Today in History revisits a story from Saturday, March 26, 1949 when a St. Cloud man, Peter Goedert, claimed to have found an exact replica of the Kensington runestone in Montana while searching for agates in Hay Creek.
The replica, significantly smaller than the original, contains the same inscription as the Kensington runestone, which was discovered in 1898 in Douglas County, Minnesota. Historians debate whether the Kensington stone, supposedly left by Vikings in 1362, is authentic evidence of Norse exploration in North America.
Goedert is puzzled as to how an identical stone ended up in Montana, as no official copies of the original were known to have been made. The mysterious runestone inscription describes a group of Swedish and Norwegian explorers who encountered tragedy during their journey. While skeptics doubt its authenticity, some Scandinavian and American historians believe it provides real evidence of early Viking presence in the region.
Another Mystery! Reports Finding 2nd Viking Stone
ST. CLOUD, MINN. — (AP story as published by the Obituary on March 26, 1949) — A St. Cloud man said Friday, March 25, 1949, he has an exact replica of the Kensington runestone. He found it in Montana about 35 years ago.
The replica was shown by Peter Goedert, who reported he found it about 1915 while searching for agates in the bed of Hay Creek near Fairview, Mont.
The stone is about five inches long, three inches wide, and a half-inch thick compared with the Kensington stone, which is about 30 inches long, 16 inches wide, and 7 inches thick.
The original runestone was found in 1898 on a farm near Kensington in Douglas County. Some historians contend it was left there by early Vikings about 130 years before Columbus. The runestone contains an inscription, which historians say tells of the Vikings’ visit to this section of the continent.
Like the original stone, the replica Goedert has in his possession also bears the same inscription.
Goedert says that, so far as he knows, no replica of the original stone was ever made. He is unable to explain, however, how the stone he found got to Montana.
The Kensington stone was found by Olof Ohman, a farmer, while he was grubbing stumps on a timbered section of his farm. As he dug around the roots of one large tree, he came upon a flat stone lodged between the roots. The inscription was unnoticed until the stone was cleaned.
When the inscription was translated, many doubted it had any connection with the early explorations of North Dakota. In recent years, however, several Scandinavian and American historians have said the stone is authentic and was left by Viking explorers.
The most literal translation of the inscription follows:
“We are 8 Goths (Swedes) and 22 Norwegians on a journey from Vineland through the west. We had camp by (a lake) 2 skerries one day’s journey from this stone. We were (out) and fished one day. After we came home 10 (of our) men red with blood and dead. Ave Maria, save us from evil. Have 10 of (our party) by the sea to look after our ship 14 days journey from this island, year 1326.”
The same inscription appears on the Goedert stone.
Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.