Still Waters Posted March 7, 2013 #1 Share Posted March 7, 2013 A crystal found in a shipwreck could be similar to a sunstone - a mythical navigational aid said to have been used by Viking mariners, scientists believe. The team from France say the transparent crystal may have been used to locate the Sun even on cloudy days. This could help to explain how the Vikings were able to navigate across large tracts of the sea - well before the invention of the magnetic compass. However, a number of academics treat the sunstone theory with scepticism. http://www.bbc.co.uk...europe-21693140 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keel M. Posted March 7, 2013 #2 Share Posted March 7, 2013 This makes me think of the first episode of Vikings on the History Channel last weekend. The MC Ragnar was talking to his brother about how to find their way to lands to the West and first explained using the sun and shadows on a sundial like thing. Then his brother says, "Well what happens when it's cloudy?" Ragnar shows him a chunk of what he calls sunstone and looks toward the sun through the crystal and BAM! there's the sun. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krypter3 Posted March 10, 2013 #3 Share Posted March 10, 2013 This makes me think of the first episode of Vikings on the History Channel last weekend. The MC Ragnar was talking to his brother about how to find their way to lands to the West and first explained using the sun and shadows on a sundial like thing. Then his brother says, "Well what happens when it's cloudy?" Ragnar shows him a chunk of what he calls sunstone and looks toward the sun through the crystal and BAM! there's the sun. Because they are one in the same xD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissMelsWell Posted March 10, 2013 #4 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Here's an actual picture of the stone.... I read this article earlier this morning. haha. http://www.komonews.com/news/national/Researchers-We-may-have-found-a-fabled-sunstone-196305941.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pallidin Posted March 10, 2013 #5 Share Posted March 10, 2013 I guess I can understand it, a little bit... not much, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopmo Posted March 11, 2013 #6 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I laugh when the try shoot holes in the theory by saying it's the only one to be found. Sooo... becuase Vikings and early Sea-travellers had a sence of worth not to discard of something so usefull as it was just another common item, it's fringe. It does what it's supposed to according to lore. Why shoot holes lol. I remember Viking lore, telling of their men being able to open the skys of Valhalla to assist them in their travels. It doesn't reference a sunstone directly, it still fits the shoe. A device to be guided by the heavens at all times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcos anthony toledo Posted March 11, 2013 #7 Share Posted March 11, 2013 The Sun Stones would be too valuable to be place in a burial so that why they not been found more often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acute Posted March 11, 2013 #8 Share Posted March 11, 2013 (edited) Call me thick, but I don't understand what the article is saying. Is it saying that this form of calcite is rare, or to find some fashioned into a sunstone is rare, or discovering a Viking sunstone is rare? Edited March 11, 2013 by acute Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted March 12, 2013 #9 Share Posted March 12, 2013 I laugh when the try shoot holes in the theory by saying it's the only one to be found. Sooo... becuase Vikings and early Sea-travellers had a sence of worth not to discard of something so usefull as it was just another common item, it's fringe. It does what it's supposed to according to lore. Why shoot holes lol. I remember Viking lore, telling of their men being able to open the skys of Valhalla to assist them in their travels. It doesn't reference a sunstone directly, it still fits the shoe. A device to be guided by the heavens at all times. Just like the Romans had bazookas, because they were so valuable that they never misplaced or buried any of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Der Box Skeptisch Posted March 14, 2013 #10 Share Posted March 14, 2013 I recall a similar article being posted within the last year .... Here posted by stillwaters http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=217031&view=&hl=&fromsearch=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Der Box Skeptisch Posted March 14, 2013 #11 Share Posted March 14, 2013 OK so it was longer than a year ago... oh well LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithisco Posted March 14, 2013 #12 Share Posted March 14, 2013 (edited) This thread is becoming a bit boring... Icelandic Spar is well known and the Vikings would certainly be aware of its double diffraction qualities. When it became too dark to use the Spar then they had the Stars to be guided by, or if cloudy , then they could use the Lode Stone (Magnetite) to find Magnetic North. So please...Icelandic Spar in cloudy / twilight situations, then Lodestone / stars during night travels...heck, Lodestone by itself would give sufficient bearings to reach the landmass they were aiming for. Edited March 14, 2013 by keithisco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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