Right Pundits

Last night′s episode of America Unearthed on The History Channel H2 explores the Giants of Minnesota. Yes, we are talking Vikings! Scott Wolter is a firm believer that the Norse have been to Minnesota well before Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World. Wolter has examined the famous Kensington Rune Stone and believes that it is authentic, dating it back to 1362 or so. Now, Scott investigates a claim by Roger Saker, a farmer in Twin Valley, Minnesota, who says he has a burial site with a giant man, possibly 8 to 9 feet tall. The site was found by Leonard Engen, a practitioner in the art of witching, also known as dowsing, using two thin copper rods to locate objects.

Wolter, who is from Minnesota himself, is ready to bite on any new links between Viking travels and his home state. But, he still carries out his investigation with objective, scientific methods. Due to two other bodies being found near the so-called giant that have been determined to be Native Americans by the state′s chief archeologist, Wolter cannot dig or disturb the site. Engen witches about another location on the farm where he says there is something buried. So Scott arranges for archeologist Michael Arbuthon, an expert in pre-Columbian America, to excavate the new site. After and initial sweep using a metal detector, Arbuthon has plenty of ′hits′ to dig for.

Meanwhile, Saker shows Wolter pictures of a sword dug up a dozen miles away near Ulen, Minnesota. Scott goes to see the sword for himself and it does resemble a style of sword from 14th Century Sweden. He also learns about a possible rune stone on another farm nearby. Wolter checks it out but does not find any evidence of Norse markings on it. The boulder is only part of the rock, the rest being part of the stone foundation of an old farmhouse. The property owner, Ted Haselrud, arranges for the old house to be demolished so Scott can access the foundation safely.

Back at the Saker Farm, Arbuthon has found many objects, mostly animal bones and some items generally associated with Native Americans. After the old house on the Haselrud Farm is torn down, Scott verifies that the other boulder did come from the same stone and the foundation did have man-made markings on it, but they were not Norse in origin. Finally, the last blow to the story comes when Wolter shows pictures of the Ulen sword to an expert who traces it to being manufactured in the late 19th Century by a German company. Scott meets with the state′s head archeologist and asks him about the alleged giant skeleton, but he dismisses such. He tells Wolter that the remains were of a Native American male about 5 foot 3-inches in height.

So the conclusion of this episode of America Unearthed on the Giants of Minnesota ends in disappointment for Scott Wolter and for Roger Saker. There was no concrete evidence of any Vikings having been on Saker′s property. Wolter still believes that the Norse did travel to Minnesota based on his findings concerning the Kensington Rune Stone. But as for this new angle of possible giant Vikings being buried, the the results did not pan out. Still, it was a fun chase and an interesting journey.