One day, warm autumn day 1897 American farmer Swedish origin Olaf Oman together with his ten-year-old son Edward went to korchuvate stumps. The family of Omanov, like many other immigrants from Europe, has recently purchased a plot of land in the state of Minnesota.

And now, before adapting it for a field that was going to clear forested land from trees. When newly Americans turned one of the stumps, they saw that his roots are wrapped around a huge grey stone is almost rectangular in shape. Olaf soskreb stuck to the stone of the earth and its smooth polished surface've found some carved signs.

Although finding weighed about 90 pounds, Olaf with her son carried her to neighbouring village of Kensington, in the community of immigrants from Scandinavia, where put on public display. But, as connoisseurs of ancient literature among the local population was not, and the Swedes, for some reason, decided that the inscription is made in ancient Greek, the stone was sent in the Greek Department at the University of Minnesota. There one of the professors - Olaus Brady admitted in writing runes and made the first translation of the inscription. It said the following: "We are 8 ready and 22 of the Norwegian participants of the intelligence of Vinland sailing from the West. Ten people from our group stayed at the sea, to look after our ships in 14 days from this island. We stopped at two skerries in one day's journey to the North of the stone. We went one day to fish.

Then we went back and found 10 our people bloody and dead. Ave Maria, deliver us from evil. God”.
Deciding that the inscription skilfully forged, Professor still gave a copy Scandinavian linguists and archaeologists. They also concluded that the stone fake. According to the beliefs of that time no one was able to Columbus to swim in America, and even more to travel to Minnesota, one of the States of the North-West of the Centre. Such an idea in the early twentieth century seemed scientists minds just neveroyatnoi

The journey same Kensington stone ended in one of Chicago universities, scientists who after a rather superficial check also said: the inscription on the stone - "clumsy forgery”. Having decided that the stone is not archaeological value, Nakhodka returned to the farmer, and he adopted it as a nut in front of the house.

Fortunately, about runic stone visited in 1907 Hjalmar Holland. He bought it for only $ 10, and then during the whole life trying to solve the mystery of a strange inscriptions. To whom he did not appeal to Americans and Europeans, to the bases and geologists, chemists and physicists. Yes, and, guided by simple logic, tried to establish its authenticity. So, examined by the number of annual rings growing farm near Olaf trees, Holland came to the conclusion that their age is estimated approximately in 40 years. And since the first settlers in the area appeared only in 1858, it is unlikely for this reason, Nakhodka was a fake.

After a quarter of a century of research, in 1932 Hjalmar Holland has published the results of their labor. His conclusions were bold, even improbable, for those times. This we now know about the Viking expeditions, in part, Leyva Erickson and his followers to the shores of the Hudson Bay in the X-XI centuries. But in the first half of the twentieth century it was considered that before Columbus North American continent was inhabited solely by the Indians and the extreme North of Eskimos.
As argued Holland? According to his theory, even in 1362, over 130 years before Columbus Normans not only knew of the North-East coast of North America, but also penetrated for hundreds of kilometres to the West, in the Central region of the USA - up to the headwaters of the Mississippi river, where was found the Kensington stone. By the way, he was not the only such discoveries.

Literally in the following years after its discovery, in different parts of the States of Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota, from time to time in the land found medieval weapons and utensils typical for the Scandinavians. So, in 1930 on the lake Latoka discovered iron hook, generally used by the Vikings for mooring, in 1940 at the Detroit-lake - Norwegian flint, in 1942 on one of the farms in Minnesota - arm Scandinavian sword XIII-XV centuries.

These stones scattered on the shores of the Great lakes, and helped Holanda to follow the route of the Vikings in 1362 and even to plot it. Subsequently, the mention of the journey, the Normans were found in the historical Chronicles. According to ancient manuscripts, in 1355 by decree of the Norwegian king Magnus Eriksson in Greenland went expedition, headed by the famous statesman of medieval Norway Paul Knutson from Onarheim.

In the tradition of that time head of the expedition he picked up a team. Given the complexity of the set tasks, it is likely that Knutson took a big group. Unfortunately, the sources did not report the results of this enterprise. It is only known that Knutson with the team was absent for a very long time. Home of the expedition returned only a few people, and even then, nine years after it started.

Paul Knutson had not only to explore new lands, but also to learn about the fate of missing settlers from Westerburg - colonies, which the Normans founded on the coast of Greenland. In the XIII century the settlement was achieved the greatest dawn: in it there were about 270 yards. But because of the constant clashes with the approaching from the North by the Eskimos and the ensuing sharp cooling in the middle of the XIV century colonists left Westerburg, having gone farther West. It is possible that, having learned of this, the expedition Paul Knutson went in search of Greenland in Vinland, that is, to the North-East coast of America.

First, Holland in their study suggested that the inscription on Kensington stone could make those most immigrants from Greenland, which sought Knutson. But in runic inscriptions clearly stated that in the expedition consisted of eight Swedes, or as they are in antiquity was called - ready, while the Greenland colony was created exclusively by the Norwegians. But in the expedition Settlement Norwegians and Swedes, most likely, acting jointly, as were recruited from among the personal guard of the king. Although the Swedes were certainly less than the other participants of the voyage, they, unlike the Norwegians were literate, and, therefore, could create a runic inscription.

Apparently, Kensington stone really tells about the expedition Paul Knutson. According to the inscription, ten people were killed in battle, video, during the attack of Indians, and the rest lived for some time on the new earth, exploring it, and making forays small detachments to the mainland. Perhaps one of these units for some reason, had not returned, and the rest waited for him until he lost the last hope. This explains their long, almost nine-year absence. It should be noted that Northern peoples of Europe in customs was to report on the fate befell their using runic inscriptions. As evidenced by Kensington stone.

As for the missing squad Settlement, it remains to speculate. It seems that the Scandinavians came right up to the headwaters of the Mississippi river, where he joined a local tribe of mandanov. The Indians of this tribe has attracted attention of ethnographers even two centuries ago. And all because they were different from all other Indian tribes appearance, customs and religious beliefs. Thus, every fifth Indian has white skin and light blue eyes. Less frequently among them met at all blond people. Unlike other Indians of the Great plains, led mainly nomadic or semi-nomadic way of life, mandani in XIX century there lived in permanent settlements, reminiscent of the ancient structure of the Nordic peoples. Yes, and some of the rituals of mandanov resembled Christian religious holidays.

Another mystery runic message applies evidence that created it Normans, allegedly were encamped on the island. The rock was discovered on land under a tree. But this discrepancy could explain. Performed by geologists paleogeographic reconstruction showed that the water level of one of the nearby lakes in the XIV century was about three meters higher than today. Dropped it later that in 1875, a local farmer took flowing into the lake a rivulet its built near the mill. So, may be, indeed, before a stone was on the island, which could settle the Scandinavians. After all, surrounded on all sides by water land was a natural fortification and was less susceptible to sudden Indian attacks.

On the one hand, painstaking study of Holanda the history of Norway, to give an explanation of runic inscriptions, it seems proves the validity of this finding. On the other - the mere existence of so many detailed inscriptions are not typical for the ancient people. We can only hope that the squad Settlement was a happy exception. However, Kensington stone after all the checks on the authenticity of 11 March 1948 was solemnly transferred to the national Museum in Washington.

But the story is not over. In December 1998 a unique artifact was subjected to a detailed analysis using modern technologies. In particular, used the photographs in the reflected light, the study of the surface of matter and filigreeof the electronic microscope. And again geologists came to the conclusion that the stone before him removed from the ground, laid it at least half a century.

Geologists drew attention to another item is the degree of weathering of the inscription and concluded that her age is approaching 500-600, the inscription is still possible to forge, but the degree of vyverennoi marks on the stone - never. Far-reaching process of weathering confirms that runes were painted on the stone a few centuries ago. Besides these ancient Scandinavian letters so complex and decrypted so hard that "forger” should be perhaps the world luminary in hronologii. But how could he get in Minnesota few centuries ago?

After carried out of complex research of the conclusion arose only one: the inscription carved ancient Scandinavians. And even Arabic numerals in the label, though remade runic characters eventually find their explanation. It turns out, Scandinavians, they have enjoyed since the beginning of XIV. Yes and circulation "Ave M Aria” historically justified, as many Scandinavian nobles of the time under the influence came from the southern regions of Europe missionaries was a devout Catholic. Kensington stone at the moment is the only drevnerusskom monuments found on the American continent. But the contribution of this finding in the history of the development of the continent is very high.