Posted on 11/26/2004 12:01:26 PM PST by blam
Viking map may rewrite US history
Agençe France-Presse
Friday, 26 November 2004
Experts are testing the map to see if it is really evidence for Vikings landing in the New World first, not Columbus (Image: Climate Monitoring & Diagnostics Lab) Danish experts will travel to the U.S. to study evidence that the Vikings landed in the New World five centuries before Columbus.
A controversial parchment said to be the oldest map of America could, if authentic, support the theory that the Vikings arrived first.
The map is said to date from 1434 and was found in 1957. Some people believe it is evidence that Vikings, who departed from Greenland around the year 1000, were the first to land in the Americas.
The document is of Vinland, the part of North America believed to be what is today the Canadian province of Newfoundland, and was supposedly discovered by the Viking Leif Eriksen, the son of Erik the Red.
Three researchers from the Danish Royal Library and School of Conservation hope that modern techniques developed in Denmark will be able to "shed more light on this document whose authenticity is questioned worldwide", said Rene Larsen, head of the School of Conservation in Copenhagen and the leader of the project.
The trio will on Monday begin their work on the map, which is kept at Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library in Connecticut.
The three have been "authorised to, for two to three days, photograph, analyse with microscope and undertake various studies of the document and its ink, but not alter it", Larsen said.
He said the results of the study would be presented early next year.
The Vinland map, possibly the first map showing the New World, at Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (Image: Brookhaven National Lab/Yale University Press)
"We hope that the new techniques that we have developed in Denmark ... will help to better [date] the document and ink with which the map was drawn in order to lift the veil on its authenticity or counterfeit," he said.
The map was considered a sensation when it was found. Experts largely agree that the parchment dates from the 1400s, but by the 1970s some experts had begun arguing that the ink used contained materials that were only developed in the 20th century.
U.K. chemist Professor Robin Clark, from University College London, has meanwhile said he believed the document was a fake.
He based his conclusion on the work of another researcher, Dr Walter McCrone, who in the 1970s found that the ink contained a derivative of titanium dioxide, which did not exist until the 1920s, according to the journal Analytical Chemistry.
The burning question:
Did they find any good SPAM recipes with that map?
I've read about Prince Madoc in America in 560AD, however we have a plaque here at the entrance to Mobile Bay that commerates his 1170AD landing.
I will add my 2 cents..
I read the same or similar article(s) pertaining to the ink and it's titanium content..
Studies of ancient inks from the same geographical area and of that time show traces of titanium occurring naturally as well..
IIRC, it was determined to be the same "type" of titanium as well.. i.e., consistent with the chemical composition of that area.. ( northern europe, scandinavia, russia.. )
As I recall, the paper regarding these findings was the last in a series of "fake-not-fake" counterclaims, and at that point, further studies were denied by the owners.. ( some Boston college? )
Is he related to Svengoolie?
Yah, sure...
Way back in my teenage days I had a couple of very large cats. They protected the property from dogs and meter readers – and enjoyed going swimming with me down at the lake. Both were over 30 pounds.
Oh my goodness! Did they have any wildcat in them?
My daughter has a very large cat - he goes between 20-25 lbs and it's all lean, mean cat - no fat. He appears to have some ocelot in him somewhere along the way.
My two petite cats barley tip the scales at 8 lbs and 7 lbs each - but they make up for it in *attitude* - LOL
Oh my goodness! Did they have any wildcat in them?
They were both half domestic. The other half was what we called a Lynx. They had the tufted ears and cheeks, and were pretty much solid muscle – and very territorial. I was the only human (or animal) they would accept.
I am familiar with the breed. I can see why they would protect you and your property!
My daughter's cat, for all of his size, is very docile. Just a big, lovable lug.
I am always amazed at the different personalities of animals. Just like humans. Only better in a lot of cases.
Much better in some cases. I have met few animals that practice deceit on a regular basis. My little dog does now and then, but not often.
And he was the best.
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