Re: Kensington runestone in the Scandinavian press

Daryl Krupa wrote: 1117494543.244206.199850@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,

Dylan Sung wrote:
<snip>

I'm wondering if lichens can be cleaned off. If the stone
was erected after a mysterious attack by Scandinavians
centuries ago, it would have been exposed to some form of
weathering also. Like tombstones, they would attract
lichens, and it would have eaten into the stone. As I
understand it, it was buried, and wrapped with roots from
some type of tree. Even is it had falled over a few years
after it's erection, then one would expect to see
weathering on the exposed area. One would ask how it became
to come underground and burried. Was there a river nearby?
Or was the place prone to annual rains and flooding?


 Dyl:
 Lichens can be cleaned off, but evidence of their acid-
etching might remain.

 The stone has been examined re: weathering; the first
estimate by Winchell gave its age as a certain fraction of
the time since it was last glacially scratched, but because
his estimate of age of last glacial movement in the area was
only about 1/2 of the real age, his estimate would have dated
the inscription to several centuries before the date in the
inscription, so that estimate is out the window.
 Wolter's estimate was based on comparison with dated
tombstones of another sort of stone halfway across the
continent, on the east coast, and there is as yet no
confirmation that his analogical comparison is valid.
 Besides that, the exposure and weathering history of
the KRS is unknown, which means that there are several
independent and dependent variables yet to be isolated
before an age can be confidently from weathering analysis.

 The tree was an aspen (_Populus_ species).
 The roots were not said to be wrapped around the stone,
just in close contact with it.

 It was found near the top of a rounded hill.
 No river nearby.
 Soil creep would have been a sufficient mechanism to push
it over, but frost heave would have been more effective.
 Boulders are rare on the surface in that area unless
it has been disturbed by a plow.


Aspen (P. tremula) are not renowned for their great lifespan.


--
- Peter Alaca - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -



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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Kensington runestone in the Scandinavian press
    ... >> lichens, and it would have eaten into the stone. ... >> weathering on the exposed area. ... > his estimate of age of last glacial movement in the area was ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: Kensington runestone in the Scandinavian press
    ... > lichens, and it would have eaten into the stone. ... > weathering on the exposed area. ... his estimate of age of last glacial movement in the area was ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: A tailor and the KRS
    ... He did not put an age on it but actually wrote: ... "Based on a comparison of the weathering characteristics of biotite ... as to the weathering history of the KRS ... that the weathering histories of the KRS and the tombstones is ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: A tailor and the KRS
    ... He did not put an age on it but actually wrote: ... "Based on a comparison of the weathering characteristics of biotite ... as to the weathering history of the KRS ... that the weathering histories of the KRS and the tombstones is ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: A tailor and the KRS
    ... He did not put an age on it but actually wrote: ... "Based on a comparison of the weathering characteristics of biotite ... as to the weathering history of the KRS ... that the weathering histories of the KRS and the tombstones is ...
    (sci.archaeology)