Study › Runes & Norse › The Runestone in Minnesota
The Kensington Runestone was dug up on a Minnesota farm in 1898. Its runes tell of Norse explorers in 1362. Most scholars judge it a hoax of the 19th century.
What is the Kensington Runestone?
In 1898 Olof Ohman, a Swedish immigrant farmer, turned up a slab of stone on his land near Kensington, Minnesota. Its runes tell of 8 Swedes and 22 Norwegians exploring west from Vinland. Most scholars judge the Kensington Runestone a hoax of the 19th century, but it has never stopped being argued over, and it is still on show in Alexandria, Minnesota.
Real runestones of the Viking Age include the Jelling Stones; their script is the Younger Futhark.
Questions
Is the Kensington Runestone real?
The stone is real; most scholars think its runes were carved in the 19th century, not in 1362.
Where is the Kensington Runestone?
In a museum in Alexandria, Minnesota.