Heavener Runestone: Difference between revisions
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#REDIRECT [[Oklahoma runestones]] |
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{{merge|Poteau Runestone|date=April 2013}} |
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{{Infobox runestone |
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| picture = [[File:Heavener-runestenen.jpg|300px]] |
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| caption = Heavener runestone with the runes copied above. |
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| name = Heavener Runestone |
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| rundataid = |
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| country = {{USA}} |
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| region = [[Poteau Mountain]] |
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| city = [[Heavener, Oklahoma]] |
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| produced = |
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| artist = |
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| style = |
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| text_native = Elder Futhark |
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| text_english = |
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}} |
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The '''Heavener Runestone''' is an inscribed stone located in [[Heavener, Oklahoma]]. The land on which it sits is no longer a state park as of 2011 due to budgetary constraints. Heavener Runestone which was formerly known as [[Heavener Runestone State Park]] is on Poteau Mountain, just outside the town limits. The origin of the stone's [[runic alphabet|runic]] carvings is disputed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/americanstones.html |title=North American Rune Stones |publisher=Sunnyway.com |date= |accessdate=2013-03-27}}</ref> |
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==Inscription== |
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The inscription has been rejected by [[Scandinavia]]n [[philology|philologists]] and [[runology|runologists]], who consider it most likely modern (19th or early 20th century). The reading of the "[[Elder Futhark]]" style runes is probably "'''GNOMEDAL'''" (meaning "Gnome Valley", or perhaps a personal name "G. Nomedal"). |
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The difficulty of using the Heavener Runestone to demonstrate [[Viking]] exploration of the area is that the [[Elder Futhark]] had become obsolete by the 8th century, long before the Viking expeditions to [[Greenland]] and [[Vinland]]. Also, only six of the eight characters are correct [[Elder Futhark]] runes. A transliteration would read "'''G [rough backwards N] O M E D A [backwards L]'''". |
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==Archaeological research== |
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Archaeologist [[Ken Feder]] notes that unlike the situation in eastern Canada where evidence has been found that proves a Norse presence, nothing similar has been found anywhere near Heavener or even in the American Midwest. He suggests that "it is unlikely that the Norse would get significantly more fastidious about leaving any evidence behind of their presence in Oklahoma."<ref>[[Kenneth L. Feder]], ''Encyclopedia of Dubious Archaeology: From Atlantis To The Walam Olum'', page 137 (Greenwood, 2010). ISBN 978-0-313-37919-2</ref> |
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Archaeologist Lyle Tompsen in a 2007 Masters Thesis for the University of Leicester (later published in ESOP 29 2011:5-43) examined the rune stone and noted: |
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# There is no cultural evidence of Vikings in or near the region. |
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# No Old Norse approach to translation fits this stone. |
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# The stones most likely translation is 'Gnome Dal' (Valley of the Gnomes). |
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# Scandinavian presence in the nearby town of Heavener is early and the likeliest source of the carving of the stone. |
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# Other purported rune stones in the region are modern creations, or misinterpreted Native American rock art. |
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"Barring any new evidence, the stone is best considered a modern creation."<ref>{{cite web|last=Tompsen |first=Lyle |url=http://www.academia.edu/2332282/An_Archaeologist_Looks_at_the_Oklahoma_Runestones_ESOP_29_2011_5-43 |title=An Archaeologist Looks at the Oklahoma Runestones ESOP 29, 2011: 5-43 | Lyle Tompsen |publisher=Academia.edu |date= |accessdate=2013-03-27}}</ref> |
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==Cultural significance== |
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* In 1991, [[Carl Albert State College]] in nearby Poteau changed its mascot to a [[Viking]] in the stone's honor. |
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* [[Don Coldsmith|Don Coldsmith's]] 1995 novel ''Runestone'', offers a speculative theory about how an 11th-century [[Viking]] could have made his way to the area of Heavener. |
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== See also == |
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* [[Poteau Runestone]], which bears the same inscription |
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* [[Shawnee Runestone]] |
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* [[Turkey Mountain inscriptions]] |
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* [[Kensington Runestone]] |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/americanstones.html North American Rune Stones] |
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*[http://privatei.com/~bartjean/chap9.htm The Oklahoma Runestones] |
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*[http://www.heavener.k12.ok.us/community/runestone/rune.htm The Heavener Runestone] |
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*[http://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.3398 Heavener Runestone State Park] |
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*[http://www.academia.edu/2332282/An_Archaeologist_Looks_at_the_Oklahoma_Runestones_ESOP_29_2011_5-43 Epigraphic Society Occasional Papers (ESOP) 29:2011] |
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{{Coord|34|53|55|N|94|34|45|W|format=dms|display=title|type:landmark_region:US-OK}} |
{{Coord|34|53|55|N|94|34|45|W|format=dms|display=title|type:landmark_region:US-OK}} |
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[[Category:Geography of Le Flore County, Oklahoma]] |
[[Category:Geography of Le Flore County, Oklahoma]] |
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[[Category:Out-of-place artifacts]] |
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[[Category:Pseudoarchaeology]] |
[[Category:Pseudoarchaeology]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Le Flore County, Oklahoma]] |
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[[Category:American runestones]] |
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