The secret of ancient Viking navigation was transparent crystals

Before the invention of modern navigational equipment, ancient sailors crossed the seas largely through their knowledge of the positions of the Sun and stars. So how did Vikings cross from Europe to America in the often foggy, cloudy northern Atlantic?

There's no real way that Vikings could have crossed such tremendous distances - they were probably second only to the Polynesians as far as ancient navigators go - without being able to consistently rely on knowing where the Sun and stars were. Viking legends speak of a "sunstone" that allowed their sailors to figure out celestial positions even in deep fog. However, archaeologists have long struggled to find proof of any such device...until now.

Researchers at the University of Rennes in France have put together all the experimental and theoretical evidence they could muster, and they're pretty sure they know exactly what this sunstone was. It was, in fact, a transparent calcite crystal known as Iceland spar. It's found all over its namesake country, and Vikings could have used it to depolarize light, which means the crystal is able to split light along different axes.

The secret of ancient Viking navigation was transparent crystalsHow is that useful for navigation? Well, Viking sailors simply had to place a dot on the top of the crystal and then look up at it from below. The incoming light would hit the dot and seemingly duplicate it. That optical effect, amazingly enough, was all ancient navigators needed to locate the Sun, even when it was completely hidden from view.

Lead researcher Guy Ropars explains:

"Then you rotate the crystal until the two points have exactly the same intensity or darkness. At that angle, the upward-facing surface indicates the direction of the Sun. A precision of a few degrees can be reached even under dark twilight conditions...Vikings would have been able to determine with precision the direction of the hidden Sun."

Source



Thats a truly ingenious invention and like all the best inventions its totally simple. Maybe they were not such barbarians after all

WOW!! Our ancestors were so much smarter than we give them for. Good find. I love this kind of information. Every-time we think we have it all figured out, something new and wonderful comes to light!

reply to post by PhoenixOD


Also why they took ravens with them on voyages - let them out to see what they do. If they fly off, follow them as land is that way and if they return to ship you know you are miles from any land.

Harmony with the natural surroundings - seems to be something we have lost

reply to post by PhoenixOD


Also, did the Phoenecians not use something similar (can't remember if it was a similar type crystal or something more, well, mechanical) to navigate and that was a thousand years and more before the vikings?

reply to post by Flavian


Agreed. Oh man how lost we have become that if we lost access to google we wouldn't be able to function

reply to post by Flavian


Viking ships and Phonecian ships bear more than a passsing resemblance to one another. To be honest, I would have thought that both civilisations would have used something more sophisticated than crystals, but I am intrigued to hear about Phoenicians using them too. I've long suspected that Vikings gained their boatbuilding from Phoenicians travelling northwards up the river systems of continental Europe.

Think there's another thread on this already... but S+F anyhoo...

What makes this so interesting is it shows several references to such stones in Viking tales were based on truth and not fanciful inventions of myth-making.

Such stones still wouldn't allow for extended open-ocean voyages as you would still need to determine the sun at it's zenith and be able to determine time as well as have a knowledge of latitudes and longitudes, which Vikings never developed. They largely hugged coastlines.

Now, if Vikings tales were right about these sunstones, what else did they speak of that we may find were based on reality and not presumed myth-making? Certain voyages to a new land and encounters with a native peoples (Micmacs and Beothuks)? I'm think the Graenlendinga Saga and Eirik's Saga may be a little more factual than fanciful.

I'm just happy to see a picture of Vikings without horns on their helmets. Horns on Viking helmets are a common misconception.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


There is already evidence (for example at L'Anse Aux Meadows) that the Vikings made it North America so we definitely know that Eiriks Saga is correct

i always thought the vi[6] kings were the one half of the 12 tribes of dan that went to sea and helped to fook up the world....?

just saying is all...