Viking used large ‘sunstone’ crystals to navigate the sea

Researchers have long theorized that seafaring Vikings used translucent sunstone to navigate, and a new study has found that volunteers were largely able to orient themselves quite accurately using sunstone rocks.

The history of the Vikings as long-distance sailors has been well documented, going as far as the Middle East and North America. Archeologists have largely been baffled as to how they navigated across great stretches of ocean, especially without being able to use the stars for guidance during the day

Some Icelandic legends have talked about traveling under snowy skies using sunstones and a study of a Viking wreck executed in 2002 showed a crystal had been onboard and was discovered near other tools used for navigation. Modern sunstone is a kind of crystal that, when viewed from various angles, provides a spangled optical effect

In the new study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society A, the scientists have tested the possibility that such crystals could have helped Vikings navigate across the ocean.

The team said using the sunstone to navigate was a three-step course of action. First, they had to ascertain the direction of light from the sky by holding the sunstone aloft. Second, they used that information to ascertain the direction of light coming from the sun. Third, they used a shadow stick to figure out which direction was north. The team had executed tests to assess the consistency of the first two steps and, pleased with the outcomes, have now executed trials with the third step in the new study.

To evaluate the third step, the scientists asked 10 participants to attempt to work out the position of the sun in a planetarium. After performing 2,400 trials, the scientists found 48 percent of attempts resulted in generating an accurate reading to within one degree. They pointed out the participants did best when the virtual sun was near the horizon, showing the technique worked best at dawn and dusk.

The team said their outcomes show that it was feasible the Vikings used sunstones to navigate under cloudy skies.

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Image credit: Dénes Száz

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