Kensington Stone

▪ Scandinavian artifact

      supposed relic of a 14th-century Scandinavian exploration of the interior of North America. Most scholars deem it a forgery, claiming linguistically that the carved writing on it is many years out of style; a few scholars, notably Robert A. Hall, Jr., former professor at Cornell University, have argued for its probable authenticity. A 200-pound (90-kilogram) slab of graywacke inscribed with runes (medieval Germanic script), the stone is said to have been unearthed on a farm near Kensington, Minn., in 1898. The inscription, dated 1362, is purported to be by a group of Norwegian and Swedish explorers from Vinland who visited the Great Lakes area in that year. The stone is housed in a special museum in Alexandria, Minn., and a 26-ton replica stands in nearby Runestone Park.

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