DURING the Middle Ages, the Vikings set sail in longships to raid settlements and plunder riches, but how did they find their way? They had no magnetic compasses, and the sun and stars would have been obscured on cloudy days and during the long twilight of the northern summer.
According to one suggestion, the answer lies with a special crystal or "sunstone". This, some physicists argue, allowed these seafarers to navigate the north Atlantic by revealing the position of the sun when it was hidden behind clouds, and even after sunset. Yet many archaeologists and historians have serious doubts, pointing to a lack of solid evidence.
It is a debate that doesn't just bear on Viking navigation. It also goes to the heart of what experimental science can and can't contribute to our understanding of the past. ...
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.
No comments:
Post a Comment