I have heard about the Vinland Map and the controversy around it before. Saw this article on Ancient Origins and thought I would post it.



The Vinland Map carries with it the air of mystery and, some would say, the stench of deception. In the vaults of Yale University, and insured for $25 Million, it is either a colossal fraud or an artifact of unparalleled value. The map appeared on the scene in 1957 when a couple of shady characters tried to sell it to the British Museum. Experts determined that the ink used was not typical iron gall ink, the map was declared a fake, and the museum declined the offer.

If authentic, the map is considered priceless, as it would be the first map that has unique information about North America . The major problem associated with the map is that there is no acknowledgement – or maybe, no knowledge - that the Vinland associated with the map was a real place, with a functioning society, on Newfoundland Island.

Defying Convention: Seeing the Vinland Map from a New Angle

Nobody seems to know the origin of the Vinland Map, except there is near unanimity that it was made in Germany. The argument presented in this article defies the conventional paradigm that the Vinland Map is a European artifact, arguing that the Vinland Map is the genuine article and that it was not made in Europe at all, but created in Vinland around 1420.


As will be shown, the Vinland Map is not a European artifact primarily because of the following three factors. First of all, the parchment on which the map is drawn is crude, so crude that it would be an embarrassment to European parchment makers of the 1400s. Let’s not forget that European parchment was an enterprise characterized by high skill and impeccable products. Secondly, virtually all of Europe used iron gall ink with a vegetable-based (gum) binder. In contrast, when preparing the Vinland map a soot-based ink was utilized that had an animal-based glue binder. Finally, the Vinland Map has an inscription that tells where it was manufactured, namely in Vinland.
Read the rest of the article at the link.