Spirit Pond runestones

The Spirit Pond runestones are three stones with runic inscriptions, allegedly found at Spirit Pond in Phippsburg, Maine in 1971 by a Walter J. Elliott, Jr., a carpenter born in Bath, Maine. The stones, currently housed at the Maine State Museum, are widely dismissed as a hoax or a fraud. [ [http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1981/6/1981_6_102_print.shtml MARTIANS & VIKINGS, MADOC & RUNES] American Heritage Magazine, October/November 1981 Volume 32, Issue 6] Haugen, Einar: " [http://trex.id.iit.edu/visiblelanguage/VLCatalogueSearch/VLChronologicalTables/VolumeAbstracts08.html#therunestonesofs The Rune Stones of Spirit Pond, Maine] ", in "The Journal of Typographical Research", Vol: 8.1, 1974] If authentic, they would be evidence of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact and Norse colonization of the Americas.

Unlike the prehistoric monumental runestones raised in Scandinavia, the stones are small handheld objects, with a resemblance to medieval runic manuscripts. A similar stone is the authentic Kingigtorssuaq Runestone found in Greenland in 1824. Of the three stones, one contains a total of 15 lines of text on two sides. The "map stone" contains a map with some inscription; in different papers Paul H. Chapman proposes that the map depicts the landscape visible from the 1,075 feet high White Mountain, the highest point in the vicinity of Spirit Pond, or the northern tip of Newfoundland. [Paul Chapman: " [http://www.epigraphy.org/volume_21.htm An In-depth Examination of the Spirit Pond Runestones] ", Epigraphic Society Occasional Papers, Volume 21 • 1992, p 114]

The inscriptions contain several instances of the use of pentadic numerals in arabic placement. The number 1011 appearing on the inscription (represented as "011") has been interpreted as a date, leading to speculation that the stones are connected to the expedition of Thorfinn Karlsefni. [" [http://image54.webshots.com/154/7/22/89/2141722890042975503lTIiey_fs.jpg?track_pagetag=/page/photo/homegarden/antiques&track_action=/Shortcuts/FullSize The Spirit Pond Runestones] ", page 13 ( [http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2597789000042975503VNQjVT Cover] )] Linguistic analysis however points to a later date. The first to study the stones scientifically was Harvard University professor Einar Haugen. In 1974, after transcribing the runes, he found the runes used and the language of the inscription to be inconsistent with 11th century Old Norse. He also noted peculiarities relating the inscriptions directly to the Kensington Runestone inscription. He concluded that the inscriptions were most likely created after 1932.Amateur researchers have been more sympathetic to a medieval origin of the stones. Suzanne Carlson of NEARA, a group of enthusiasts who advocate for widespread Viking presence in North America, suggests a mid 14th century date for the inscriptions, although it is unclear how Carlson arrived at this date. [ [http://www.neara.org/CARLSON/spiritpd.html The Spirit Pond Stones and the Mysterious "Facts" of their Fabrication] , by Suzanne Carlson] Similarly, amateur rune-enthusiast Richard Nielsen claims a precise date of 1401. [Richard Nielsen: " [http://www.epigraphy.org/volume_22_1.htm An Old Norse Translation of the Spirit Pond Runic Inscriptions of Maine] ", ESOP, Volume 22, Part I, p 158]

Analyzing and authenticating Christian era (post-Viking era) Norse runic inscriptions poses challenges. While runes remained in use in Scandinavia outside the Latin learned circles well into the Middle Ages, the corpus of surviving inscriptions is very small; the largest part consist of the Bryggen inscriptions, sticks of pine with a few runes. The only major manuscript is the Codex Runicus from 1300. One of many objections to the authenticity of North American runestones is the use of pentadic or "runic" numerals, used in both the Kensington and the Spirit Pond stones; their earliest authenticated use in an Arabic positional system is from 1885, in the notes of an 18-year-old journeyman tailor.

Transcribing the Spirit Pond inscriptions is in itself a challenge; researchers can agree on only 80% of the text.

References

Literature

* Carlson, Suzanne: "The Spirit Pond Inscription Stone: Rhyme and Reason," NEARA Journal, 28:1, Summer/Fall 1993.
* Chapman, Paul H: " [http://www.epigraphy.org/volume_22_2.htm Spirit Pond Runestones, a Study in Linguistics] ", Epigraphic Society Occasional Papers (ESOP), Volume 22, Part II (Vienna, VA 1994) ASIN|B0006F310A
* Richard Neilsen: " [http://www.neara.org/events.htm#Speakers New Evidence on the Scandinavian Language, Numbers, and Runes found on the Spirit Pond Rune Stones] "
* Erik Wahlgren: "American runes: From Kensington to Spirit Pond"

External links

* [http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/548766104GAtrjc Spirit Pond Stones] - high-res photos of stones
* [http://www.sjolander.com/viking/rune/spirit.htm Transcription of Spirit Pond Number 3 (Figure 109)] - Facsimile of "inscription stone"