Kensington Rune Stone Subject of History Speaks Lecture

The Kensington Rune Stone (KRS) will be the basis of the Ephraim Historical Foundation’s History Speaks lecture on Tuesday, July 28 at 7 pm. The presentation will be given by Dr. Richard Nielsen, a leading expert on the stone.

Ephraim resident Hjalmar Holand spent much of his life investigating a controversial stone found in 1898 by a farmer in northwestern Minnesota. The large stone was engraved with what appeared to be Norse runes with a date of 1362. In the absence of written records documenting a Norse expedition into Minnesota, most historians have dismissed the KRS as a forgery.

Dr. Richard Nielsen read Holand’s book Westward from Vinland in 5th grade, and from that point on seemed destined to continue Holand’s work on the KRS. Living in Scandinavia provided Nielsen an opportunity to become knowledgeable about runes, and he has since become the leading expert on the study of the KRS.

Dr. Nielsen’s presentation to the Ephraim Historical Society’s “History Speaks” will review the challenges that Holand faced. Using new 3D imaging equipment, and access to old Swedish letters found at Uppsala University in Sweden, Dr. Nielsen will show that all aspects of the KRS are found to be in full accord with a Norse dialect of 1362.

For more information, call 920.854.9688 or visit http://www.ephraim.org.