Top View of Minnesota's "Norse Code-stones" Site

Taking Leonardo da Vinci's advice, here is what I think is both "simplicity" and "the ultimate sophistication" in presenting Minnesota's Norse Code-stones, discovered in 2013 and 2022 near Appleton. The message is unmistakeable when the site is examined by a ferrous-only metal detector. Are there any playful "Norse" minds out there? If so, you may wonder what is buried where "X marks the spot." Hint: the Pomme de Terre River discharges into the beginnings of the Minnesota River (Marsh Lake) just a bit north of the Code-stones site. Unfortunately, there is no curiosity from the Minnesota Historical Society or from the State Archaeologist...there is only year-after-year neglect...and even worse, hinderance. Why? Make a guess....

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THE NORSE CODE-STONES

This blog post is about a puzzling occurrence involving stoneholes chiseled into rocks, I believe in both the pioneering days of the late 1800s and in medieval times, perhaps as early as the 12th century. This multiple stonehole-making happened near the border of Minnesota and South Dakota, near the town of Appleton, in Minnesota. It is my firm belief that the stoneholes were chiseled out to mark a spot of earth along a ridgeline directly south of the Pomme de Terre River, a river that empties into the Minnesota River, not far from where the Minnesota river begins near the bottom of Big Stone Lake. Significantly, the Pomme de Terre River reaches the farthest north of any river discharging into the Minnesota River. This is important because I think the Norse Code-stone may possibly have been created to indicate an attempted medieval Scandinavian land-claim, and placing the seemingly encoded stonehole rocks by the Pomme de Terre River might have been inte...

NORWAY LAKE, MINNESOTA: A Medieval "Bardiche" and a Submerged Runestone?

Norway Lake in Minnesota is approximately 50 miles from the small town of Kensington, where the Kensington Runestone (self-dated to 1362) was discovered by an immigrant farmer named Olof Ohman in 1898. I was already aware of a medieval Scandinavian axe that was found in 1908 by a Norway Lake area fisherman named Ole Skaalerub (the axe is presently in a collection of iron weapons at Alexandria's Runestone Museum), but I didn't learn about a possible submerged runestone in the middle of Norway Lake until a few years later, when I came across a September/October 2012 article in the Atlantis Rising Magazine, entitled "Norsemen in Minnesota," with the subtitle " The Kensington Rune Stone Is Not The Only Evidence For A Prehistoric Viking Presence ." The magazine is now defunct, but I have included pertinent portions of the timeless and fascinating article in this presentation about a possible submerged runestone in Norway Lake: Excerpts from the ...

THE SAUK LAKE ALTAR ROCK (Formerly Called The Viking Altar Rock)

The actor Peter Stormare (think "Fargo"), left, and myself visiting the Altar Rock in 2018 to film an episode for the new TV series "Secrets of the Viking Stone." It was shown in 2020 and this year, 2021. Photo taken by Elroy Balgaard. To begin what is known about the Sauk Lake Altar Rock, I would like to point out that this icon of medieval-era Minnesota history seems to be one of a trifecta of icons that all share at least two features; the Sauk Lake Altar Rock, the Kensington Runestone and the Newport Tower all appear to be connected in a medieval setting to Scandinavians and to the Catholic Church. In this sense, then, all three icons tend to lend support to one another's authenticity. Beyond this, I would like to point out that an earlier regional take on the Sauk Lake Altar Rock is now seen by most historians as ill advised...that being the notion that the Altar Rock was visited and it's four stoneholes made by the Sir Paul Knutson party of me...

THE KENSINGTON RUNESTONE: Commentary and Speculation by Bob Voyles

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