Viking Rock Martha's Vineyard
At its base are a set of characters some think are Viking runes, slashes carved into the rock 1,000 years ago that essentially say Leif Eriksson was here. Others claim the characters are a hoax created by fishermen in the 20th century. The reason why the Nomans Land Island runestone remains so integral to the Vikings in North America theory is due to the supposed similarities between the landscape of Marthas Vineyard...
Beginning in the late 19th century, a popular theory was developed that argued that Norse explorers traveled to Marthas Vineyard. Indeed, the theory argued that the Norse reference to the Vinland was a reference to the island off Cape Cod that has many wild grape vines. "In 1602, during the British ship Concord's exploration of Cape Cod, Captain Bartholomew Gosnold named Nomans Land "Martha's Vineyard" after his eldest daughter, Martha.
The runic rock of Nomans Land was discovered and identified beyond doubt by the weekend expedition led by Curtiss Bacon, lawyer and visitor to the Vineyard, who has interested himself in an attempt to subject the runes to more complete study than has yet been made. A planned expedition to recover a mysterious rune stone on Noman's Land reportedly inscribed with the name of famous Viking Leif Eriksson has hit a snag. The state historical commission questions the plan and the Chilmark historical commission has recommended against removal of the stone.
A planned expedition to recover a mysterious rune stone on Noman's Land reportedly inscribed with the name of famous Viking Leif Eriksson has hit a snag. The state historical commission questions the plan and the Chilmark historical commission has recommended against removal of the stone. A groundbreaking archeological discovery in Tisbury has confirmed that Vikings were indeed the first non-native visitors to the Island.
The most amazing thing is that this long boat was hiding... There are people who believe that the mysterious - almost mythic - Viking people once visited, and perhaps even colonized Martha's Vineyard, hundreds of years before Bartholomew Gosnold made land here and named the Island after a family member. A planned expedition to recover a mysterious rune stone on Noman's Land reportedly inscribed with the name of famous Viking Leif Eriksson has hit a snag.
The state historical commission questions the plan and the Chilmark historical commission has recommended against removal of the stone.
