’s location even if it was occluded by clouds; however, no such stones have been found in the handful of Viking shipwrecks that exist. “This is all speculation, really,” says Stephen Harding, a biochemist at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom who wasn’t involved in the new study. But he notes that possible evidence of sunstones exists—including a rough, whitish crystal found near other navigational aids in a 16th century English shipwreck. It’s not unreasonable, he adds, that English sailors learned navigational tricks from the Vikings, who plied the same waters and raided the British Isles centuries earlier.
