Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Archaeology in Europe

Archaeology in Europe

Icelandic rocks could have steered Vikings

Posted: 02 Nov 2011 02:30 AM PDT


Vikings used rocks from Iceland to navigate the high seas, suggests a new study. 

In Norse legends, sunstones are said to have guided seafarers to North America.

Now an international team of scientists report in the journal the Proceedings of the Royal Society A that the Icelandic spars behave like mythical sunstones and polarise light.

By holding the stones aloft, voyaging Vikings could have used them to find the sun in the sky.

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