A couple of weeks ago a friend called with a tip about a book he thought we should read. Terry Tilton, a Past Grand Master of Freemasons in Minnesota, Past President of the Philalethes Society, the academic branch of Freemasonry, a Biblical scholar, and a Methodist Minister, said he thought work in the book by Rabbi Mark Sameth, might have ramifications for my own research. I quickly found the book on-line, was immediately intrigued and ordered it. Roughly a week ago the 150-page book arrived and I devoured it in a few days. Brother Tilton was right, the findings of Rabbi Sameth indeed have ramifications for the Hooked X symbol, my "Templar's in America" research, and my wife's Goddess research that we are still trying to make sense of. There is sure to be a lot more to come as I consult with other researchers and those better versed in Hebrew mysticism and it's history. That said, here is what we know for sure...
Thursday, December 29, 2022
Startling New Discovery by Hebrew Scholar Confirms the Hooked X is a Symbol for Deity/God
Thursday, December 22, 2022
New Evidence in Sweden Further Validates Kensington Rune Stone Inscription is Medieval
It was recently brought to my attention there was news posted on a hate blogger site of a recent discovery in Sweden of documents that contained some of the unique runes found on the Kensington Rune Stone including the Hooked X! The article written by Magnus Källström reports on the discovery of a 16-page pamphlet and a commemorative wedding plaque that date back to 1864 and 1868 respectively. Both documents were composed by a writing teacher named Eric Ström and contains runes the author of the article calls "Kensington runes." Indeed, both documents do contain some of the unique medieval runic alphabet, or "Futhark", but no where near the entire alphabet. See article here: k-blogg.se/2022/12/11/kensingtonrunorna-kom-fran-timra/
As is typical with Scandinavian scholars I have interacted with over the past 22 years, when it comes to the Kensington Rune Stone (KRS), Källström reveals his negative bias in the second sentence of the article, "Even if I believe that the (Kensington) inscription was not added in 1362 but in the 19th century,..." Instead of being open-minded and objective, this author's analysis is doomed from the start. He also names other Swedish scholars I have dealt with who are borderline fanatical in their attempts to discredit the Kensington inscription, but even their theories are struck down by Källström. Let's start by taking a look at the KRS runes and the alphabets presented in the article. The commemorative wedding plaque is first:
A closer look at the runic message shows the alphabet used is NOT the same as the Kensington inscription as the author claims. In fact, only 10 of the 17 symbols used are in the Kensington inscription. The notable symbol that is found here and on the Kensington stone is the Hooked X. Below the runic message is another message crafted using a Masonic box code suggesting the author, Eric Ström, was likely a Freemason. The author translated this message to this: "Given by the author as a memory, and a reward for a benevolent treatment. By Eric Ström."
The runic message on the plaque contains 10 KRS runes of the 17 total used. The most interesting is the Hooked X symbol being used for "a". As interesting as this is, it does not prove anything in regard to the Kensington inscription only that SOME of the medieval KRS runes survived, most likely within secret Masonic and Knights Templar orders, from the 1300s to the 1800s. More on that to come.
It turns out Eric Ström was the author of another 16-page document about the art of writing that contained examples of different writing styles and text types published in 1864. Toward the end of the document was a runic alphabet that is eerily reminiscent of another document mentioned in the article that came forward in 2003 when the Kensington Rune Stone was on display at the History Museum in Stockholm. I was in Sweden at that time and remember all too well when the Larsson Papers came forward and the misguided conclusions the Scandinavian scholars were quick to go public with. But first let's first take a look at the Larsson Papers.
The first sheet contains two runic alphabets. Interestingly, the Swedish text written above the second alphabet that begins with a Hooked X says it was written in the "Secret style." This begs several questions about the origin of the alphabet with must be connected to Freemasonry and the Knights Templar before that. We have a direct connection to both organizations in the newly discovered alphabet coming below. The first alphabet is considered to be a Viking era Futhark, the second is considered to be a later Futhark, possibly medieval. The second alphabet begins with a Hooked X symbol used for the letter "a" but has only 9 of 27 symbols found in the Kensington inscription. Curiously, the page also contains a Masonic box code and a table of Pentadic numbers just like the numbers found on the Kensington Rune Stone and is dated using that numbering system to 1883.
Monday, January 24, 2022
Testing the Root Leaching Scars on the Kensington Rune Stone
In the summer of 2018, I finally got the chance to test the white root leaching "scars" on the back side of the Kensington Rune Stone. Because of conflicting personalities, and likely fear of the results, the board of directors at the Runestone Museum would not allow me access to the core sample for this testing I had taken from the back side of the stone as part of my initial investigation in 2000 . I had tried for nearly a decade to get the core to test the root leaching scars to prove my hypothesis that contact of the roots from the Aspen tree that reportedly were tightly gripping the artifact when Olof Ohman and his two sons felled the tree back in 1898.
The refreshing change in attitude in the board members of the Museum and the open-minded new Museum Director were the main reasons I was finally able to test the stone. The other reason was having the support of Hollywood actor, Peter Stormare and Elroy Balgaard, who were filming a television series called, Secrets of the Viking Stone. I appeared in multiple episodes of the two-season, twelve episode series as the scientific "go to guy " expert and suggested testing the root leaching as part of the show. I explained that if my hypothesis was right and we were able to prove the white scars were caused by roots from the tree Olof cut down, which numerous first-hand witnesses said ranged in age from 25-30 years, then it would prove he could not have been involved in creating the artifact since he first came to America 19 years earlier.
Peter and Elroy loved the idea and we performed the testing at the Materials Evaluation and Engineering laboratory in Plymouth, Minnesota. The testing went smoothly and the results were conclusive. I wrote this report about the testing a few days after we performed the work and Peter asked me if I would wait to publish it until the episode aired several months later. Frankly, I forgot about the report until the other day when a friend reminded me about it and I decided to publish it here first. Enjoy the report and I look forward to hearing your thoughts and questions.
Kensington Rune Stone
Root Leaching Core Sample Testing
By Scott F. Wolter P.G.
August 2, 2018
Introduction
The
Kensington Rune Stone is an artifact that was discovered in September of 1898
by a Swedish immigrant farmer named Olof Ohman on his property while clearing
trees with his two oldest sons, Olof Jr., who was 12 years old at the time, and
Edward, who was 10. After cutting off
the roots around the base of a 25-30-year-old Aspen tree, according to six eyewitnesses,
they used a winch to bring the tree down.[1] Still entangled within the root under the
trunk was a 202-pound stone they discovered had a long inscription carved in
Scandinavian runes. Controversial from
the start, the inscription has long been considered a hoax with many accusing Olof
Ohman of creating it. Some alleging he
carved the inscription and placed it under the tree as part of a clever hoax.
Geological,
runological and historical research has generated voluminous data consistent
with the artifact being an authentic Fourteenth Century artifact has
dramatically undermined the hoax theories.
The current testing was performed on the top portion of the core sample
taken from the back side of the artifact and addresses the surmised root
leaching believed to have produced the two white-colored, undulating and
branching lineations present on the stone.
Scholars have said the lineations were produced by active roots that
pulled elements from minerals in the rock as food for the then young tree. The process reportedly involves an acid
produced by the roots, and fungus in the soil that leaches and depletes the
dark colored “pigment” elements, believed to be iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mg),
thereby producing the white lineations where the roots were in contact with the
stone.
Methodology
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was performed at Materials Engineering and Evaluation Inc. to document the overall quantity of various elements on the surface of the core sample. Four (4) locations were selected in the non-root leached (dark) areas and four (4) locations were selected in the root leached (white) areas. The bulk elemental data at all eight (8) locations was collected and interpreted upon completion of the examination.
Background
Information
In 2000, the
Kensington Rune Stone was brought to the laboratory of America Petrographic
Services, Inc., where as part of the geological investigation a 1-1/4-inch
diameter core sample was obtained from the back side of the artifact. The location of the core was chosen to
include a joint fracture, a discontinuous crack and the white root leaching
where it branched into two roots.
Figure 1: Two, white, roughly parallel, undulating and branching lineations trend across the glacially striated surface and down the glacial side of the stone. (Wolter, 2000)
Figure 2: Close-up of the area (circled in yellow) where the 1-1/2” dimeter core sample was obtained. (Wolter, 2000)
Once the
core sample was extracted, the top ½” was cut off and another cut was made
perpendicular to the top of the core creating a cross-sectional view of the
root leaching. In cross-section, the
white root leaching extended a maximum of 1.5 mm into the metagraywacke and
tapered in depth closer to the edges of approximately ½” wide lineation on the
surface.
This confirms the white lineations are not a geological feature of the metagraywacke and were created by a chemical reaction that cause the color change starting at the surface and then propagating to the maximum 1.5 mm depth.
It has long
been believed the white lineations were created by contact with roots of the
tree the artifact was entangled within.
Those roots were described by witnesses at the time as being 3” wide and
flattened from prolonged contact with the stone.[2] Plant physiologists and soil scientists
explained the white lineations were created by the combination of a fungus
present in the soil and acid produced by young roots actively leaching various
elements as nutrients from the soil and rock as food for the tree. As the tree grows, the root system expands
and bark forms and the active part of the root moves on. Based on the white root leaching scars
present on the back side of the stone the bark began to form around the roots
when they were one-half inch wide during the early life of the tree.
The reason the root leaching is believed to be connected to same tree Olof Ohman and his two sons discovered the artifact under, and not a tree at some time in the distant past, is due to the fact the pattern of the root leaching matches the first-hand witness testimony and the three sketches of the roots and the stone made by Olof Ohman, Sam Olson, and Olof Ohman Jr.
Figures 6 & 7: Olof Ohman made this sketch on December 9, 1909, (left) and his neighbor Sam Olson made his drawing in March of 1910 (right). Both drawing show the main root of the tree extending straight down into the ground along the split side of the stone with the inscription side down. The secondary roots are shown extending across the back side of the stone and then down the far side and match the white lineations still present on the back of the Kensington Rune Stone. (Minnesota Historical Society)
To generate scientific data to support the supposition of the white lineations present on the back side of the Kensington Rune Stone elemental analysis using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) on the top surface was performed by Ryan Haase at Materials Evaluation and Engineering, Inc., on July 30, 2018. The analysis was performed on a total of eight (8) locations on the top surface of the core, four in the dark areas and numbered 1, 2, 7 and 8, and four in the white areas 3, 4, 5 and 6. The Runestone Museum in Alexandria, Minnesota, was kind enough to make the core sample available for testing.
Figure 9: This picture is the top
surface of the core sample on the platform placed into the scanning electron
microscope (SEM) for analysis. Elemental
scans were performed in eight locations, four in the dark areas (1, 2, 7 and 8)
and four in the white areas (3, 4, 5 and 6).
Test Results
The results of the scans produced the following elements present at all eight locations: carbon (C), oxygen (O), iron (Fe), sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), chlorine (Cl), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and titanium (Ti). The elements that produce dark color within the minerals that make up the rock, such as biotite, hematite, magnetite and pyrite, are iron and magnesium.[3] The overall scan shows a general trend of consistency in the relative quantities of all eleven elements. However, close examination of the scans shows noticeable anomalies in the quantities of iron and magnesium. According to plant physiologist Dr. Paul Syltie, Ph.D., “The soil releases its stored elements, from exchangeable and non-exchangeable sites on clay (micas) or organic matter, to root hairs or to microorganisms that extract the nutrients and move them to the roots. …the micronutrients zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mn) act in part as enzyme cofactors (to make enzymes work) … Magnesium comprises the core of chlorophyll, the light energy trapping compound.”[4] All four areas tested in the white areas had a lesser amount of iron and magnesium when compared to the four dark areas.
Figure 10: The bulk elemental scan of location 1 shows the elements carbon (C), oxygen (O), iron (Fe), sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), chlorine (Cl), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and titanium (Ti).
Figure 11: A composite of the bulk
elemental scans of locations 1, 2, 3 and 4, show very similar quantities of the
various elements. Closer inspection of
the iron and magnesium peaks show a noticeable trend.
Figure 12: A magnified view of the
bulk elemental scans for iron (Fe) at locations 1, 2, 3 and 4, show a clear
difference of a higher overall iron content in the dark locations verses the
white (root leached) locations.
Figure 13: A magnified view of the
bulk elemental scans for magnesium (Mg) at locations 1, 2, 3 and 4, show a
clear difference of a higher overall magnesium content in the dark locations
verses the light locations.
Conclusions
These results are consistent with the thesis of the depletion of the “pigment” elements iron and magnesium due to chemical leaching of young roots in contact with the stone which produced the white, undulating and branching lineations on the back side of the Kensington Rune Stone. Based on the testimony of multiple first-hand witnesses the average age of the tree was 25 to 30 years old. Since the root leaching occurred during the early life of tree (less than five years), it proves the tree was in contact with stone for the full life of tree. Therefore, since Olof Ohman didn’t immigrate to the United States until 1879, nineteen years prior to the discovery of the artifact in 1898, these test results serve as additional evidence that he could not have been involved in its creation.[5]
References
Syltie, Paul, Ph.D., How Soils Work: A Study into the God-Plane Mutualism of Soils and Crops,
Paul Syltie, Ph.D., 2003.
Wolter, Scott F. and Richard Nielson, The Kensington Rune Stone: Compelling New Evidence, Lake Superior Agate Publishing, Chanhassen, Minnesota, 2006.
[1]
Wolter/Nielsen, Pages 3-4, 2006.
[2] Wolter/Nielsen,
Page 30, 2006.
[4]
Syltie, Paul, Ph.D., Page 11, 2003.
[5] Wolter/Nielsen,
Page 390, 2006.
Here are a couple of photographs of documents that give a little more context to this research.