Viking Sunstone

**Viking Sunstone** is the 6th episode of Season 1 of Expedition Unknown.

## Plot Synopsis

Gates tries to unlock the secrets to the Sunstone of the Vikings while travelling through the British island of Alderney and Norway, where he explores a crypt underneath Nidaros Cathedral to find the final resting place of Viking king St. Olaf. Later, he descends into a 37-mile-long (60 km) calcite mine to make his own sunstone, testing its power while at sea with locals who live like Vikings.

## Historical Context

"The Vikings were maritime masters... they managed to navigate deadly waters to establish remote colonies across Europe... and they did it all hundreds of years before the use of the magnetic compass. What gave the Vikings such an edge? According to ancient sagas, the great Viking King Olaf possessed a sunstone - a magical crystal with unique powers which allowed his people to navigate by the sun even when it was hidden behind clouds or below the horizon. No one has ever found one that is until now. Recently, a mysterious crystal was discovered on board a shipwreck in England and it has ignited a fierce debate that has some scientists believing that the power of sunstone might be real after all."

- Josh Gates

## Summary

Josh begins his journey in Alderney and meets Mike Harrison, a trustee of the Alderney Maritime Museum. At the museum, he sees a 16th-century warship that was found offshore of Alderney. Mike shows him the possible Viking sunstone that was found on the navigational deck of a ship. From the museum, Josh goes down to the harbour to meet with diver Mark Trowell. They dive down to see if they can reach the shipwreck where the sunstone, from the museum, was found. They only have 30 minutes to explore and finds part of the ship but no sunstone.

Josh leaves Alderney and goes to Trondheim, Norway. He goes to Nidaros Cathedral, where King Olaf is supposedly buried. He meets Ingrid Vindenes, a church official, who shows him where Olaf may be buried. They go into the catacombs under the church. Upon arrival at what the church believes to be King Olaf's tomb, Josh learns he isn't allowed to open because of a Church rule that tombs should not be disturbed.

From Trondheim, Josh heads to Oslo. He goes to the Viking Ship Museum and sees ships dating all the way back to 820 A.D. At the museum, he meets with archaeologist Jan Bill who says that the "magical" properties of the sunstone may be based in science based on the type of rare calcite used to make one. Josh goes to a mine outside of Kongsberg where he meets Christian Berg, a mining expert. Josh goes down into the mine, nine hundred feet, on an elevator from 1881. From there they descend by rappelling down another hundred feet. They find a big vein of calcite and chip a piece away.

After getting out of the mine, Josh goes to meet Doctor Balazs Bernath who is a light polarisation expert. Bernath teaches him how a sunstone refracts light and that Josh would need a twilight board and shadow stick to find directions such as north and south. Bernath directs him to Migrad, a Viking Hall where Josh meets Geiri, who is living in a Viking lifestyle community. Geiri, a talented woodworker, also helps make Josh's twilight board and shadow stick.

Geiri, Josh, Balazs Bernath, and some of the fellow Vikings from the community go to Geiri's authentic Viking boat, which looks similar to the Oseberg. They test the sunstone, twilight board, and shadow stick to find that the image on the twilight board matches the one shown on a real compass proving that the sunstone works and could've been used by the Vikings.

## Final Words

"Like gazing through the crystal, I now see things here in a different light. The Vikings' reputation for violence and brutality may be well-earned, but they were also fiercely clever engineers and mariners and more artistically accomplished than we've given them credit for. And while the sunstone may have given the Vikings an edge, there's something in the cultural DNA of Norway that's also undeniable. The spirit that made the Vikings so dominant has carried forward in time to polar explorers and adventurers to fishing villages and modern marvels. Their sagas speak of a magic sunstone and we now know that the legend is true. But the real magic is the ingenuity of the Vikings themselves, who turned simple materials into a powerful tool to conquer the seas."

- Josh Gates

## Notes & Trivia

* *This is where you can put notes and trivia, anything that is interesting or strange can be included here*

## Quotes

* "I've been on some kooky planes before, but this takes the cake"
* "Somewhere, there is lost to history an amazing Viking orthodontist"
* "There's a whole last verse to the Rudolph song that I never knew about. He's delicious."
* "When I think Vikings, I think decorative pillows."

## Gallery

Photos shown in the slideshow are from Travel Channel's Viking Sunstone slideshow. If you hover over the images, their exact image address will appear.

* Josh at Nidaros CathedralGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/02/04/expedition-unknown-108-ss/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-viking-sunstone-norway-england-003.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491582163210.jpeg
* Josh samples Norwegian delicacies at a Trondheim restaurantGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/02/04/expedition-unknown-108-ss/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-viking-sunstone-norway-england-008.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491582163253.jpeg
* Josh and Ingrid explore the catacombs under Nidaros CathedralGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/02/04/expedition-unknown-108-ss/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-viking-sunstone-norway-england-004.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491582163215.jpeg
* Migrad Viking HallGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/02/04/expedition-unknown-108-ss/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-viking-sunstone-norway-england-005.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491582163221.jpeg
* Josh and Geiri on Geiri's authentic Viking shipGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/02/04/expedition-unknown-108-ss/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-viking-sunstone-norway-england-006.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491582163233.jpeg
* The Oseburg at the Viking Ship MuseumGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/02/04/expedition-unknown-108-ss/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-viking-sunstone-norway-england-007.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491582163241.jpeg
* Josh and Christian Berg rappel into a calcite mineGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/02/04/expedition-unknown-108-ss/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-viking-sunstone-norway-england-009.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491582163259.jpeg
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## References

1. ↑ https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/02/04/expedition-unknown-108-ss/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-viking-sunstone-norway-england-001.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491582163188.jpeg