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When was the inscription carved?

Asked 26 Oct 2026 by ·3 answers·0·0 following
Answered: The inscription was carved in Minnesota between about 1885 and 1898.Passed its tests and review.

Where it stands

Three answers have been proposed. The inscription was carved in Minnesota between about 1885 and 1898. leads, with evidence 3 for: supported by its tests. Two are still possible. Of the two narrower questions under it, none is answered yet.

Why it matters

A date of 1362 would make it the oldest European document in North America; a date in the 1880s or 1890s makes it a modern creation. Linguistic, runological and weathering evidence point different ways in the public debate⁠[1]⁠[2].

Answers 3

Evidence: 3 for
Most likely
None of these.
Failed a test; not refuted outright
Evidence: none yet
Disputed
Evidence: 2 for, 2 against
Disputed

History

  1. Flom puts forward: the inscription was carved in Minnesota between about 1885 and 1898.
  2. Flom: linguists from 1910 onward found the language modern.Against: The inscription was carved in 1362 by members of a Norse expedition, as it says.
  3. Minnesota Historical Society. Museum Committee: the 1910 committee itself said five abbreviated verb forms would mark it a forgery unless explained for 1362.For: The inscription was carved in Minnesota between about 1885 and 1898.
  4. Holand puts forward: the inscription was carved in 1362 by members of a Norse expedition, as it says.
  5. Artec 3D: runes cut in calcite are about 25 per cent shallower than those in greywacke, which a presenter read as about…For: The inscription was carved in Minnesota between about 1885 and 1898.
  6. Colavito: the stone's runes and pentadic numerals match an alphabet printed in Sweden in 1876.Against: The inscription was carved in 1362 by members of a Norse expedition, as it says.
  7. Colavito: the Kensington runes belong to a younger variant of an 1876 rune row than the one still used in 1885.For: The inscription was carved in Minnesota between about 1885 and 1898.
  8. Kehoe: kehoe cites microscope evidence of weathered incision edges and a fourteenth-century Bohuslän dialect.For: The inscription was carved in 1362 by members of a Norse expedition, as it says.
  9. Asked on this site
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