Narragansett Runestone

Short description: Inscribed boulder in Rhode Island, United States

Narragansett Runestone

Material| metasandstone
Size| 5 (1.5m) feet high; 7 feet (2.1m) long
Created| Unknown
Discovered| 1939
Pojac Point, Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, United States
Present location| Rhode Island, United States
Runemaster| Unknown

The Narragansett Runestone, also known as the Quidnessett Rock,[1] is a 2.5 t (2,500 kg) slab of metasandstone in Rhode Island, United States. It is 5 (1.5m) feet high and 7 feet (2.1m) long.[2] The stone is inscribed with two rows of symbols, which some have indicated resemble runes: characters used by Germanic peoples starting around the second or third century CE, with variants used in Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian cultures during the medieval period.[3][4]

The Narragansett Runestone originally sat in Narragansett Bay, visible only during extremely low tides.[5] In 2012, billionaire Timothy Mellon secretly removed the rock because it drew visitors near his estate; he returned it the following year after state prosecutors agreed to not press charges.[6][7]

The stone was moved to the University of Rhode Island School of Oceanography for testing, but the tests were not carried out because it would have required damaging the stone.[8] In January 2014, plans were announced to move the runestone to Goddard Memorial State Park in East Greenwich.[9] In October 2015, the runestone was placed for long-term public viewing in Wickford, a village of North Kingstown, Rhode Island.[10]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Media
* 3 See also
* 4 References

## History

The Narragansett Runestone was first reported to the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission (HPHC) in the 1980s.[3] The New England Antiquities Research Association (NEARA) ran several studies and published a number of papers about the rock in the 1980s and 1990s. According to NEARA, the stone had been discovered by a quahogger in December 1984 while digging in the mud flats of Narragansett Bay.[9]

The HPHC was unable to find information about the stone in previous inventories of Narragansett Bay. They found that as early as 1939, the runestone was located upland and may have been buried.[3]

The inscriptions on the stone were visible for only short periods of time between tides, due to dramatic erosion of the shoreline at Pojac Point and the stone's position just 20 feet (6.1 m) from the extreme low tide mark.[3]

In 2012, the state Coastal Resources Management Council reported that the runestone had been removed from the tidal waters off Pojac Point between July and August. A criminal investigation was launched.[11]

The following May, the state Attorney General’s Environmental Unit and DEM’s Criminal Investigation Unit announced that they had recovered the stone after a person came forward with information.[6] Town historian and independent columnist G. Timothy Cranston said that a Pojac Point resident had removed the stone, as he was tired of having tourists scouring the neighborhood and shoreline looking for it. He said that the resident, who was not named, was ordered by state officials to retrieve the stone after having sunk it in deeper waters off the coast.[12]

In 2014, Everett Brown of Providence reported that he and his brother Warren had carved the runes on Quidnessett Rock in the summer of 1964. He said that he had forgotten about the incident until the stone was removed and recovered in 2013.[13][12] Brown's account has been disputed by local residents, who state that they saw the stone before 1964, and have challenged other elements of his statements.[14][15]

In July 2024, The New York Times reported that Timothy Mellon, an heir to the Mellon banking fortune whose estate overlooked the rock, was responsible for the removal and subsequent return of the stone. "At a meeting with neighbors, Mr. Mellon angrily insisted the rock was on his property. According to a state report, he confronted people walking along the shore to look at it and told them to leave", the Times wrote. In 2013, the investigation of the stone's disappearance "led to Mr. Mellon, who eventually agreed to turn over the stone with no charges filed, according to a non-prosecution agreement obtained by The Times."[11]

## Media

The stone is mentioned in episode 11 of season 1 of America Unearthed.[9]

## See also

* AVM Runestone
* Heavener Runestone
* Kensington Runestone

## References

1. ↑ Naylor, Donita (June 13, 2014). "North Kingstown's mysterious rune stone to be displayed in Wickford's Updike Park". The Providence Journal. http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20140613-north-kingstowns-mysterious-rune-stone-to-be-displayed-in-wickfords-updike-park.ece. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
2. ↑ Whittock, Martyn (2023-11-07) (in en). American Vikings: How the Norse Sailed into the Lands and Imaginations of America. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-63936-536-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=BxOsEAAAQBAJ&dq=Narragansett+Runestone+7+feet&pg=PT81.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "RI Attorney General and RI Department of Environmental Management Joint Investigation Leads to the Return of the Narragansett Rune Stone". State of Rhode Island. April 26, 2013. http://www.ri.gov/press/view/19214. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
4. ↑ Horte, Anne C. Sørensen, Red: Marianne Juelsgård. "Runes" (in en-GB). https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/education/viking-age-people/runes.
5. ↑ Whittock, Martyn (2023-11-07) (in en). American Vikings: How the Norse Sailed into the Lands and Imaginations of America. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-63936-536-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=BxOsEAAAQBAJ&dq=Narragansett+Runestone+7+feet&pg=PT81.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Mysterious Narragansett runestone is recovered". The Boston Globe. April 26, 2013. http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode-island/2013/04/26/mysterious-narragansett-runestone-recovered/nOXtBy5c0TesErIgVccpAJ/story.html. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
7. ↑ Berzon, Alexandra; McIntire, Mike (2024-07-28). "A Pedigreed Rail Magnate Is Pouring Millions Into Electing Donald Trump" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/28/us/politics/donald-trump-2024-campaign-timothy-mellon.html.
8. ↑ Branchaud, Benjamin (March 5, 2014). "Narragansett Rune Stone inscriptions remain a mystery". Southern Rhode Island Newspapers. http://www.ricentral.com/narragansett-rune-stone-inscriptions-remain-a-mystery/article_633ddf84-5797-5253-8980-257b50da353c.html. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Church, Chris (January 31, 2014). "Mysterious rune stone moving to Goddard Park". Independent RI. http://www.independentri.com/independents/north_east/article_3f790edb-91b5-5cb5-8a11-1ce509986465.html?TNNoMobile. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
10. ↑ Naylor, Donita (October 30, 2015). "Mysterious Narragansett Runestone unveiled in Wickford". The Providence Journal. https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/2015/10/30/mysterious-narragansett-runestone-unveiled-in/33185694007/. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Berzon, Alexandra; McIntire, Mike (2024-07-28). "A Pedigreed Rail Magnate Is Pouring Millions Into Electing Donald Trump" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/28/us/politics/donald-trump-2024-campaign-timothy-mellon.html.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Church, Chris (2014-06-28). "Man claims he carved rune stone markings in '64 – Independent Newspapers: North East". Independentri.com. http://www.independentri.com/independents/north_east/article_fe598e73-8b9f-548f-9130-9cce4460a356.html/. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
13. ↑ "Rune stone records Viking visit … in 1964 | Stone Wings". Stonewings.wordpress.com. 2014-06-19. http://stonewings.wordpress.com/2014/06/19/a-perfectly-good-story-gets-runed/. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
14. ↑ Schieldrop, Mark (July 20, 2014). "With Childhood Stories, Locals Dispute Claim Narragansett Rune Stone was Carved in 1960s". Cranston Patch. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714160756/http://cranston.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/with-childhood-stories-locals-dispute-claim-narragansett-rune-stone-was-carved-in-1960s52942. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
15. ↑ Church, Chris (2014-07-10). "Rune stone origin claim challenged – Independent Newspapers: North East". Independentri.com. http://www.independentri.com/independents/north_east/article_9877eeab-8002-54f2-aa3b-d05867dbf4b9.html. Retrieved 2015-06-04.

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