1,200-year-old Viking climate change prediction engraved in stone

Approved ~~ MJM

A startling message on a 1,200-year-old granite slab created by the Vikings appears to predict climate change, experts say.

The research, published in Futharc: International Journal of Runic Studies, looks at the message that was written after Viking warrior Varin’s son died in battle in the 9th century, foreseeing a new “climate crisis,” similar to the weather conditions that happened nearly 300 years prior.

“This study proposes instead that the inscription deals with an anxiety triggered by a son’s death and the fear of a new climate crisis similar to the catastrophic one after 536 [AD],” researchers, led by Per Holmberg, wrote in the study’s abstract.

Holmberg and his researchers decoded the message that spoke of Theodoric the Great, who reigned during the Dark Ages. The nearly 8-foot stone was written in “nine enigmatic questions,” according to the abstract, five of which pertain to the sun. The other four ask issues related to the Norse god, Odin.

“A central finding is that there are relevant parallels to the inscription in early Scandinavian poetry, especially in the Eddic poem Vafþrúðnismál,” the abstract added.

Viking leaders were believed to have outsized influence on crop control, giving Varin’s warning outsized importance during the time period. According to The Sun, prior to the death of his son, a solar eclipse occurred, a solar storm turned the sky red and an exceptionally cold winter happened, leading to Varin eventually hiding the warnings in the stone.

536 A.D. is widely regarded as “the worst year to be alive,” as the planet’s population was ravaged by disease and famine and a mysterious fog that covered a significant portion of the globe for 18 months.

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Article URL: https://www.foxnews.com/science/viking-climate-change-prediction-stone