The Vinland Map: Real or hoax?
Narrated by Simon Welfare
(2004)
Is the Vinland Map a unique historical document, worth millions of dollars, or is it a fake?
Its possible importance and value reside in the depiction of a curious island named ‘Vinland’ on the western edge of the map, for this lies where North America appears on modern charts. Text nearby makes an astonishing claim: that two Viking sailors found their way to Vinland almost 500 years before Christopher Columbus, the explorer that history books credit with the discovery of the New World.
Some experts believe that the map was drawn in around 1440, and that the information it contains was passed down from Viking adventurers who had made landfall in Vinland. Others claim that the map is a hoax, forged in modern times.
Whether the Vikings and Christopher Columbus used a chart to find North America or not, the rest of us after nearly 40 years of dispute certainly need a guide to help us evaluate the arguments for and against the authenticity of the Vinland Map and here it is.
The map is owned by Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut in the US and is kept in the Beinecke Library there. Pictures of it are posted on the website hosted by Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York a scientist from there helped to carry out the carbon-dating of the map.
Could the Vinland Map have been based on information gathered by Viking seafarers? The following documentary, produced in 2004, examines the issue:
See also Vinland Map is authentic, expert confirms
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