All those involved in Scandinavia and the glorious era of the Vikings reenactment, know that the Icelandic sagas mention such a thing as a sun stone. It was used as a navigation device, which allowed to determine the location of the sun in any, even very cloudy, weather. It was long thought that the thing was mythical and did not actually exist, the Vikings needed it and simply thought it up for their sagas.
But as it turned out such object actually existed and was very easy to make.
Scandinavian scientists as true patriots and lovers of their culture, long tried to get to the truth, to understand the nature of the sun stone. And they did it.
As it turned out after years of research and experiments, the sun stone was just a polished piece of Iceland spar. This discovery was made by divers who searched the cabin of an English ship wrecked in 1592, and found a polished piece of this particular mineral.
The discovery was confirmed by practical research of many scientists, including Leif Karlsen, who published a book on navigation in 2003, where he described the experience of Iceland spar use.
The feature of the mineral is that it can split rays of light in a special way and a polarized sun beam indicates the location of the sun.
Everything is simple.
So those engaged in Scandinavia and the Viking Age reenactment, can now use a new “fashion” accessory that will bring them closer to the original character of a brutal, but very adventurous and savvy Viking the seafarer.
Related articles
- Scientists Discover Mythical Viking Compass (counselheal.com)
- Vikings used sunstones to help conquer and pillage (newsfixnow.com)
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