Narragansett Rune Stone: Viking, Knights, Or … ?

The Narragansett Rune Stone jumped into prominence after it went missing in July 2012. The stone, which was visible in the water off Pojac Point in nearby North Kingstown in very low tide, had markings that some around the world – thanks to the Internet – had said pointed to Vikings or Christian knights (think Da Vinci Code). The mystery of its disappearance was all the more fantastic since it was a large rock, weighing tons.

The Rhode Island Attorney General announced it April it had recovered the stone and it was taken to URI to be examined by archeologists there. The Providence Journal Sunday brought an update, and backdate, of sorts, to the story, including competing ideas to have the stone moved to Newport and Scalabrini Villa.

As for who took the stone from the water, that remains a mystery. Richard Dujardin of the Providence Journal writes the stone was noticed missing by a kayaker who said he’d seen it in early June but not three weeks later. No small matter, considering it was 7 feet long, 5 feet high and 2 feet high, according to the Attorney General.

The AG and the Department of Environmental Management investigated the rock’s disappearance. An unidentified source told them where to find the stone. It was recovered and brought to URI to be studied. No charges were filed.

The rock, which may have been sitting in the same place for centuries only came of wide interest in recent years, according to the story in the Providence Journal.

The Narragansett Rune Stone – also known as the Quidnessett Rock – was first reported to the Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission (HPHC) in the 1980s, according to the AG's press release. The New England Antiquities Research Association published several articles in the mid 1980s/early 1990s about the rock. According to the HPHC, there are a number of marked or inscribed rocks along the shores of the Narragansett Bay Region, the most famous being Dighton Rock, which have been the object of study and speculation since Colonial times.

Dujardin wrote about Scott Wolter, a forensic geologist from Minnesota who has produced documentaries for the History Channel and written two books about rune stones. Wolter believes the Narragansett Rune Stone is a real artifact made by visitors from Europe before Christopher Columbus “discovered” America.

In Wolter’s second book, “The Hooked X,” according to the Providence Journal, Wolter has gone further, suggesting that the presence of a mysterious “hooked X” character on the Kensington Stone in Minnesota as well as on the stone tower in Touro Park in Newport and the Narragansett Rune Stone off North Kingstown connects them all to the Military Order of the Knights Templar, a secretive medieval group that he says was suppressed by the Catholic Church because of its members’ unusual beliefs about the Holy Grail.

In spring 2012, two local men, brothers, had hoped to move the stone to Scalabrini Villa, where it could be safe and put on display. Their application to the Coastal Resources Management Council was filed before the stone disappeared, the Providence Journal reported.

Scott Wolter wants the stone in Newport, at the sight of the Newport Tower, with its own mysterious origins. What it truly means and where it ends up remain unknown.

To read more about the Narragansett Rune Stone, by Valdimar Samuelsson, click here.