On Sunday’s America’s Lost Vikings on Science Channel, a real artifact find in New York State that is clearly of Viking design makes our two archaeologists very happy.
A huge clue is revealed in a very old museum in New York state where Blue Nelson and Mike Arbuthnot investigate what is purported to be an actual Viking speak discovered in the region. The evidence is compelling.
In our exclusive clip, the two men are shown this well-preserved artifact and are asked to wear special gloves to keep from contacting the metal in the spear. Blue notes how the spear looks to be forged in a Norse style.
According to the Wayne County Historical Society:
In 1929, a jeweler named Augustus Hoffman was working on the foundation of his boathouse on Sodus Bay at Charles Point. About a foot below the water level he discovered a rust-encrusted object about 6 inches long and 1 inch wide. The item appeared to be a spearhead. Spearheads are not unique to this area; people from the Seneca Nation hunted in this area long before the first settlers arrived. But all of the Native American spearheads from that period are made of stone. This one was made of iron.
There is a connection made in this episode between the Norse explorers and the Native Americans as Blue and Mike postulate that the two entities may have encountered each other and possibly fought.
The Finger Lake Times examined the history of this spear further and reported:
Hoffman donated the spearhead to the Wayne County Historical Society. In 1930, it was sent to Canada where it was examined by the curator of the Royal Ontario Museum. By comparing the spearhead to artifacts found in Scandinavian museums, he determined it to be Norse in origin. Based on its style, he was also able to determine its age at somewhere between 600 and 1,100 years old.
Jan Petersen, author of Norwegian Viking Swords, the Times reported, “describes this type of spearhead as Type E, originating in Norway and belonging to the early part of the ninth century.”
The two share that several Viking and Native American stories suggest that these two races fought a thousand years ago.
The episode and the season heat up as Blue and Mike are on to a probability in their investigation as they try to piece together the evidence they have found to see if this conflict happened.
An examination of a suspected Viking spearhead found in New York state Wayne Museum reveals telling clues and gets some results for Mike and Blue to add to their research.
Later in the episode, the investigation unravels further as Blue and Mike create a smelt to see if the Vikings could have rearmed themselves while they were in motion during their New World exploration.
Also tonight, the official logline from Science Channel:
The two professional archaeologists face off to find out which may have been the Vikings’ deadliest weapon, before a test at a ballistics lab pits a Native American bow and arrow against Viking armor – and reveals which side may have come out on top.
America’s Lost Vikings airs on Sundays at 10/9c on the Science Channel.