We're looking for printed confirmation to this report.
Stay tuned. The Vikings were here?
Oh yeah, that squares with the headline real well.
Viking kitties?
The Kensington stone sits astride a line that runs through Lake Itasca, Seymour Iowa, and ArrowRock Missouri.
It's the prime meridian drawn by the Spanish in roughly 1600 to 1613 as part of a multi year effort to prepare for the formal division of and development of North America by Spain, France and England.
Check out the date on The Treaty of London which was dictated by Philip III of Spain ~ that's the one that gave France rights, and also allowed England a serious wedge.
The Spanish prepared for the division with at least two baselines I've identified, as well as that prime meridian.
One of the peculiarities of the Kensington stone is it's Northerly location. It's beyond the Mississippi! But, it's perfectly sited so that a magnetic North reading will take you past the French lands around Hudson's Bay to a point at 54 degrees 40 minutes North. That particular line plays a part later on in intersecting the inlet to the Inside Passage on the West Coast of what is now BC and the lower handle of Alaska.
I haven't checked out any Eastern connection but there's probably something darned close to it that allowed Spain to retain control of Labrador ~ on behalf of the Portuguese who had a settlement there in the early 1530s.
The point of intersection in the North has had a name since the days of the early European fur trade ~ but in this case the Iroquois Indians used to travel RT to the site to trade pots, knives and fine cloth to the more primitive Indians in the area in exchange for top quality furs.
Remember, the Iroquois didn't work through European traders ~ they did it themselves. They worked between the routes of the Courier du Bois, and those of the English and Spanish to the South.
I found the Southern Base Line runs from Daniel Boone's settlement in Missouri (where the Santa Fe trail begain) all the way East to the foot of Memorial bridge in Washington DC. That point is, BTW, as far North as you can get on the Potomac in a Spanish Galleon ~ not that that means anything.
The next point West in West Virginia coincides with a Spanish boundary marker for the lines delineating the boundary agreed to with the Brits ~ it runs from peak to peak in the Appalachians. We have another known boundary marker further South in Virginia, and there's one been found in South Carolina. There are undoubtedly more of these things, and once we find the key we can all get busy and go see if we can find them.
This was a HUGE undertaking. It runs to the subarctic in Canada, from Alaska to the Canadian Maritimes, down to the Midwest and from there to the Mid-Atlantic.
It had to be done in a short time frame ~ roughly 1600 to 1615 or thereabouts, and by some really, really, really sturdy fellows.
BTW, I know of other significant points on these lines ~ they relate to some quite early settlement sites made by some of my ancestors in improbably early times ~
I'd like to propose that MY OWN Swedish ancestors were the surveying crew that did the job at least in the North, and their close relatives in Spain and France may also have participated.
The Kensington stone is a MEMORIALIZATION of the terminal end of the prime meridian being drawn by Spain for later use! It's not about people dying at the site ~it's about this being the end of the job done by several men (identified by nationality) for whoever AVM is.
I believe AVM is a shorthand abbreviation for either Philip II or Philip III of Spain. If this thing started before 1598 it's Philip II. If after it's Philip III.
The initials donot stand for Ave Maria, but for Avignon (the family lineage back to Geoffrey du Boulogne who conquered the Holy land and became King of Jerusalem ~ a title both Philips inherited). The V is probably for Venice. Philip II signed a treaty with Venice to form the Holy League. The League, in turn, assembled a large multinational fleet at Mesina and went on to sink the Ottoman fleet at the battle of Lapento!
Hence, AVM, all straight lines, just like the runes, is about the landlord!
Now, knowing the context for placing that stone, it's pretty obvious what the rest of the message says.
I don't know if the survey party went on up to 54 40 in that part of Canada ~ the coldest spot in North America, on average. But they may have ~ if, perhaps, they had a few Iroquois in the company.
Daniel Boone's wife was a Von Beber. So was El Cid. He may well have had MAPS in his possession when he cut "The Wilderness Route".