Viking navigation sunstone found off the coast of Alderney, Channel Islands from an Elizabethan Wreck

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Ancient lore has suggested that the Vikings used special crystals to find their way under less-than-sunny skies. Though none of these so-called "sunstones" have ever been found at Viking archaeological sites, a crystal uncovered in a British shipwreck could help prove they did indeed exist. The crystal was found amongst the wreckage of the Alderney, an Elizabethan warship that sank near the Channel Islands in 1592. The stone was discovered less than 3 feet (1 meter) from a pair of navigation dividers, suggesting it may have been kept with the ship's other navigational tools, according to the research team headed by scientists at the University of Rennes in France. A chemical analysis confirmed that the stone was Icelandic Spar, or calcite crystal, believed to be the Vikings' mineral of choice for their fabled sunstones, mentioned in the 13th-century Viking saga of Saint Olaf.

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Size: 5845px × 3901px
Location: Alderney, Channel Islands
Photo credit: © Astrid Harrisson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: alderney, artefact, calcite, crystal, elizabethan, historical, map, maritime, navigation, rare, salvage, shipwreck, sunstone, trust, viking, wreck