Navigation: Magical Stones of the Sun

Without benefit of compass, Viking sailors of the 9th century managed to ply their watery routes of conquest and commerce, navigating by stars at night and by sun during the day. No matter what the weather, according to ancient Scandinavian sagas, the sun could al ways be located with the aid of magical "sun stones." Summarizing sunstone lore in a recent article in the archaeology magazine Skalk, Danish Archaeologist Thorkild Ramskou lamented that none of the sagas clearly describe the sun stone. "But there seems to be a possibility," he wrote, "that...