And, while we are on the subject of carved stone disks - - the excavation of a number of interesting carved stone disks in Ukraine has been interpreted as having possible connections with Viking navigation tools.
“A total of eight pyrophyllite slate objects, sourced from outcrops near Ovruch (Ukraine), were analyzed. These disks have been previously interpreted as various items, including calendars, craft tools such as needle sharpeners and polishing stones, as well as components of hand-operated bow drills. Through measurements and surface analysis, three stone disks (Kyiv, Listven, Liubech) exhibit similarities to Vikings’ sun compasses, with a limited number of examples found in Greenland and the Baltic Sea region. The analyzed objects were dated to the period between the late 12th and mid-13th centuries. The origin of the raw material suggests local manufacturing.” (Veremeychyk and Antowska-Goraczniak 2024:383) I seriously doubt ‘needle sharpeners’ or ‘polishing stones’. There are no apparent results of such activities – remember the shapes of sharpening grooves as a form of rock art. A bow drill weight is more possible, or perhaps even the weight from a drop spindle for spinning wool. All in all, however, the stone disks seem more like known Viking ‘solar compasses’ than any of these other possibilities.
“Three of the disks, in particular, had characteristics reminiscent of Viking solar compasses: the central holes and engraved radial patterns may have allowed for temporary gnomonic lines to be drawn with erasable materials like chalk or charcoal. This flexibility would have been indispensable for observing and adapting to new latitudes as the user moved. Yet the lack of permanent markings of the equinox and solstice lines, common in Viking solar compasses, still gives one pause for skepticism. Supporting this hypothesis, the researchers pointed out that the diameter and design of the Ukranian disks are very similar to those of navigational instruments found at Woline in Poland and in Greenland. Such parallels hint at the possibility that the pyrophyllite disks could represent a local adaptation of Viking navigation instruments.” (Radley 2025) The historic Rus region had major interactions with, and cultural influences from Scandinavian Vikings. Although these stones were not recovered from locations near open ocean waters it is likely that Viking trading vessels would have routinely carried their accustomed navigational aids just in case, and Viking traders are known to have explored all the navigable river systems in that area.
Viking presence in Rus can be dated to the ninth century AD. “The close connection between the Rus and the Norse is confirmed both by extensive Scandinavian settlement in Bel)arus, Russia, and Ukraine and by Slavic influences in the Swedish language. Though the dabate over the origin of the Rus’ remains politically charged, there is broad agreement that if the proto-Rus’ were indeed originally Norse, they were quickly nativized, adopting Slavic languages and other cultural practices. This position, roughly representing a scholarly consensus (at least outside nationalist historiography), was summarized by the historian, F. Donald Logan, “in 839, the Rus’ were Swedes; in 1043 the Rus’ were Slavs.” (Wikipedia)
The Greenland example of a disc had been discovered in 1948. “The remains of the supposed compass – known as the Uunartoq disc – were found in Greenland in 1948 in an 11th-century convent. Though some researchers originally argued it was simply a decorative object, other researchers have suggested the disc was an important navigational tool that the Vikings would have used in their roughly 1,600-mile-long (2,500 kilometers) trek from Norway to Greenland.” (Poppick 2014)
The
Vikings were inveterate travelers, having reached Greenland, Iceland, and North
America by sailing the open ocean. They also reached Constantinople, not only
by sailing down the Atlantic coast of Europe and through the Mediterranean, but
by transiting rivers in the area known as Rus and through Slavic territories in
eastern Europe.
“In the early medieval period, the utilization and advancement of navigational instruments were ascribed to Scandinavians, who were believed to have been able to use such tools not only in coastal sailing but also undertake long voyages across open seas, eliminating the need to constantly observe the shoreline. Both constellations and the Sun played crucial roles in sea navigation during this era. Compasses utilizing sunlight have been recognized as a significant technological advancement of the time. Scandinavians, with their vessel construction, navigational skills, and compass usage, successfully reached distant islands in the northern Atlantic, such as Greenland, Newfoundland, and the shores of present-day Canada. The sagas also provide limited information on sea voyages and directional settings, indirectly suggesting the use of navigational instruments. In favorable weather conditions, a navigator ‘could then discern the quarters of heaven’, indicating the ability to find direction, and the radial lines on the disks might have facilitated such quarter division, aiding in staying on course.” (Veremeychyk and Antowska-Goraczniak 2024:395) Of course, navigational tools were not needed for coastal sailing, but between such compasses and Viking ‘sun stones’ they could navigate their longships across great distances of open ocean. ‘Sun stones’ were a form of calcite crystal known as Icelandic spar with unique optical properties that allow the user to detect the position of the sun, even on a totally overcast or foggy day to help navigate at sea. Icelandic spar is also a natural polarizer.
“The pyrophyllite slate
disks, as discussed above, likely originated as a local product, manufactured
in the territories of southern Rus’ given the proximity of the raw material
outcrops. However, if their function as compasses is acknowledged (a plausible
scenario), it can be speculated that the inhabitants of the region acquired
knowledge about such instruments from the Scandinavians, who had a presence in
the area from the early 10th century. Considering the locations
where these stone disks were discovered, particularly Kyiv, Listven, and
Liubech situated along the significant communication and trade route ‘from Varangians
to the Greeks’ it is conceivable that the skill of using navigational
instruments, such as sun compasses, in this part of Europe might have been
imparted by Scandinavian traders and sailors.” (Veremeychyk
and Antowska-Goraczniak 2024:395-396) Another piece of evidence that the stone disks
might be a product of Viking influence is the locations wherein they were
found. Viking traders explored the ‘southern Rus’ area and even reached
Constantinople by following waterways through that region. With their ‘sun
stones’ and ‘solar compasses’ Viking sailors could determine the position of
the sun which gave them the ability to make their amazing voyages. I believe
that even if they were only traversing a river in southern ‘Rus’ their
navigational instruments would have been on board the boat as standard
equipment. Just because they were found a long distance from the sea does not
mean that they are not Viking navigational instruments.
NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
Poppick, Laura, 2014, Forget GPS: Medieval Compass Guided Vikings After Sunset, 25 March 2014, LiveScience online, https://www.lovescience.com. Accessed online 1 May 2025
Radley, Dario, 2025, Medieval stone disks found in Ukraine could be Viking solar compasses, 11 January 2025, Archaeology Magazine online, archaeologymag.com. Accessed online 12 February 2025.
Veremeychyk, Olena, and Olga Antowska-Goraczniak, 2024, New medieval sun compasses? The problem of the function of stone disks from southern Rus, Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 76(2), pp. 383-398. DOI:10.23858/SA76.2024.2.3290. Accessed online 12 February 2025.
Wikipedia, Kievan Rus’, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27.
Accessed online 11 June 2025.
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