The Kensington stone is an alleged Viking rune stone depicting the voyage of several Vikings who journeyed through North America 'discovering' Minnesota. The story has accumulated a vast array of support for the validity of what the stone's message claims; that Vikings arrived in Minnesota during the 14th century. Skeptics gave caution to the possibility of such an assumption and thus an enormous debate arose pitting academic specialists against credulous believers. The ensuing debate to find the truth behind the origins of the stone and its meaning created a deluge of pseudo-scientific claims which need to be addressed. This web-site examines the mystery behind the Kensington stone while paying close attention to the scientific methods used to explain the origins and authenticity of the stone.
Discovery of the stone
The stone's inscription
Who is Hjalmar Holand?
DESCRIPTION OF VIKINGS AND THEIR RUNES
History of the Vikings
Futhark: The Runic Alphabet
DEBUNKING THE KENSINGTON STONE
Irrefutable hypothesis
Argument by authority
Appeal to myth
Gray-bag approach
Argument by spurious similarity
Heresy does not equal correctness
Occam's razor
Other clues used to debunk the stone