Kensington Rune Stone Inscription Finally Solved!

After sixteen years of intense research and the coming and going of many casual and serious researchers the Kensington Rune Stone inscription is finally solved.  For years I was never motivated to go search for the "ten dead men" or the "two skerries" as many have prompted me to do.  I certainly didn't know they didn't exist, it just never seemed like a productive use of my time.  Now I realize these things were never real.  The realization that most of the inscription is simply allegory and code would never have come to me if I had not become initiated as a Freemason.  In fact, if I had only reached the level of a Master Mason and not pursued the higher degrees of both the Scottish Rite and the York Rite degrees it wouldn't have happened either.

I know this paper is going to stir lively debate and will likely be confusing to those who are not Freemasons.  However, I will do my best to try to clarify those with questions.  I'm sure some will try to claim the inscription was created by a York Rite Mason in the mid to late 1800's.  This will be an erroneous claim as no one in modern times could fake the many centuries-old weathering of the inscription or the Dotted R, to say nothing about the other previously unknown medieval runic and linguistic features that had not yet been discovered.  For me, this is the final nail in the case that beings everything together and answers all the important questions about the inscription.  Keep in mind this discovery doesn't change or eliminate the previous discoveries I've made with other researchers such as the "Dating Code," "Grail Code" or the meaning of the Hooked X.  In fact, this discovery brings even more clarity to these discoveries and confirms the author of the inscription was a medieval monk who was initiated in the ancient Hebrew and Egyptian mysteries.

This paper was recently submitted to a peer-reviewed Masonic journal and was published in the Rocky Mountain Mason on June 21st.  For those interested in a copy of the published article please contact Ben Williams at the following website: rockymountainmason.com 

What follows is the article I submitted that the reviewers may have changed slightly.  I had not yet seen the final publication, but was assured the final version was very close to this one.  Enjoy!

The Ritual Code on the Kensington Rune Stone

By Scott F. Wolter, P.G.

Abstract

This paper presents the detailed description of a recent discovery by the author he calls the, “Ritual Code on the Kensington Rune Stone.”  The existence of another new code embedded within the inscription was first realized by the author during the lecture portion of the Select Master Degree, the second of three degrees within the “Cryptic Degrees” of York Rite Freemasonry.  Skeptics of the artifact’s authenticity will no doubt claim the inscription was the work of a York Rite Freemason in the late 19^th Century.  However, the geological weathering study and microscopic examination conducted by the author, a forensic geologist, independently replicated the geological findings of Professor Newton H. Winchell, who in 1909 declared the inscription genuine and not a late 19^th Century hoax.   The inscription was found by both geologists to be many centuries old.  Subsequent historical, epigraphic and linguistic evidence published by the author reasonably dates the inscription to the 14^th Century.  The author will demonstrate how the “Kensington Rune Stone Ritual Code” reveals that the author of the inscription was initiated in the Egyptian Mysteries of Isis and Osiris.  The author will also argue the artifact was the creation of a medieval monk, most likely Cistercian, who was formally educated in Scandinavia.  The discovery of the code provides a new framework for understanding the symbolic, allegorical, and practical aspects of the inscription.

Background Information

The Kensington Rune Stone was discovered by a Swedish immigrant farmer named Olof Ohman, who was clearing trees in preparation for farming on his property in what is now near Kensington, Minnesota, in the fall of 1898.  As the tree fell, it pulled a 202-pound stone out of the ground that was tightly wrapped in its roots.  The flat tabular-shaped stone contained a twelve-line inscription carved in Scandinavian runes thought to chronicle a journey to the interior of North America in 1362. 

The authenticity of the artifact has been hotly debated since its discovery.  Scandinavian linguists and runologists have generally concluded the artifact is a hoax citing it was created by a recent Scandinavian immigrant attempting to bolster their heritage.  Factual evidence to support a late 19^th Century origin for the artifact has yet to materialize.

In 1909, Professor Newton H. Winchell, the first State Geologist of Minnesota, performed a geological examination of the artifact and concluded the weathering of the inscription was consistent with 500 years and it was authentic.[1]  Winchell’s conclusion was independently replicated by the author who by comparing the weathering with dated slate tombstones, concluded the weathering of the rune stone inscription was older than 200 years from the time of the discovery.  Further, the author has provided detailed historical, epigraphic, linguistic and runological evidence that shows the inscription is consistent with a late 14th century creation date and the stone likely served as a land claim.[2]

To aid the reader, a current translation of the Kensington inscription with the eight numbers (in bold) believed to be part of a “Ritual Code” is provided for reference:

Face Side

1.            8 Götalanders and 22 Northmen on

2.            (this) acquisition journey/taking up land from

3.            Vinland far to the west.  We

4.            had a camp by 2 shelters one

5.            day’s journey north from this stone.

6.            We were fishing one day.  After

7.            we came home we found 10 men red

8.            from blood and death. AVM

9.            Save from evil.

Split Side

10.          There are 10 men by the inland sea to look

11.          after our ships 14 days journey

12.          from this hill. Year 1362 

The author has written about an event that occurred in 1926 where ten businessmen, at least eight of them being Freemasons, held a large rally near the Ohman Farm in an effort to raise $300,000 to build a 204-foot tall obelisk to house the Kensington Rune Stone.  The reasons why these Brothers felt compelled to complete such a monumental task was never been made clear.  The author will offer some new insights into their possible motives later in the paper.[3]  

Introduction

It appears the first eight numbers chronicled within the Kensington Rune Stone (KRS) inscription are connected to the Masonic legend of Hiram Abiff; the Grand Architect who oversaw the construction of King Solomon’s Temple, and to the Select Master degree of Cryptic Council degree of York Rite Freemasonry.  Prior to my becoming a Freemason, none of the information presented in this paper would have made much sense to me and even if it did, I wouldn’t have fully understood it.  However, since becoming initiated as a Master Mason in the “Blue Lodge” on November 21, 2015, which consists of the first three degrees of Freemasonry, and being initiated as both a Scottish Rite and York Rite Mason, my Masonic education in the ritual degrees is now quite extensive.  To help the reader better understand how these two branches work, I’ll try to explain them.  The first three degrees of Blue Lodge also serve as the first three degrees of both York Rite which has a total of 13 degrees, and as substitute for the Scottish Rite, which has a total of thirty-two degrees.

The basic story told in the first three degrees of the Blue Lodge concerns the building of King Solomon’s Temple overseen by the Master Architect, Hiram Abiff.  At one point in the story while at “refreshment” at midday, Hiram is killed by three of his workers trying to gain secrets from the Master to earn more wages.  The three “ruffians” bury the body that is eventually discovered and reburied with honors.  Later in the story the three murderers are captured and brought to justice.  In the higher degrees of the Scottish and York Rites, stories of legendary events from Old Testament times are presented both theatrically and through lectures.  Essentially, the same biblical stories are told in both branches of Freemasonry, but neither presents the stories in chronological order which creates confusion at times.  

What caught my attention were numbers uttered during a lecture presented after the theatrical part of a degree in the York Rite branch, called the Select Master degree, which is essentially the 9th of 13 degrees.  The story in this degree takes place shortly before the First Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was completed around 1000 B.C.  The main characters in the degree are the “Supreme Council of Grand Masters” comprised of King Solomon, Hiram-King of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff.  Keep in mind it is not clear whether this story is historically accurate, simply allegorical or contains elements of both.  That debate has raged within Masonic academic circles for centuries, but for the purpose of this research it really doesn’t matter. 

8 Arches and 22 Men…

The relevant part of the ritual relays the following story that led to the first two numbers that revealed the code.  The three Grand Masters had been entrusted with the writings of Moses, holy vessels, and sacred treasures which included the Ark of Covenant.  To protect these treasures from being forever lost or taken by enemies if the children of Israel ever deviated from the sacred laws, a Secret Vault was constructed that was divided into “arches or apartments.”  The three Grand Masters constructed the Ninth Arch where the sacred objects were hidden and where secret rituals would take place.  It was during the lecture after the theatrical performance of the degree when the character of Hiram Abiff said the following, “There were employed on the other eight arches, twenty-two men from Gebal, a city of Phoenicia…”[5] 

My ears instantly perked up upon hearing the two familiar numbers, eight and twenty-two.  These were the first two numbers carved on the Kensington Rune Stone inscription “8 Götalanders and 22 Norwegians…”  I didn’t hear much of the rest of the lecture and after the degree was finished I asked my mentor and friend, Bro John Freeburg, if there was a ritual book that contained the text of the lecture.  He said there was and handed me his personal copy.  As I excitedly read the lecture more important numbers connected to the Kensington inscription became apparent, “…together with Ahishar and Adoniram, all of whom were well skilled in the arts and sciences generally, but particularly in sculpture.”[6]

It quickly occurred to me that Ahishar and Adoniram are two individuals.  The next number to appear in the Kensington inscription after eight and twenty-two is the number two! “We had a camp by 2 shelters…”  The ritual book lecture continues, “One of King Solomon’s particular friends, whose name was Zerubbabel, discovered that there was secret work going on…”[7]  This was one more person added into the story and if you haven’t already guessed, the next number in the KRS inscription is one.  “…by 2 shelters, one day’s journey from this stone.”  So, here we have the first four numbers that appear in the Kensington inscription that also appear, in the same sequence as the arches (8) and individuals (22, 2, and 1) as they appear in the York Rite Select Master ritual, and there’s more. 

In the theatrical part of the ritual, one of the two guards, Ahishar, falls asleep at his post which allowed the overly inquisitive Zerubbabel, upon seeing the entrance unguarded, to venture down into the Secret Vault.  Upon discovering Zerubbabel inside the Secret Vault, King Solomon and is angered and orders Ahishar to be executed leaving only Adoniram as the lone surviving guard of the original two.  Could he be the second number one that is the next number in the sequence of numbers on the KRS?  “We were fishing one day…”  While the story at this point doesn’t specifically say it, what Zerubbabel discovers in the Secret Vault are “true copies” of the treasures in the Sanctum Santorum in the Temple above.  The most important of the treasures is the Ark of the Covenant which contains the Ten Commandments.  Could this be what the next number is referring to that appears in sequence in the KRS inscription?  “…when we came home we found 10 men…” 

At this point, the Select Master Degree story turns very violent.  As punishment for falling asleep at his post, Ahishar is killed by the others guards who slice him to death with their swords.  As punishment for entering the Secret vault without permission, King Solomon orders Zerubbabel’s eyes poked out and then paraded in front of the people with a bloody bandage over his empty eye sockets wearing a blood spattered apron.  Could this be yet another coincidence that the severe violence in the ritual takes place at the same point as the violence in the KRS inscription story, “…we found 10 men red from blood and death.” 

At this point, the story ends on the face side of the Kensington Rune Stone inscription and the carver appears to offer two prayers.  The first appears to invoke the Virgin Mary with only three Latin letters in the entire inscription, “AVM.”  The second prayer comprises the entire ninth line on the face side and has always appeared to me to have been added as if to complete some unknown aspect of the inscription, “Save from Evil.”       

Nine plus Three Equals Twelve

There is a short paragraph in the ritual book that describes when the secret work was performed on the nine arches and the Secret Vault, “Their hours of labor were from nine at night until twelve, the time when all prying eyes are closed in sleep.”[8]  The numbers are nine p.m. to midnight or 12 a.m.  This means the laborers worked for a total of three hours.  Suddenly we see the reason the ninth line of text had to be added to the face side of the inscription.  When the three additional lines of text on the split side are added to the nine lines on the face side, we end up with a total number of 12 lines of carved text that coincide exactly with the times of labor, 9 (plus 3 hours) and 12.  Is this still another coincidence?  Not if one considers the importance of signs, codes, symbolism, and allegorical messages so vital in the medieval mind of one who has been initiated into the ancient mysteries.  But the sequence of numbers doesn’t stop with the first nine lines on the face side.  There are two more numbers on the split side that also figure into this Old Testament allegorical story; “There are 10 men by the sea with our ships, 14 days journey from this island/hill.” 

Ten and Fourteen

Any Freemason who has been through the first three degrees of the Blue Lodge knows the story takes place at the time the First Temple of Solomon was being completed.  Just after the three Grand Masters (King Solomon, Hiram-King of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff), had completed the Secret Vault in the ninth arch below the Sanctum Sanctorum, three fellow craft workers from the quarries confront and murder the Master Architect of the temple, Hiram Abiff, for failing to reveal the secrets that would allow them to receive more wages.  The ruffians bury the body, for the second time, to the west of the temple and plant a sprig of acacia to mark the grave.  Acacia is a famously hardy plant known for growing its own roots after being cut.   In Egypt, Acacia became a symbol of resurrection and restored life, and that same symbolism is very prominent in modern Freemasonry. The second “ten” in the Ritual Code on the split side refers either the second Ark containing the Ten Commandments in the Sanctum Sanctorum in the altar of the Temple above the Secret Vault or the ten spheres, called Sefirot, in the Kabbalah Tree of Life. 

As the story continues, King Solomon grew worried about his missing Master architect and sends a party of twelve men, in groups of three, to search for Hiram Abiff.  The recently established acacia plant tips off the men on the search and Hiram’s body is discovered after 14 days.  Keep in mind, Hiram’s murder and subsequent discovery happens after the story of the building of the nine arches below the Temple.  Based on this, and with the chronology of the Hiram Abiff legend in proper place, we can now put the numbers in place that incredibly result in the exact same sequence as they appear on the Kensington Rune Stone inscription, 8, 22, 2, 1, 1, 10, 10 and 14!  It would be easier to pick the right lottery numbers in sequence than for this to be a series of coincidences.  When we add in the numbers 9, 3, and 12 that comprise the number of lines of text that comprise the inscription (9 on the face side plus 3 on the split side equals 12) we have an incredible consistency within the Master Mason and Select Master degrees that goes beyond any possibility of coincidence.

Three Grand Masters/Mothers and Fathers

When considered in context with Masonic symbolism and the story in the Select Master degree, something jumps out when looking more closely at the three strange “o” runes within the KRS inscription.  Freemasonry puts utmost importance on the concept of the “Rule of Three.”  First and foremost, the equilateral triangle is a symbol of Deity and in the Select Master degree the three sides of the equilateral triangle on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant represent the three Grand Masters; King Solomon, Hiram-King of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff.  The Kensington Rune Stone has a total of twenty “o” runes within the inscription; seventeen of them are of an unusual type that still puzzles runic scholars.  The typical medieval “o” rune is a vertical line, called a stave, with two parallel lines angling down and left from the middle of the vertical stave at a 45 degree angle.  Instead, the symbol has two horizontal lines extending to the left from the vertical stave.  These horizontal lines are at 90 degrees and when viewed in a Masonic context, it appears the carver has “squared” the two lines in an apparent symbolic reference to the principle of “Squaring our actions by the square of virtue.” 

This leaves us with the three remaining strange and ornately carved “o” runes that have also confounded runic scholars.  Scandinavian runes are dominantly comprised of straight lines that lend themselves for use in stone because they are relatively easy to carve.  These three symbols require much greater skill to carve being comprised of a vertically aligned oval or ellipse.  To make matters worse inside the curved lines an “n” rune was carved with two dots added above the oval.  Linguists interpret the twin dots as umlauts indicating a specific way of pronouncing the “o” sound.  From a symbolic perspective, the three most ornately carved symbols in the entire inscription, along with the two dots, could also represent the three “Mothers” or “Fathers” on the “Tree of Life” in the Kabbalah.  World-renowned Torah scholar, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, wrote the following, “The three times in which the expression “God made” appears parallel the three Mothers.” [8]  “The three Mother letters, Shin Mem and Alef, represent cause, effect and their synthesis between these two opposites. These three horizontal lines give rise to the three vertical columns in the Tree of life diagram, headed by Keter, Chakhmah, and Binah.  These are represented by “air, water, and fire.”  These three horizontal lines are the three Mothers.  The three columns define the three Fathers, which are the letter Yud Heh Vav.  It was from these letters that space is defined, as the Sefer Yetzirah state earlier (1:13).  Once space is defined, then creation can take place.”[9]    

Confirmation Number Code and the Torah

In 2013, I published something what I interpreted as a confirmation code that involved four of the strange symbols Scandinavian scholars had rarely or never seen before in a runic inscription in my book, Akhenaten to the Founding Fathers: The Mysteries of the Hooked X.  While researching the angles of the hooks on the Hooked X runes in the KRS inscription, I decided to count to see how many there were in the inscription.  I was surprised to find there were twenty-two.  This prompted me to look at the other odd runes and to my surprise three more of the numbers within the inscription were apparently confirmed.  There are seven of the strange “g” runes, ten mysterious “w” runes, and fourteen individual numbers; 8, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 10, 10, 1, 4, 1, 3, 6 and 2.  Keep in mind, the carver was almost certainly a Cistercian monk and the Cistercian order didn’t believe in the concept of zero.  The carver used Pentadic numbers that include a single symbol for the number ten, and not the two numbers of 1 and 0.

These four numbers appear to be confirmed by the number of times a rare or totally unique symbol is used is consistent with the same tradition Qabbalistic scholars maintain is found in the Torah.  Quoting Kaplan, “According to the Kabbalists, these 32 paths are alluded to in the Torah by the 32 times that God’s name Elohim appears in the account of creation in the first chapter of Genesis.  In this account, the expression “God said” appears ten times, and these are the Ten Sayings with which the world was created.  These ten sayings parallel the ten Sefirot.  The other 22 times that God’s name appears in this account then parallel the 22 letters in the (Hebrew) alphabet.  The three times in which the expression “God made” appears parallel the three Mothers.  The seven repetitions of “God saw” parallel the seven Doubles.  The remaining twelve names parallel the twelve Elementals.”[10]

Confirmation of four of the important numbers within the inscription, 8, 10, 14 and 22, using three mysterious symbols, the backwards “g”, the “w” rune and the Hooked X, and fourteen individual Pentadic numbers which have never been seen used before in a medieval inscription, provide additional evidence consistent with a carver who was deeply initiated in Hebrew mysticism whose roots likely date back to the Mysteries taught in ancient Egypt.  

14

So what does all this mean?  It tells us a lot beginning with the fact the 14th Century carver understood the ancient allegorical resurrection story found in every culture around the world throughout time.  The key evidence involves the final number in the Kensington Rune Stone Ritual Code which is prominent in the Isis/Osiris legend of ancient Egypt.  One version of the legend has Osiris being captured by his jealous brother Set who kills him and cuts up his body into 14 pieces.    Osiris’ distraught lover Isis goes searching and finds all but one of the pieces of his body; his penis.  She eventually impregnates herself with a reproduced phallic made of either gold or beeswax, depending on which legend is read, and gives birth to Horus, who grows to adulthood becoming Osiris and the whole story begins again.  This ancient legend is an allegorical representation of the annual cycle of life on earth; birth or new life in the spring, death in the fall, and resurrection of the sun on the Winter Solstice when the Goddess Isis becomes impregnated beginning the cycle anew.

The other resurrection legend that is relevant to our story is the Roman Christian version with Jesus taking on the symbolic role of Hiram Abiff.  In this case, we have what most believe is a real historical figure from the First Century who was mythologized by the early Church fathers to create a “Son of God” using the same allegorical death and resurrection story.  In nearly every Catholic Church around the world the Crucifixion and Resurrection story of Jesus is told in images called the Stations of the Cross.  It isn’t a coincidence the number of Stations of the Cross is 14.  

Kabbalah

A question one must ask is if this Ritual Code is indeed real, what is the significance of the numbers?  All indications are the Cistercians and Knights Templar were well versed in the Hebrew mysticism and if they were they would have certainly have understood and practiced the spiritual concepts associated with the Kabbalah “Tree of Life” or “The Kabbalistic Tree.”  For a general understanding of the connection of what I believe I’ve discovered; I should start with a basic explanation of what the “Tree of Life” is.  I’ll use the words of noted author and Templar historian, Timothy W. Hogan, to give a general description.  “In general, this Tree is composed of 10 spheres called sephiroth, along with 22 paths that connect these spheres; each of which is represented by one of the 22 Hebrew letters, and they rest on three pillars.  Thus there are a total of 32 emanations of Deity, with a possible 33rd hidden emanation.”[11]  

Already, we have an uncanny connection with the Kensington Rune Stone numbers beyond what we’ve already discovered in their sequence in relation to the Masonic/Christian/Isis-Osiris “resurrection” story.  It appears what we now have is, 8 Götalanders (Deity) and 22 Northmen (paths that connect the ten spheres); … 2 shelters (Ahishar and Adoniram), and one day’s journey (Zerubbabel).  If we add these numbers up, in sequence, as they appear on the stone we get, 8 + 22 + 2 = 32 + 1 =33.   Those numbers sequentially, follow the Select Master ritual perfectly, AND that those numbers add up to the same total of 33 as in the Kabbalah, simply cannot be a coincidence. 

A Masonic Brother reminded me about another connection to the numbers 8 and 22 that I had frankly, forgotten about.  At the incredible Santa Maria do Olival Church, in Tomar, Portugal, where we filmed episodes for both America Unearthed and Pirate Treasure of the Knights Templar for History Channel, Christian reminded me that there were twenty-two Grand Masters of the Portuguese Templars buried inside the Church beginning with the first Grand Master, Gualdim Pais, who founded the city upon his return from Jerusalem after fighting in the Second Crusade, in 1161.   One of the major points we made in the episode was how the number eight was symbolically represented throughout the church.  Simply walking down the eight steps at the west entrance one can count eight columns, eight windows, along with the five-pointed star in the small window high above the altar in the east end.  The pentagram is symbolic of the planet Venus and is the symbol it creates when viewed astronomically from earth during its eight-year cycle. 

In esoteric circles, the number eight and its association with the planet Venus have always been symbolic of the Goddess in the heavens.  The Templar’s and their Cistercian brethren venerated the planet Venus, the sun, and all the planets and constellations and that veneration is clearly on display in this church.  While standing inside the church and looking west, the large rose window on display is symbolic of Venus’ consort, the sun.  They are the eternal travelers; Venus leads the sun when it rises first as a morning star in the east.  Conversely, it is the sun that sets first when Venus is an evening star in the west.  Both are symbolically represented in the east and west windows of this church, but with the number eight dominantly represented in the architecture it appears the Templars venerated the sacred feminine of the Goddess Venus above the male sun God.  What’s important to take away from the symbolism of this medieval Portuguese Templar church is it gives us a look into the minds of the Templar’s and what aspects of their faith and beliefs were important to them.  Many researchers, most notably British author, Alan Butler, has written extensively about the Templar’s and Cistercians veneration of the planet Venus and other symbolic representations of the Goddess.  By understanding the religious ideology of the Templar’s and the symbolism associated with it, one can also make sense of the sacred numbers that go along with it and why those numbers appear on the Kensington Rune Stone since it most likely was created by a 14^th Century Cistercian/Templar monk.

Clearly the number eight was important to the Templars/Cistercians as it represented the Deity.  It’s also been well established within Hebrew mysticism, and specifically, that the “Tree of Life” in the Kabbalah is an important aspect of both modern Freemasonry and Templarism.  Therefore, as these numbers consistently appear in association with the medieval Templar/Cistercian ideals and now within the Kensington Rune Stone inscription, this evidence is consistent with a connection between them.  Having twenty-two Grand Masters of the Portuguese Templar’s buried inside this church must have consistent symbolic meaning.  It cannot be yet another coincidence.

As seems to always be the case, when trying to understand the origins of just about anything connected to the Templar’s/Cistercians and Freemasonry, one needs to look at Egyptian history. In Rosemary Clark’s book, The Sacred Tradition in Ancient Egypt: The Esoteric Wisdom Revealed, she writes, “The expressions of ten and twelve, in turn, give rise to the number twenty-two, a figure that plays a prominent role in the cosmological structure of Egypt.  Twenty-two is expressed artistically and architecturally at a number of sacred sites, representing the twenty-two original nomes, or provinces, of Lower Egypt.  The number also corresponds to the number of encephalographic nodes in the human brain, and denotes the twelve signs of the Zodiac and the ten planets as expressed in the Twenty-two images of the Major Arcana of the Tarot.  Hence, the number is the expression of a complete cycle of energetic and material manifestation.” 

Here we have the number twenty-two having significance in not just ancient Egyptian mysticism, but as many scholars believe, these ideals were passed on into Hebrew mysticism where we find the same numbers being symbolically important in the Kabbalah.  Keep in mind that scant documentation exists that can be referred as this esoteric knowledge was passed from master to initiate “mouth to ear”; most notably prior to medieval times.  In spite of this, the numbers that appear on the Kensington Rune Stone imply the carver was deeply versed in symbolism, allegory, codes, and specific sacred numbers that appear to have been passed on as a continuous thread through mystical sects from ancient Egypt to the Hebrews, to the Cistercian’s/Knight Templar, and finally into Modern Freemasonry. 

Brother Timothy Hogan also brings up the concept of the same type of confirmation codes we see in the Kensington Rune Stone inscription using some of the same numbers also being confirmed by various references to God in the Torah and the Bible.  Quoting Hogan, “Qabbalistic scholars have alluded to the fact that the 32 paths of are suggested in the Torah by the 32 times that God’s name “Elohim” appears in the account of creation in the first chapter of Genesis.  In this account, the expression, “God Said” appears 10 times, and these are the ten sayings with which the world was created.  The ten sayings seem to have correlation with the ten sephiroth on the quabbalistic tree diagram, and alluded to by the Sephir Yetzirah, the Sephir Bahir, and the Zohar.”  “The other 22 times that God’s name appears in this account seem(s) to match the 22 letters of the Hebrew aleph-beth (alphabet) and by extension the 22 paths.”   

It appears we have the ancient Kabbalistic tradition of using the same numeric confirmation codes using many of the same numbers known to have been used by the Cistercians/Knights Templar, also being used within the Kensington Rune Stone inscription. 

“…From Vinland far to the West.” 

The realization that imbedded within the Kensington inscription is the most important allegorical story of the ancient mysteries; the resurrection of the sun on the winter solstice, was the key that unlocked the secret messages left by the carver that only one who has been initiated could recognize.  I’ve tried to flesh out the important elements within the inscription; specifically, what parts are merely allegories and symbolism and what parts are real information being relayed by the carver.  I never believed the “10 men red from blood and death” had anything to do with the long-held belief by many they were killed and scalped by Natives during a skirmish.  The inscription doesn’t say anything about natives and indeed I’ve always the believed the Cistercians/Knights Templar shared a similar ideology with N

Native American’s and were strategically aligned.  They didn’t fight their way to the center of the continent; they must have traveled with them. 

First and foremost, the land claim thesis I proposed over a decade ago is still firmly in place.  However, my assumption there were three practical elements to it has now changed.  Originally, I thought the three practical pieces of the Kensington Rune Stone inscription, “…from Vinland far to the west,” “…14 days journey from this island/hill,” and “…one day’s journey from this stone,” were part of what was essentially a land deed pinpointing the location that is now the Ohman Farm in Kensington, Minnesota.  In light of the new discovery it makes more sense the land claim part of the inscription is dealt with in the first three lines of the inscription.  Taking “From Vinland far to the west” at face value, it appears the inscription is claiming land starting in Vinland, which by 1362 would have been known for over 300 years dating from the time of the Viking Saga’s as the northeast coast of North America, far to the west.  Where exactly, ‘far to the west’ was intended to be is only a guess.  However, one could assume it meant at least to the west as far as halfway across the continent where the artifact was found.  If so, and one includes the land associated with the Mississippi-Missouri/Red River-Hudson Bay watersheds as I’ve proposed in the past, then ‘from Vinland far to the west’ would encompass most if not all of the North American continent!           

“…One Day’s Journey from this Stone” and “…14 Days Journey from this Island/Hill.”

The other thing within the inscription that’s changed in light of the Ritual Code discovery is my interpretation of these two lines in the text, “…one day’s Journey from this Stone,” and “…14 Days Journey from this island/hill.”  I long thought they were indicators to where the Kensington Rune Stone discovery site location described similar to language in a land deed.  Upon reflection and consideration of the new evidence in context with the realization of the Royal Arch legend imbedded within the inscription, it is very likely these are directions that tell the initiated how to get to a certain place.  That place can only be the hidden location of the Secret Vault ‘far to the west’ of the Kensington Rune Stone discovery site.  What makes sense to me is these are two lines of the otherwise confusing narrative that should be taken literally.  A “…day’s journey…” may in fact be the number of days west and north from the discovery site to a certain location.  However, I don’t believe the words “days” means 24 hours.  I suspect it’s a coded reference to latitude (“…one day’s journey north…”), and longitude (“…14 days journey…”). 

Masonic scholar and author, William Mann, published the location of the Secret Vault as being in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.[12]  If Bill is right, then “…14 days journey…” can only be west of Rune Stone Hill.  Traveling 14 degrees west and then 1 degree north, or vice versa, will get you to the same end location so it doesn’t matter which comes first within the inscription.  As much as I’d like to think it takes you to the location of the Secret Vault, I don’t believe that is the case.  For one thing, 14 degrees west of Kensington, Minnesota (45.7781° N, 95.6961° W), puts you a degree and a half east of the foothills of the Rockies (Example: Townsend, Montana, 46.3203° N, 111.5178° W).  14 degrees longitude west must put you in the territory of the Native American tribe that upon receiving the proper passwords, handshakes, and signs of recognition, will then lead the worthy party to the Secret Vault. 

This theory about a Secret Vault is highly speculative and will likely be too much for some people.  However, most Freemasons or persons initiated into a Masonic-like order will understand and appreciate the information presented here and see it as highly likely if not a certainty.  The forensic scientist in me is forced to take to notice of the voluminous factual evidence that already existed that led me to conclude the Kensington Rune Stone was a genuine fourteenth century land claim.  As a newly initiated Freemason who has witnessed and participated in the higher degrees of both the Scottish Rite and the York Rite Mysteries, I see the unmistakable allegorical story of the Old Testament Masonic legend of the Royal Arch screaming off the rune stone’s text.  When linked with the same Royal Arch symbolism and the allegorical resurrection story so beautifully on display on the Winter Solstice in the Newport Tower in Rhode Island, it becomes an undeniable fact the two are contemporaneous and must have been created by a group of people who embraced the same ideology and knowledge.[13]  By connecting the two with a long-range alignment that passes from the center of the Newport Tower, through the two symbolic keystones, and then to Kensington, Minnesota, the evidence presents what I believe is a conclusive case.[14]   

Jesus and Mary Magdalene

One would think that if the Kensington Rune Stone was carved by an initiated Cistercian monk traveling with a party that included knights ideologically descended from the disbanded Templar order who understood what many believe to be the historical truth about Jesus and his wife Mary Magdalene that somewhere in the inscription there would be a clue to this knowledge.  Here again, the answer to the question depends on whether the reader has the “eyes to see.”  To the initiated, Jesus was known as the “Fisher King” as he was the first Grand Master of Freemasonry in the Age of Pisces the Fish.  In the Bible, if you were a follower of Jesus, you were a ‘follower of the fish.’ 

“We were fishing one day…” on line six of the inscription never made sense to me.  Of course the Kensington party would go fishing; probably on a daily basis to sustain themselves.  However, when viewed in a Masonic light and to one who knew the “secret”, “fishing” on the Kensington Rune Stone inscription must surely be a reference to the biblical Jesus. 

Not to be excluded, the initiated will also quickly see that his wife is also acknowledged on line eight with the Latin letters “AVM.”  In my Akhenaten book, I made the same point and perhaps as way of emphasis, the carver made a punch on the lower right leg of the “M” apparently as a coded acknowledgement to the sacred feminine goddess they revered. 

While standing firmly behind my long-standing thesis the Kensington Rune Stone is first and foremost a 14^th Century land claim many people have asked in whose name the land claim is made.  I have always argued that since I believe the Kensington party were the ideological and likely bloodline descendants of the Templar’s who were put down by the King of France and the Pope in 1307, the claim would not have been made in the name of any king, monarch, or the Pope.  However, in light of this new Ritual Code evidence, I am forced to admit that I was wrong.  It appears the land claim was indeed made in the name of a king.  In this case, it was their ancestral and ideological Grand Master, the Fisher King.  As if to emphasize the point, there are twenty-two Hooked X’s, as found on the lid of the “Jesus, son of Joseph” ossuary from the Talpiot tomb, emblazoned throughout the inscription.[15] 

Looking back at the ten men from Alexandria, Minnesota, at least eight of whom were known to be Freemasons, one is compelled to wonder what motivated them to want to build such a large, and very expensive monument, to permanently house the Kensington Rune Stone at the discovery site on the Ohman Farm.  They must have seen something within the inscription that told them it was connected to Templarism/ Freemasonry.  In the 1920’s, York Rite Freemasonry was very popular in the rural areas of Minnesota and I suspect it’s possible at least one, or maybe all of the men were York Rite Freemasons who recognized the numbers 8 and 22 as being connected to the Select Master degree.  There is no known record this is true or what it was that specifically motivated them, but I personally believe they likely saw what I saw and knew the Kensington Rune Stone was somehow connected to their medieval ideological brethren.   

Conclusions

Based on the evidence presented in this paper the following conclusions are appropriate:

1.       The Ritual Code on the Kensington Rune Stone completely eliminates the idea a late 19^th Century Swedish immigrant farmer created the inscription to express ethnic pride.

2.       Any and all theories regarding who created the Kensington Rune Stone inscription now must incorporate the “Ritual Code” discovery into the thesis.

3.       The “Ritual Code” discovery is consistent with the idea that many aspects of Masonic ritual are part of a long-standing symbolic and allegorical tradition that goes back through the Kabbalah and the ancient Egyptian Mysteries.

4.       The “Ritual Code” discovery eliminates the need to investigate the allegorical aspects of the inscription that do not represent what many have believed to have been actual historical events such as searching for remains of the “10 men red from blood and death.”

5.       The “Ritual Code” discovery does not change the following previous discoveries made by the author and other researchers and introduces new conclusions about the artifact:

a.       The KRS was created by a group of post-putdown (in 1307) Cistercians/Knights Templar.

b.      The KRS was created in 1362.

c.       The “Dating Code” of a second date of 1362 that was encoded within the inscription using the medieval Easter Table dating tradition as proposed by the author in 2006, is still valid.

d.      The idea the KRS is a 14^th Century land claim as proposed by the author in 2006, is still valid. 

e.      The presence of the word, “Gral” (“Grail”) as singled out in sequence by the carver using punch marks and short lines after the inscription was carved.

f.        The KRS land claim was the beginning of the founding of what would become the United States of America.  The Cistercians/Knights Templar began the effort to establish what they called the “New Jerusalem” which was successfully completed in the late 18^th Century by their ideological direct descents; modern day Freemasonry. 

g.       The new discovery explains why Scandinavian scholars without the knowledge base and understanding of the allegorical and symbolic aspects of the Hebrew mysticism and the Egyptian mysteries have struggled for over a century to understand and appreciate these aspects of the inscription.

h.      This new discovery may shed light on what motivated the ten men in Alexandria to want to build such a substantial monument.  Perhaps they too saw the Kensington as the beginning of the founding of the United States by their ideological medieval brethren.

6.   The new discovery can also be argued provides a direct connection between the Cistercians/Knights Templar to modern Freemasonry.  The exact path between the two is not yet totally clear.    

References

General Grand Council Cryptic Masons: Under the supervision of the Ritual Committee , Adopted September 24, 1900, As revised October 10-11, 1960 in New Orleans, Louisiana, 24^th Edition.

Hogan, W. Timothy, The 32 Secret Paths of Solomon: A New Examination of the Qabbalah in Freemasonry, ISBN: 978-0-557-04610-2, 2009.

Kaplan, Aryeh, Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation, Weiser Books, Boston, MA/York Beach, ME, 1997.

Mann, William F., Templar Sanctuaries in North America: Sacred Bloodlines and Secret Treasures, Destiny Books, Rochester, Vermont, 2016.

Minnesota Historical Society’s Museum Committee, The Kensington Rune Stone, Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Volume XV, St. Paul, Minnesota, Pages 221-286, May, 1915.

Winchell, Professor Newton H., Report on the Kensington Rune Stone, by Professor N. H. Winchell of the Museum Committee, Minnesota Historical Society, April, 1910.

Wolter, Scott F., and Richard Nielsen, The Kensington Rune Stone: Compelling New Evidence, Lake Superior Agate Publishing, Chanhassen, Minnesota, 2006.

Wolter, Scott F., The Hooked X: Key to the History of North America, North Star Press of St. Cloud, St. Cloud, Minnesota, 2009.

Wolter, Scott F., Akhenaten to the Founding Fathers: The Mysteries of the Hooked X, North Star Press of St. Cloud, St. Cloud, Minnesota, 2013.

 

The face side of the Kensington Rune Stone that contains nine lines of text carved in Scandinavian runes. (Wolter, 2013)

 

The split side of the Kensington Rune Stone with three lines of text that includes the date 1362 carved using Pentadic numbers in Arabic placement. (Wolter, 2013)

This graphic shows the thirteen degrees of York Rite Freemasonry. The first three degrees are called the “Blue Lodge”, the next four are called the Royal Arch degrees, the next three are called the Cryptic Council degrees and the final three are the Order of the Knights Templar degrees.  The degree that tipped me off to the Ritual Code numbers on the Kensington Rune Stone was the Select Master degree, the second in the Cryptic Council. (Internet)

 

The typical “o” rune used in medieval Scandinavian runic inscriptions has two parallel lines angling down roughly forty-five and left from the main vertical stave.  On the Kensington Rune Stone seventeen of the twenty “o” runes have the two parallel lines squared at ninety degrees left of the main vertical stave.  The initiated medieval carver likely employed the concept of “squaring our actions by the square of virtue.” (Wolter, 2004, 2002)   

 

Three of the twenty “O” runes are ornately carved vertical ovals with “n” runes inside the oval.  Two dots above the three symbols represent umlauts indicating the “ö” sound.  The Masonic concept of the “Rule of Three” appears to have been employed and could represent the three horizontals and/or three columns in the “Tree of Life” in the Kabbalah. (Wolter, 2002)  

 

This diagram shows the ten Sefirot (spheres) and the 32 paths of the “Tree of Life” in the Kabbalah as defined by the Ari (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria), considered one of the greatest Kabbalists of all time.[11]

The Latin letters “AVM” are carved at the end of line eight of the Kensington Rune Stone and appear to be a coded reference to Mary Magdalene.  The carver added a punch mark to the bottom right leg of the “M” as if to add emphasis to the initiated that these letters were carved to symbolize the “other” Mary.  Three-dimensional microscopic imaging clearly shows the punch hole added to the far right leg of the “M” was deeper than the vertical line it was added to. (Wolter, 2002 and 2013) 

---

 

 

[1] Winchell, 1910

[2] Wolter/Nielsen, 2006, Pages 13-58

[3] Wolter, 2013, Pages 16-20

[4] General Grand Council Cryptic Masons, 1900, Page 64

[5] ibid

[6] General Grand Council Cryptic Masons, 1900, Page 65

[7] General Grand Council Cryptic Masons, 1900, Page 65

[8] Kaplan, Page 7, 1997.

[9] Kaplan, Page 143, 1997

[10] Kaplan Page 7, 1997

[11] Kaplan, Page xxv, 1997.

[12] Hogan, Page 14, 2009.

[13] Mann, 2016

[14] Wolter, Pages 198-210, 2009

[15] Wolter, Pages 221-228, 2009

[16] In May of 2015, I published a paper I wrote about the discovery of a monogram of two symbols, the Hooked X and a Tau Cross, carved into the lid of “Jesus, son of Joseph” in the Talpiot tomb in Jerusalem.  The reader can also read a short synopsis of the discovery of the Talpiot Tomb in Jerusalem, in 1980, in my paper, “Reconsidering a Mark on the Lid of the Talpiot Tomb’s Jesus Ossuary” at the following link: http://scottwolteranswers.blogspot.com/2015/08/hooked-xtau-cross-monogram-on-jesus.html

 

Janet Wolter stands within the original rectangular footprint within the cemetery at Bruton Parish Church in Colonial Williamsburg, On September 29, 2015.  One of the tour guides told us recent excavations did not find evidence of a secret vault below the original church. 

 

 

Kensington Rune Stone: Theories Verses Facts

In the last couple of years there has a surge in the number of people with theories about the Kensington Rune Stone.  Some have been supportive of authenticity and some have not.  Recently, a KRS researcher and local attorney in Minneapolis, David O.N. Johnson, wrote comments on a blog addressing the recent surge in theories and if the "evidence" supporting these ideas would meet the criteria of admissibility in a court of law. 

Quoting Johnson,  "My head is spinning with the multitude of “theories” currently being advanced under the guise of “factual”. I don’t have any problem with advancing one’s theory, but I still expect that something resembling a fact needs to be advanced in order to give any valid theory some credence. After reading the latest pontifications, I fully expected the next “theory” to maintain that space aliens came down to rural Minnesota and zapped a piece of greywacke with its inscriptions. I guess they must have done so to trick all the Scandinavians of the area into believing it was real.

Anyway, I digress. The common theme being presented is that “evidence” exists, so the rest of us rubes should pay attention. Maybe I shouldn’t opine on a legal basis for factual material, but I am going to do so anyway. Most of these theories lack an evidential background. In legal forums evidence must be supported as factually based. What has been asserted with regard to Masons, Freemasons, Swedish Monks, various non-existent stones, documents, and self-serving statements. When questioned on the evidentiary basis, the most common response is silence or the common refrain “look it up on the internet”. The internet is not the original source material, thus in my opinion and as a legal practitioner, such “evidence” would have no value."  

In the interest of full disclosure, Johnson is a supporter of the authenticity of the artifact, but his point about the veracity of the factual evidence required to support ANY theory is 100% correct.  This has been the primary argument behind my own research since I first laid eyes on the stone in July of 2000.  I've pontificated, ad nausea, about the process of scientific method, collection of factual data, interpretations based on those facts, and then drawing conclusions that will stand up to scrutiny in a court of law, under oath.  I'm sure I don't need to remind the regular readers of this blog about my three decades of operating a materials forensic laboratory performing what are essentially, autopsies on problem concrete and rock primarily in the construction industry.  I have testified, under oath, dozens of times to my scientific findings and conclusions related to these cases, and understand what meets the criteria of factual evidence as well as any lawyer trying these cases.

What I thought I'd do is encourage those with an opinion or theory about the Kensington Rune Stone, or any other related artifact or site, to present their ideas and let's see how it stands up.  I also encourage other researchers, be it from the professional or academic world, or from amateur researchers with questions about what constitutes factual evidence that meet acceptable criteria for acceptance in a legal case.  In the end, we all want a consensus on the authenticity of the artifact that the academic process for the past 118 years has been unable to produce.  Nearly everyone has an opinion about its authenticity, but do what they consider to be "facts" or "evidence" really meet the required standard to support their opinion?

One recent example of erroneous theory was offered by a geologist with a PhD.  One would assume such a seemingly educated person would understand how they needed the appropriate facts to support their theory, but it turns out they did not.  In this particular case, the person claimed the white calcite on the face side of the Kensington Rune Stone (and dozen or so runes carved into that area) would have dissolved away by exposure to acidic water if shallowly buried at Rune Stone Hill on the Ohman Farm.  To be fair, my understanding is this person has not been a practicing professional geologist for many years so their "rock" skills don't appear to be that sharp and they clearly do not understand the known geological facts relating to the artifact that pertain to this theory.  The glacial till where the Kensington Rune Stone was found is "limey" or has a higher than neutral pH (<7).  This would quickly neutralize any acidic solution produced by the decomposition of the organic material and not attack the calcite.  In fact, the relatively high pH conditions of the glacial till at Rune Stone Hill actually promotes the accumulation of secondary calcite as found on the bottom back end of the artifact.  How a trained geologist with a PhD could make such a mistake is unclear.  However, the obvious negative bias of this particular individual appears to have clouded their judgment.  Clouded judgment in all academic disciplines due to various forms of personal bias have dogged the Kensington Rune Stone research to this day.

There are many who have accused me of being biased and to a certain degree this is true.  I have been biased by the voluminous factual evidence primarily associated with the rock itself.  I have always trusted what the rock has to say, not the flawed logic and unsupported assertions by individuals driven by one form of personal bias or another.  I challenge readers to offer their specific theories, ideas, evidence, and facts and let's see if they hold up to scientific scrutiny.  They don't have to be related to the stone itself or geology, it can be about who carved the stone, Olof Ohman, or anything else related to the artifact.  Let's have some fun and see how you do!

The relatively coarse-grained, white, triangular-shaped calcite on the face side of the Kensington Rune Stone was deposited by hot hydrothermal solutions moving between fractures in the greywacke millions of years ago when the stone was still part of the bedrock. (Wolter, 2004)

The very fine-grained, white, calcite coatings on the bottom end of the back side of the Kensington Rune Stone were deposited by cool groundwater solutions when the artifact was within glacial till deposits after being deposited by glaciers roughly 10-12,000 years. (Wolter, 2000) 

This granite glacial erratic boulder was deposited at what is now the Ohman Farm near Kensington, Minnesota, by a mile-thick sheet of glacial ice roughly 10-12,000 years ago.  The limy glacial till deposits at the farm allowed relatively thick, white calcite coatings to develop on the surface of this and many other glacial boulders in the area including the Kensington Rune Stone. (Wolter, 2000)  

These three pages are from Newton H Winchell's 76-page report he submitted to the Museum Committee of the Minnesota Historical Society, in April of 1910, entitled, "Report on the Kensington Rune Stone."  On page 21 Winchell discusses his observations about the lack of weathering of the runes carved into the hydrothermal calcite on the face side and the secondary calcite on the bottom back end of the stone.  This led him to conclude the stone had to have been buried immediately after being carved because he also concluded the artifact was genuine.

Newton H. Winchell wrote his emphatic opinion on the authenticity of the Kensington Rune Stone in this letter dated December 15, 1909.

 

 

This broken tombstone in Maine was one of the important monuments sampled and examined for the relative-age dating work I performed on the Kensington Rune Stone.  Recently, a debunker inferred that I fabricated the 1815 death date of the individual marked by this monument.  It clearly states the infant son of Abner and Hannah Lowell died that year.  Since the name of the decedent isn't visible I used the name of his father for this monument sample who died many years later.   

 

This pile of glacial cobbles and boulders were cleared from the fields for farming by Olof Ohman and his sons and sits next to the small pond roughly 100 yards due west of the Discovery site of the Kensington Rune Stone.  I examined these stones for limestone and secondary calcite, with Darwin Ohman and Lloyd Flaaten, on June 15, 2016.

 

Very heavy secondary calcite deposits coat most of the surface on this glacial deposited granite cobble I found in the rock pile on the Ohman Farm.  Roughly one-third of rocks in the pile had various quantities of secondary calcite deposits exactly like the calcite deposits on the back side of the Kensington Rune Stone.   

 

Roughly 10% of the rocks in the pile were limestone and roughly one-third of the non-carbonate rocks had secondary calcite deposits like the granite cobble pictured here.  The presence of intact limestone and extensive, heavy secondary calcite deposits is consistent with high pH conditions in the soil that produced these features present on glacial erratic stones, and the Kensington Rune Stone, at the Ohman Farm.

Structual Condition Assessment Handbook and Forensic Science

It occurred to me recently that many people are confused about what a "Forensic Geologist" is and why I call myself that.  For 25 years prior to being the television host of America Unearthed I ran a materials forensic laboratory as a licensed professional geologist (Minnesota License #30024).  In January of 1990, I founded America Petrographic Services, Inc., after working as a concrete petrographer for five years prior to that, and still operate the company as it's President.  As I've explained many times in my lectures, or when asked what I do for a living, my response is, "I perform autopsies of concrete and rock."  This is a pretty accurate way to describe the work I do which is primarily using laboratory analysis and testing to determine the cause of concrete failures and poor performance.  Because of the vast number (several thousand projects) and variety of concrete and rock problems I have investigated over the past 31 years, it has resulted in my being considered one of the world's experts in material forensic science. 

This experience and notoriety in the construction industry is why American Petrographic Services Inc., was assigned to perform all the forensic analysis work on the fire damaged concrete at the Pentagon after 9-11.  It was truly an honor to be involved that work which will likely define my legacy more else I have done or ever might do.

In the late 1990's I was approached by the lead editor for a book project, Robert Ratay, to write the chapter about concrete for a book published in 2005 titled, Structural Condition Assessment Handbook.  Bob had a lot of people he could have asked to write that chapter and it was an honor and a privilege to be selected.  For those interested in learning more about the process of forensic investigation I encourage you to read the chapter I wrote in this book.  Keep in mind the process of investigation into the Kensington Rune Stone, and other mysterious artifacts and sites, is no different than process of investigating problems with concrete, mortar, rock etc.  You can read more about the book at the following link.

http://www.amazon.com/Structural-Condition-Assessment-Robert-Ratay/dp/0471647195/ref=sr_1_fkmr3_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464020659&sr=1-1-fkmr3&keywords=Structural+Condition+Assessment+Handbook+by+Robert+Ratay  

The Unassuming Crown Jewel of Washington, D.C.

Literally yards from the north side of the Capitol building sits a quiet, unassuming red brick structure called the Summerhouse.  It was built in between 1879-1881 and designed by the famous landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted.

Alan Butler and Janet Wolter stand on either side of the southwest entrance to the summerhouse.  The drinking fountain can be seen in the middle of the structure where mounted police still water their horses while patrolling the Capitol grounds.

Janet Wolter peers into the grotto build into the ground on the east side of the structure where a spring constantly flows from the grotto.  On the winter solstice, the rays of the setting sun enter the cave in an allegorical union between the male Deity in the heavens and Mother Earth. 

The subject of his blog post is about what my wife, Janet, Alan Butler, and I consider to be the hidden crown jewel of Washington D.C.  It's called the Summerhouse and resides on the northwest side of the Capitol grounds.  It was constructed of red ochre brick in 1879 and was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who was the landscape architect who designed the Capitol grounds.  Olmsted was also on the team that designed Central Park in New York City.  This unassuming structure goes virtually unnoticed by the millions of visitors to the city every year, yet it is arguably one of the most important historical structures in the entire city. 

Janet and I had first noticed the structure during a shoot for the documentary film for History Channel, Holy Grail in America, several years ago and knew immediately it was something special.  But it wasn't until we were filming an episode for America Unearthed, with Alan Butler, that we had time to investigate it.  It didn't take long before its complexity and importance became apparent.  While the three of us all put our heads together to unravel it's secrets, it was Janet and Alan who really dug in to flesh out the bulk of the important historical details.  For the those interested in reading more about their discoveries as to what the Summerhouse does, please click on this link to their website: http://www.nationofthegoddess.com/the-summerhouse.html

One of the important discoveries we made together directly connects to research I've presented in one of my previous books, The Hooked X: Key to the Secret History of North America, and will be presented in detail, and in proper historical context, in my upcoming, yet untitled, new book I hope to publish in early 2017.  Many of the subjects I've posted blogs about in the past year will be discussed in the new book and put into proper perspective relative to the incredible story all three of us have published several books on that rewrites not only the history of the founding of the United States, but important aspects of world history.  I encourage the reader to look at Janet and Alan's new book, America: Nation of the Goddess, for other important discoveries they have made in Washington D.C., New York City, and other cities across the U.S.  For copies of any of our autographed books go to: www.hookedx.com 

Kensington Rune Stone Deception Disguised as "Scholarship"

Figure 1. Swedish Professor, Henrik Williams, and I posed for a photograph after a public debate he moderated that Dick Nielsen and I participated in with Swedish scholars about recent discoveries concerning the Kensington Rune Stone.  The debate took place in Hudiksvall, Sweden, in February of 2004. 

Figure 2. This is the first of forty pages of Professor Henrik Williams' written peer review of the runes and language chapter of the book I co-authored with Richard Nielsen titled, The Kensington Rune Stone: Compelling New Evidence.  In 2005, the professor was in complete agreement the Dotted R on the Kensington Rune Stone proved runologically the artifact was of medieval origin.  Williams' entire peer review can be seen here:

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wolter/Henrik+Williams.pdf

 

Figure 3. Page 218 of our Compelling New Evidence book includes oversized runic fonts of the modified characters on the first six lines I documented microscopically in 2002.  These dots or short strokes were added by the carver after carving the original inscription.  Both Dick Nielsen and Henrik Williams reviewed the physical modifications and agreed they existed when the book was published in 2006.

Figure 4. At a book release party for our book, The Kensington Rune Stone: Compelling New Evidence, at the Wolter home in November of 2005, Dick Nielsen (far left) explains our joint discovery of the Dating Code, Grail Code and the Dotted R to friends and family.  Pictures of the characters modified by the medieval carver, that I photographed in 2002, were taped above the windows for Dick to use as visuals as he explained the discoveries.  Specifically, pictures of the three Dotted R's can be seen above my head.

Figure 5. At book signings, Dick Nielsen occasionally dotted the "R" in his first name due to his great pride in the discovery that authenticated the Kensington Rune Stone all by itself.   

Figure 6. This internal document was generated by Runestone Museum board members immediately after Henrik Williams angrily departed from the museum after Dick Nielsen had been denied access to see the Kensington Rune Stone.  Both had been warned, in writing, a month prior that Nielsen would not be allowed to see the artifact after denying the Museum access to the Kensington Rune Stone 3D imaging data they had allowed Nielsen to generate in November of 2008. 

Figure 7. There are at least 25 symbols in the transcription of the Kensington Rune Stone inscription that have been intentionally changed by Professor Henrik Williams and Richard Nielsen and then published on Dick Nielsen's personal website in May of 2010.  Several physical aspects of the inscription, such as punch marks and short lines intentionally made by the carver, have been removed (14 circled in red) and others have been added that simply don't exist (11 circled in yellow).  The alleged basis for these changes is the 2008 3D imaging data that to this day, Nielsen and Williams will not allow anyone else to review.  A clean version of this document can be seen here: http://www.richardnielsen.org///PDFs/Inscription%20Panel.pdf 

Figure 8. This photograph of the notes made by Henrik Williams of the first three lines of the actual Kensington Rune Stone was taken in November of 2003.  One can plainly see three of the four modified "Grail Prayer" runes ("g", "r" and "l") were observed and documented by the professor (circled in red).  He and Nielsen apparently now believe these features don't exist.  The obvious question is why?

Figure 9. The top image in low angle reflected light is of the word "waR" on line 6 of the Kensington Rune Stone inscription.  It has a man-made, diamond shaped punch mark in the upper loop of the "r" rune which is called a “Dotted R.”

Figure 10. Using the Keyence 3D digital microscope, I mapped and measured the dimensions and depths of the man-made depression in the upper loop of the “Dotted R" in line six.  It measured 555 microns in depth and this extremely rare rune all by itself, proves runologically, the Kensington Rune Stone is a genuine medieval artifact all by itself.  Williams agreed with this conclusion in 2005, yet has since changed his mind after trying to make this man-made punch mark, and many other physical features on the artifact, go away.  The question is: Why the sudden reversal and attempt to remove these physical features from the historical record?

For those of you who are familiar with my work on the Kensington Rune Stone, you are well aware my opinion is the stone is a genuine medieval written record, carved in stone as a memorial and a land claim that also chronicles a journey made by ideological descendants of the Knights Templar and at least one Cistercian monk, to what is now Minnesota in 1362, as dated by the carver.  The stone was  discovered in 1898 wrapped in the tree roots by a Swedish immigrant farmer named Olof Ohman.  I am one of two geologists, the other being Newton H. Winchell, to have studied the weathering of the inscription and declared it a genuine medieval artifact.  Because the inscription is highly weathered, this makes it impossible for anyone in the settlement years of the late 19th Century to carved it as a hoax. 

The primary subject of this blog is the publication of a transcription of the Kensington Rune Stone (KRS) inscription by Professor Henrik Williams and Richard Nielsen that intentionally omits certain man-made features previously documented and adds others that are not present on the stone.  Based on this flawed document, Professor Henrik Williams and Richard Nielsen then published a series of papers with new interpretations of various aspects of the inscription.  Most notably they have “flip-flopped” from their previously published interpretations saying now the "Dating Code," the "Grail Code," and the "Dotted R" no longer exist.  The crux of the issue is there are physical features within two dozen carved characters within the KRS inscription that Nielsen and Williams have deceptively tried to remove from the historic record, and in other cases have added features that simply don't exist.  The obvious question is why?

There are likely multiple reasons for this carefully crafted plan to try and alter their acknowledgement of the physical characteristics of the KRS inscription which they both previously agreed were present, but apparently now are trying to make the "Dating Code" and the "Grail Code" disappear from the historical record.  You would have to ask them what purpose is served by doing this, but I suspect it was for personal reasons and/or to conform to some arbitrary academic standard.  In any case, the two codes were based on sound speculation that Dick Nielsen and I proposed and published in our 2006 book, The Kensington Rune Stone: Compelling New Evidence.  These two codes are relatively straightforward, and consistent within the known context of the inscription; a medieval land claim and a memorial carved by a Cistercian monk.  We could certainly be wrong, but the Dating and Grail codes account for all the modified runes and Pentadic numbers as they must, if we are correct.  However, the point of this posting is not to argue the veracity of these two codes, it is to bring attention to the fact that Nielsen and Williams have conspired to publish a document that effectively erases these important codes they apparently no longer agree with. 

   

Most disturbing of all is their claim the man-made dot in the rare “Dotted R” rune on line six, which proves the KRS is a medieval artifact all by itself, doesn’t exist.  Reversing their opinions as to what the physical marks on the stone imply is certainly their prerogative, but to now deny the still physically present marks were ever there is not.  As a licensed professional geologist with full knowledge of the physical aspects of the KRS inscription I cannot sit idly by and tolerate two non-geologists make such physically impossible claims.

 

To fully understand and unravel this convoluted story one has to go back to 2002 when I generated the first microscopic photo-library of the entire KRS inscription using both high and low angle reflected light.  I took a total of over 600 photographs and created a separate folder for what I called, "odd runes" that I discovered as I was taking pictures.  

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wolter/KRS+Photo-library+12-30-02.pdf  

Several characters contained punch marks and short lines, both adjacent to and within the already carved grooves of the inscription.  As a geologist, my job was to simply document ALL the man-made marks present on the surface of the stone.   It was upon detailed examination and study of these purposeful modifications to certain characters, a number of important interpretations were made.  In addition to the Dating and Grail Codes, a number of very important runological and linguistic discoveries were also made by Nielsen and Williams which included, "har", the "Dotted R" and the "Dotted Thorn."  It was Nielsen, in fact, who originally speculated these marks were a Dating and Grail codes imbedded within the inscription by the carver.  While Williams fully acknowledged the presence of the physical modifications, he did not endorse they were secret codes.  I suspect this was due to his concern about how he would be viewed by his ultra-conservative colleagues, but I don’t know that for sure.  However, Williams did agree the Dotted R existed and proved the KRS was a medieval artifact.  Regardless, Nielsen enthusiastically published the codes in our Compelling New Evidence book in 2006.  He also enthusiastically showed them in a presentation he made to 30+ friends and Wolter family members at our book release party. 

 

After a series of events in 2006 that included personal difficulties between us, Nielson made an announcement to me that our personal and professional relationship was over.  The reality was he had “switched sides” and likely hoped to be accepted into the academic community and by Williams, so he had to renounce his belief in the KRS codes.   It has been well demonstrated that academicians like Williams, simply will not accept there was pre-Columbian contact in North America by the Cistercians/Templars, whom the codes clearly imply authored the stone.  

 

Footnote: For those interested in reading more about the interpretations of these discoveries please read the following sources: The "Dating Code," pages 59-64 in Compelling New Evidence and pages 34-37 in The Hooked X: Secret History of North America; the "Grail Code," pages 62-67 in The Hooked X; the word "har", see Williams' discussion on page 536 in Compelling New Evidence; the "Dotted R," pages 49-58 in Compelling New Evidence and pages 31-33 in The Hooked X; the "Dotted Thorn," page C-1 in Akhenaten to the Founding Fathers: The Mysteries of the Hooked X.   

 

The first step in the apparent plan to erase the record of the codes, and the Dotted R, started when Nielsen approached the Runestone Museum about having a low resolution 3D imaging study performed on the artifact in 2008.  He then submitted a contract that gave himself exclusive access to the imaging data while at the same time denying anyone else access including the Runestone Museum.  Unfortunately, because of their misplaced trust in Nielsen, the contract was not reviewed carefully enough by the museum and they did not realize they would have no access to the data until it was too late.  Subsequently, this was why the Museum denied Nielsen access during Henrik Williams’ visit to the museum in September of 2010.  Prior to that visit, Nielsen and Williams had written a series of "academic" papers based on the 2008 3D imaging study that to this day, only Nielsen and Williams have been allowed access to, and then published the papers on Nielsen's personal website.  These papers tried to essentially “unacknowledge” the physical modifications I had previously documented thereby making the codes go away.

 

Most disturbing of all is they have tried to erase all three Dotted R’s in the inscription that by themselves, prove the KRS is a medieval artifact.  In my opinion, these “scholars” are trying to reverse all the important progress made in our study of the KRS, in an apparent attempt to manipulate history.   

Prior to Williams’ 2010 visit, they even tried to recruit the grandson of the KRS discoverer, Darwin Ohman, into helping get Nielsen into the museum.  When Darwin reached out to the Museum attempting to help Nielsen gain admission, they responded with a list of demands he refused to comply to.  These events prompted an angry email by Williams upon his return to Sweden.  A copy of the original email sent to Darwin can be read here:

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wolter/Darwin+Document+12-17-10.JPG  Shortly thereafter, Darwin became so disenchanted and frustrated he decided to write about his feelings regarding the conduct of Nielsen and Williams: http://www.kensingtonrunestone.us/Take_A_Stand.pdf   Here is another link to a response by Darwin to a blogger's questions about the conduct of Williams and Nielsen: 

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wolter/Response_to_Tom_Thowsen+5-22-11.pdf

 

One can see in the attached handwritten review of the KRS runes and language chapter in our Compelling New Evidence book that Professor Williams was in agreement the modified runes existed back in 2005, as well as what the implications were for the Dotted R’s.  Williams himself said the man-made dot in the Dotted R proved it was, "...a medieval artifact."  For those interested in reading several reviews of the manuscript which included three linguists and runologists, Henrik Williams, Professor Michael Barnes and John Bengston.  The links are here:

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wolter/Henrik+Williams.pdf

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wolter/Michael+Barnes.pdf

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wolter/John+Bengtson.pdf
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wolter/Russ+Fridley.pdf
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wolter/Alice+Kehoe.pdf
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wolter/Richard+Stehly.pdf

 

Because of all this deception, I re-examined the physical modifications on the KRS including the all-important Dotted R, using the latest high resolution microscopic 3D imaging in 2011/2012.  Based on these results it is my professional opinion these physical features are definitely a man-made.  A link to my report on the Dotted R examination can be seen here:
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wolter/3D+Imaging+Report+2-23-11.pdf

   

The overriding question is why did Williams and Nielsen suddenly change their minds and set out to try to reverse their prior acknowledgement of the physical marks using deceptive tactics veiled as academia?  Instead of respectfully considering my report on the high resolution 3-D imaging work performed on the Dotted R, Williams wrote an angry response that summarily dismissed the factual evidence.  Again the question is why?

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wolter/Williams+Response+May+5%2C+2011.pdf

 

By altering their opinions of previously-accepted man-made markings on 25 characters, and by not sharing their 3D imaging “evidence” they claim justifies these alterations, Nielsen and Williams open themselves up to accusations that they are more concerned with “being right” than “getting it right.”  As the saying goes, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts.  The KRS deserves better, especially from those who hold themselves out to be “experts in the field.”  Although the true reason as to Henrik Williams’ alteration of his initial findings may never be known, his actions are all too typical of what has occurred through academia whenever an unorthodox conclusion is put forth.

For far too long, formal institutions have demanded retractions from both individual researchers and tenured professors and the like, whenever their conclusions have not conformed to an accepted historical fact or theory.  As a result, many professional careers have been ruined, along with the lives of those individuals and family members who unknowingly have been swept up into this ever-increasing trap of non-conformity.  This behavior is exactly what I witnessed in my interactions with Swedish scholars during my five trips to Sweden between 2003 and 2006.  This is the exact opposite of what academic institutions should be encouraging.  

New Hooked X's and Ancient Runes Found in Old Icelandic Manuscripts

 

This Hebrew alphabet contains the Hooked X symbol for "aleph" and is from an old Icelandic manuscript that dates to between 1700-1890. 

 

 

This secret coded alphabet contains an unmistakable Hooked X symbol for the letter "a."  It's one of several hundred alphabets from old Icelandic manuscripts that date between 1750-1850. 

 

 

This alphabet contains what looks like another Hooked X symbol for the letter "a."  This Icelandic manuscript dates to between 1700-1890.

This alphabet from 1780 contains yet another apparent Hooked X symbol for "a."

These are only nine of at least one hundred and twenty examples of the "X" symbol being used for the letter "a."  Below is the only example I had previously seen of the "X" symbol used for "a" in a secret coded alphabet from a 15th Century Cistercian Germanic manuscript I published in my "Hooked X" book in 2009. 

Two examples of complicated sigil drawings from the Icelandic manuscripts that incorporate runes and Masonic box code symbols (left), and a heavily Christian influenced drawing (right) that were both used for witchcraft and ritual magic.

 

These sigil drawings incorporate heavy Masonic symbolism (left) and what appear to be two Hooked X symbols in the upper right part of the upper arm (right).

One of the two Larsson Papers, dated to 1883 and 1885, using the same pentadic numbering system as found on the Kensington Rune Stone, which also contains two runic alphabets written in the "Secret Style."  These alphabets which include the Hooked X for "a", along with the alphabetic box code were clearly Masonic and prove the Larsson Papers are related to both known medieval Cistercian secret coded alphabets and the recently published Icelandic secret alphabets that lean heavily on ancient runes.

These two examples of the Hooked X are found in medieval Icelandic manuscripts from 14th (Right, 1300-1400) and 15th Centuries (Left, 1490-1510). 

This circa 6th century Anglo-Saxon brooch with eight symbols carved into the outer ring include a Hooked X at the 2:00 o'clock position.  It was excavated next to a skull in Old Hunstanton, in Norfolk, England in 1900.

Little did I realize that while on my trip to Rhode Island for the dedication of the new home for the Narragansett Rune Stone, I was just being introduced to the tip of an important iceberg of new information that is going to rock the skeptics, debunkers, and disbelievers of the five North American rune stones with the Hooked X, to their core.  Before the ceremony started, Steve DiMarzo and Valdimar Samuelsson visited briefly with me concerning a recently discovered cache of Icelandic manuscripts dating back to the tenth Century that contained literally hundreds of secret coded alphabets, many using unique and mysterious runes.  Since the dedication, Steve, with his dogged determination has been scouring every page of every manuscript, and Valdimar, with his historical knowledge of the use of runes in Iceland, and ability to read the Icelandic text, has led to several important discoveries.  As of this past weekend, Steve has already found 120 examples of secret alphabets that use the “X” symbol for “a”, as well as all the runes on the Narragansett Rune Stone. 

A couple days after initially posting this blog, I received additional information from Valdimar after he had researched the history of the use of runes in Iceland.  He then sent me the following:

 

"Scott, after reading on runes, especially from the book ‘’Galdrar á Íslandi‘‘, chapter ‘‘Rúnir og rúnagaldrar‘‘, by Matthías Viðar Sæmundsson, he says: Scholars have denied that use of runic letters in Iceland were used as much as Björn M Olsen claimed. Olsen (14 July 1850 – 16 January 1919) was an Icelandic scholar and politician.  If he is right, then Runic letters have been used from the time of early settlement, around 870, to what we call brennuöld 1674 when they burned people with runic knowledge.  In 1641 another scholar ‚‘‘Jon The Learned‘‘, said that many runic books had been in use before our famed Snorri Sturluson (1179 – 23 September 1241).  He wrote most of our Icelandic sagas some believe from old rune books.  Based on this, it is only the mainland European academics, both then and today, who deny that Iceland had, in fact, used runes even longer than written in this book.  Now we see evidence today this is true with all these manuscripts dated after those claims mentioned here."

 

 

This is important new information as it shows the ongoing attempts by scholars to stubbornly maintain an untenable position about not only the continued use of runes (and the Hooked X) which began in at least the 9th Century, by individuals and secret societies not only in Iceland, but no doubt in mainland Scandinavia and other parts of Europe. 

 

What has me excited is they have also found at least two undeniable examples of the Hooked X symbol being used for the letter “a.”  One of these two alphabets uses the Hooked X as the symbol for “aleph”, the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet.  This alphabet might be the most exciting of all because it provides a direct link between the same Hooked X seen on five North American rune stones, with Hebrews in Jerusalem where we recently found the Hooked X on the lid of the “Yeshua, son of Joseph” ossuary in the Talpiot Tomb.  Is this conclusive evidence of a link between the sect of Jesus and his followers in the First Century, and the Templars who carved the five North American rune stones?  Not yet, but this alphabet in particular is a huge piece of evidence that is consistent with this thesis.

 

I consulted with a friend in Arizona named Ed Martinez, a Freemason and an Eastern Mystic, who looked at some the manuscripts with complicated symbols using ligatures and offered the following insights, “They are complicated symbolic instructions for magic, incantations, and rituals that were very Christianized, yet retained Pagan traits.  These are sigil drawings using ancient Germanic and Nordic runes for witchcraft and ritual magic.”  He also said, “There are obviously Hebrew influences along with both Pagan and neo-Pagan ritual influences, and also very clear Masonic connections.”  Ed also pointed out there are both Nordic/Swedish and Germanic influences in the manuscripts which we also have within the Kensington Rune Stone inscription.  According to Samuelsson, "These coded “invisible” alphabets and complex ritual magic symbols were used for centuries by certain groups of people in Iceland, but were hidden away when Bishop Odd Einarson made it illegal to use runes.  In 1625, the Roman Catholic Church began burning people who used witchcraft runes."  Considered heretical by the Church, these documents were hidden from Church authorities only to surface again now for the world to see.  There is a lot of research to be done on these documents, but even with this initial study some incredible new knowledge is coming to light.      

 

It’ll be interesting to see what scholars like Henrik Williams, Professor of Runology in Sweden, will say about these mysterious runic alphabets.  He is already on record saying the Hooked X is modern despite being aware of numerous examples that date back at least two millennia.  The Larsson Papers, which first surfaced in early 2004, contained similar secret alphabets with the Hooked X and proved scholars for the past century were wrong that the Hooked X never existed.  Instead of admitting it, they claimed an immigrant could have had these documents and carved the KRS inscription.  Never mind that you still couldn’t carve the KRS with the Larsson Papers, the consistent position of Williams and his colleagues is to ignore hard science and maintain the KRS is a hoax at all costs.  These newly published Icelandic alphabets and the other documented examples prove definitely the Hooked X is not only medieval, but is the key to amazing hidden history whose time has come to be revealed.

 

My guess is the linguists will stubbornly remain entrenched in the foxhole of denial that to date has been rooted in non-scientific thinking and arrogance.  I would love nothing more than to see them prove me wrong.  For those interested, the manuscripts can be viewed here: http://handrit.is/en/