thevikingsneverhadanaythingtodowithdightonrock

The Vikings never had
anything to do with Dighton Rock!
By Manuel Luciano da Silva, Medical Doctor
March 2nd, 2005

When we talk about the Vikings or Norse People we are speaking of the inhabitants that lived on the territories occupied by the modern Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Finland is not part of the Vikings.

The Viking Age started around the 8^th century and lasted about 300 hundred years. It is believed the Vikings are originated from the Celtic people. They were mostly farmers but some worked as cratfsmen and traders. They built longships and some became fierce pirates. They established Viking settlements in the lands that today are England . Their historical achievements are revealed in the so called “Viking Sagas” which is a collection of true facts and also fantasy.

Some historians and specially the descendents of the Vikings in North America believe the Vikings discovered North America in the year of 1000 AD -- 500 years before Cristovão Colon, known also as Columbus — arrived in Central America .

I am going to show you, in a simple away, why the Vikings NEVER HAD anything to do with Dighton Rock inscriptions.

Anyone can come up with a theory for the Dighton Rock inscriptions. However if there are NO inscriptions engraved on the face of Dighton Rock to TESTIFY for your theory, you have NO theory at all. You have to show EPIGRAPHIC EVIDENCE that the rock HAS engravings demonstrating the symbols or letters that comprise your theory, otherwise you have nothing! Scientifically, it is as simple as that!

The Viking or Norse theory of Dighton Rock appeared for the first time in 1837. It was advanced by Christian Rafn, a Danish scholar, who NEVER visited Dighton Rock . From Copenhagen, MORE THAN THREE THOUSAND MILES AWAY, he based his analysis on a drawing he received, in 1835, from the Rhode Island Historical Society, from Providence, Rhode lsland, U. S. A.

Together with his assistant, Finn Magnusen, they read into the markings a message related to a name mentioned in the “ Vinking Sagas”. This character was Thorfinn Karlsefni. But they made a BOOBOO in their interpretation. They ADDED to the center of the inscriptions the capital letters FIN to coincide with the name Thorfinn. THIS WAS A NO NO, AN ACT OF HISTORICAL FRAUD!

There are NO national symbols from any of the three Viking countries engraved on the face of Dighton Rock .

(1) If the Vikings used the Runic alphabet there is NOT a single letter of this alphabet engraved on the face of Dighton Rock .

(2) From the national flags of the three Viking counties – Denmark, Norway , and Sweden – there is NOT a single branch of any of their crosses engraved on the face of the Dighton Rock . All these flags have the branches of their crosses ending in straight lines. NONE of the extremities of their crosses terminate in 45 degrees angles, like the Portuguese Cross of the Order of Christ, which is engraved CLEARLY on the face of the face of Dighton Rock .

Here are the national flags of the Denmark, Norway, and Sweden:

Denmark	Norway	Sweden

Compare the shape of the extremities of these crosses with the photo below with the Portuguese national symbols -- the Portuguese Coat of Arms and the Portuguese Cross of the Order of Christ -- and the inscriptions engraved on the face of the Dighton Rock:

and the Cross of the Order of Christ with extremities terminating in 45 degree angles.

Unfortunately, many so called “historians” continue to write about world discoveries, without analyzing thoroughly the two MAJOR FORCES which move the sailing ships at sea: the water currents and the winds. This is the same as studying the outer space explorations without analyzing FIRST the rock fuel and the capsules…

If we want to study the Viking voyages, one thousand years ago, we have to analyze FIRST the water currents and the winds of the EXTREME north of the Atlantic .

The water currents of the Atlantic are today the same as they have been for millions of years! On the North Atlantic , the DOMINANT currents of water and winds are CLOCKWISE. On the southern Atlantic the DOMINANT currents are COUNTER CLOCKWISE.

On the North Atlantic the dominant current is the Gulf Stream, -- warm water -- which runs FROM America TO Europe. This is the strongest oceanic current in the world.

But, in the EXTREME North Atlantic, there is a current which runs FROM Europe TO America: THE GREENLAND CURRENT. It is a current of COLD water. It is much weaker than the Gulf Stream . This is the current that brought the Vikings to America.

Today we still have the same laboratory conditions in the EXTREME north of the Atlantic as they existed over one thousand years ago, or millions of years ago. So if we have the same water currents and the same winds, what we have to do is built a ship equal to a Viking ship with the same SQUARE sail and observe scientifically what will happen to this sail ship at sea. To which direction will it go, moved by the water and winds currents of the Greenland current? There is only one way: to EXTREME north America, which is the north of Newfoundland and Labrador Peninsula . That is all!

The Viking ship CANNOT navigate lower than 50 degrees of latitude north, against the strong Gulf Stream . It is impossible for any Viking ship to sail – against the strong winds of the Gulf Stream . The only sail that can navigate against the wind, or tacking against the wind, or zigzag against the wind, is a ship with the TRIANGULAR, or LATEEN sail, which the Vikings did NOT possess. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to use the triangular sail to navigate the high seas.

The typical Portuguese caravel with three triangular or lateen sails. This is the UNIQUE sail boat that can navigate against the wind. It does not need oars to be maneuvered. The lateen sails will do it. Note the hull borders higher from the sea level.

The shape of the boat and the height of the hull of a boat are very important factors that have allowed sail boats the ability of sailing against the wind or sailing upwind.

In the early years of sailing ships -- like the Viking ships-- the European ships had a square sail design. This design ONLY allowed for sailing with a favorable wind (before the wind). The Portuguese navigators were the first Europeans to venture into the high seas with the triangular or lateen sail, to sail against wind. “The triangular sail allowed the navigation using a half wind (wind at 90 degrees to the hull of the boat) which further increased the ship’s maneuvering ability – particularly in port , where ships previously were “dead in the water” without favorable wind.”

The sail boats use the triangular sails fore and aft of the mainsails for the purpose of navigating out to sea to catch favorable trade winds for the square sails to be utilized.

When the sail boat needs to navigate against the wind it sets its triangular sail with the wind at 90 degrees to the hull of the boat and this way makes zigzags against the wind. The boat will navigates in an arch, but moves forwardly. The square sail CAN NOT DO THIS, like the Viking ships.

The Viking Sagas describe that Leif Eriksson, around the year of 1000 AD, on a return trip from Greenland to Scandinavia, was caught in a storm of the Greenland current which forced his boat to move WESTERELY and he had no alternative but to end in the EXTREME north America. This maritime episode is confirmed by the archaeological evidence founded in the northernmost peninsula of Newfoundland at L’Anse aux Meadows, Canada. The archaeological evidence found at this place in 1962 has been confirmed by Carbon 14 dating of charcoal from the hearth which indicate a date of plus or minus 900 AD.

We accept this evidence that the Vikings came to EXTREME north America , at L’Anse aux Meadows, in the year of 1000 AD. But we REFUTE, VEHEMENTLY, any reference that the Vikings were able to sail BELOW the latitude 50 degrees north. With their square sail they could NOT ever navigate against the Gulf Steam, and therefore they could NOT ever reach the Narragansett Bay, in Rhode Island.

Any one who says that the Vikings built the Newport Tower in City of Newport, and that they engraved the Dighton Rock inscriptions, is simply naïve, foolish, and bias and does not know anything about the science of sea navigation.

Credit where credit is due. The Vikings deserve the L’Anse aux Meadows. But the Vikings had nothing to do with the inscriptions engraved on the face of Dighton Rock. It is about time the so called Nordists have the guts to admit that there is NOTHING for them at these two American monuments: Newport Tower and Dighton Rock.

Inside of the Dighton Rock Museum there is a display of panels dedicated to the Viking theory, with Rafn’s explanation. Many people who visit the museum have remarked: “Why have such nonsense and fraudulent theory inside of the museum?” My answer to them is: “So everyone will be able to make the DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS of different theories. This way it proves we are not hiding anything from the general public. The Museum respects everyone’s intelligence. It is for each visitor to choose what he or she feels is the correct diagnosis”.

Professor Edmund Delabarre, who investigated the inscriptions for more than 30 years, and who had a house one mile from the rock, said on his book entitled “Dighton Rock” ( published in 1928, by Walter Neale, New York), on page 86:

“The Norse controversy that once raged fiercely about Dighton Rock can now (1928) be regarded as a closed chapter. Everyone whose opinion has any weight agree today (1928) that these hardy rovers left behind them no relics that have endured and that the Dighton Rock, the skeleton with brass armor found near Fall River, and the old stone Tower in Newport, had no connection to them (Vikings)”.

Despite this affirmation, more than three quarters of a century ago, by Prof. Delabarre, who had not a single drop of Portuguese blood in his veins, the Nordists continue to write and speak at various historical and archaeological meetings, insisting that their Viking ancestors did it. They do the same with the Vinland Map, even though all the super modern tests have verified that such a map is forgery. When are the Nordists going to stop being ridiculous?