Another Riddle in Stone from Canada

B.L. Freeborn © March 2023                            (Full article as PDF)

Another riddle presents itself. The origin and meaning of the inscription on the Feather Stone of Eastern Canada like many others is debated.

Upper carving on stone.

Upper carving.

The first of these carvings is a rebus. The second (see below) is a pictogram. Once you see it, there is no going back! The upper carving reads:

Father Henricus left (us) in 1124.
OM to leave for north cup tie in 1154.
Baal hit north (at) cup.

Similarly, the lower carving reads:

Henricus 1116-1117
(at) site Bael’s cup, (the) pole tie 1123-1124.
Daggers hit pole (and it) turned.
Baal hit (the) peg (at the) arc (and) hole.
(Carved) 1224.

The upper carving appears Christian. The observer is supposed to think it is, to protect it. [To continue this protection, because of vandalism, its location is not stated. It is off limits to the public now.] This seems to have worked since it still exists. The message is the same in both. These are pagan / Baalist statements similar to others found in the Spirit Pond stones, the Kensington Rune Stone and the Vinland Map. The date given on the map stone and others from Spirit Pond for Henricus’ departure is 1124.(Monge) Those stones date from around 1214-16 (Freeborn) and were written to commemorate Henricus who is clearly described in the long legend of the Vinland Map as having been the Bishop of Greenland around 1117. The next bishop was named in 1124. These must have been carved after 1124 but before Henricus faded from hero status in Vinland which provides a date span.

Interpretation of Upper Carving

The artist was clever. He spells out Henricus. The ‘feather’ provides the letter I which is a straight line in both Latin and Futhark alphabets. The ‘two leaves’ create a T. Now the word TI can be formed or ‘tie.’ They are also arranged in such a manner as to create an H, which is the same in both Latin and Elder Futhark. This creates HIT or ‘hit.’ This is also the H of Henricus. The I was just found. There is a notable similarity between ‘father’ and ‘feather.’ See it as ‘father + E.’ (Spellings varied at the time.) Now we have an E for Henricus.

The crescent provides a U and C depending on your view. It is also an arc which also provides an ‘a’,‘r’ and ‘c.’ So if you do not like the idea of getting an ‘e’ from feather then the ‘a’ and ‘e’ can switch, however the reader might want to see it. Then again, in the Younger Futhark, ‘I’ is also an ‘e’ so once again the E of Henricus is found.

The R is there as well. The arc/crescent provides the upper curve of R. The feather is the upright and the end of the leaf is the downstroke of R. We now have HE_RICU_. What of the S and N? There are ‘2 leaves’ or ‘to leave + S.” The S is found.

Now, where to find the N? That circle and cross is supposed to emphasize this is Christian. That is important in an era when Christians are committing genocide of pagans and Baalists. Look at it again and you will see it is a compass. The cross is a Futhark N in an O. (See tables at end.) This same idea is found on the Kensington Rune Stone. The 4 dots further indicate the cardinal directions. The compass implies North. The O and N spells ‘on.’ The N of Henricus is found. Additionally, the O represents Baal and where it hit is provided by the idea of North in the compass.

Now we have the phrase ‘to leave on’ which suggests a date must be here. Knowing it in advance is perhaps cheating. There is 1 arc, 1 feather, 2 leaves and 4 dots ⇒ 1124. This can additionally be confirmed by the Elder Futhark letter/number equivalents. The letter values for H and U are 9 and 2 which sums to 11. The value for O is 24 so that 1124 is found again. The Golden Number (GN) used in the Perpetual Easter Table (see table) is 4 for that year. The Day Letter (DL) value for that year is 5. Around the O are 4 dots. Furthermore, there is a 5th dot pecked directly above which is the DL. The Elder Futhark E is shaped like an M. The two leaves and feather can be seen as an M or as stated, a Futhark E with value 19. This is the line number for years 1116 to 1124. The year then is confirmed.

Elder Futhark Alphabet sound and numerical value.

Now that it has been decided what this carving says, an additional bit reveals the artist himself. As stated, the compass provides an O. If the leaves and feather form an M, then perhaps these are initials OM. The date could be 1154 for similar reasons as stated above. The artist names himself and states when he carved this. This is the work of OM and he traveled here in 1154. This OM left other beautiful art work that shall be discussed in another article. So, we add the artist to this interpretation.

It reads quite easily now:

Father Henricus left us in 1124.
OM to leave for north cup tie in 1154.
Baal hit north (at) cup.

Interpretation of Lower Carving

The second inscription is more weathered probably due to its lower position on the stone in a climate with a lot of snow. Typically the bottom two portions are read as 06 07 which are Arabic numerals. These were in use within mathematical circles in Europe before the 1100’s. If the intention was to emphasize these, then they suggest a date of inscription of 1206-1207 for reasons as stated above. However, they are not just an 06 and 07. The images here show this is what we want to see because that is what we expect and what is actually there seems …well…odd.

Lower carving on stone.

The 06 begins with an O as in the name O-den. It represents a hole. Then the arc as seen in the upper carving is represented here and connects the O to a peg. The ‘6’ is Baal, a round object with a tail, that strikes the peg or pole. In plain language, ‘a comet strikes the north pole.’ This is a pictogram of an event that is an essential part of the pagan / Baalist religion. It is similar in nature to statements found on the Kensington Rune Stone, Spirit Pond stones and even the Vinland map etc.

The 07 provides an O on a peg as well. The slightly curved 7 is very useful. It suggests a pole, an arc, small ‘r’ and the upright stroke of an L. The small wedge at its base completes the L and also creates a V shape. The ‘r’ is turned. The pictogram tells us the ‘dagger struck the pole on top of the world and it turned.’

The cursive looking H is most certainly the first letter of Henricus. The cup and U are found within the H at the top. C is in the left vertical. A cursive/lower ‘e’ is at the top left. The lower M shape of the H might also be seen as an Elder Futhark E. The right upright provides P. The double loop at the top is both a Latin and Futhark B. The left intersection is a Futhark N and the right is an A. We now have: HENR_CU_ , BAEL and also POLE. The I and S of Henricus are obvious in the letter to the right that creates a T as well. Now the words are complete with Henricus, Bael, tie, hit, sit/site and pole.

A date is given and it appears to be 1224. The carving is on 2 lines with 4 groups which suggests 24. Furthermore, each year in the 532 year cycle of the Perpetual Easter Table has a unique set of three numbers. This year is found on the 4th line with GN 9 and day letters 6 and 7 (a leap year). The latter two numbers are obvious in the carving. There are four symbol groups in the carving and there are four O’s which suggest the line number. The Elder Futhark value for H is 9.

A similar date can be found by counting parts. The ‘H’ is 1. The ‘T’ is in 2 parts. The ‘06’ has 2 parts and the ‘07’ has 3 parts… 1223. The total number of parts is 8. The three numbers for 1223 are Line#3, GN 8 and DL 1. These are all present if the ‘I’ is considered a 1. The Bourne Stone suggests that Henricus went and came back from this journey. The two dates suggest he left in 1123 and returned (to Greenland?) in 1124 and that this was written one hundred years later to commemorate these dates.

For those who are interested – for year 1123: the Line # is 19, the GN is 3 and the DL is 7. If that useful H is seen as an Elder Futhark ‘E’ then 19 is found. Similarly, for year 1124: the Line # is 19, GN is 4 and DL is 5 and 6 (a leap year). The 19, 4 and 6 have all been found.

Two other dates are apparent. The year of Henricus’ arrival in Vinland is considered to be 1116-1117 per the Spirit Pond Stones, Vinland Map and the Newport Tower inscription. That same I of the T, on the right side, has value 11 in Elder Futhark, an S has value 16 and the T has value 17 so ….1116 – 1117.

The interpretation reads:

Henricus 1116-1117
(at) site Bael’s cup, (the) pole tie.
1123-1124.
Daggers hit pole (and it) turned.
Baal hit (the) peg (at the) arc (and) hole.
(Carved) 1224

The reader might want to explore the references below to confirm these translations are supported elsewhere. It would appear the extent of Norse / northern peoples exploration and occupation in North America is vastly misunderstood and underestimated. Overall, they are both clever reminders that Henricus once led Vinland and he was important to people of northeast North America.

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*Easter Tables

** For numeric background see:

**Freeborn, B.L., Validating North American Runic Inscriptions, noahsage.com, November 2022. PDF only.

Freeborn, B.L., Ancient Riddles to Test Our Wits: The Secret Chamber, noahsage.com, January 2016. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Another Riddle in Stone from Canada, noahsage.com, August 2025. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Deciphering the Spirit Pond, Nomans Land and Narragansett Runic Inscriptions, noahsage.com, November 2022. Amulet post. Map stone postPDF only.

Freeborn, B.L., Et in Arcadia Ego – OUOSVAVV DM – Deciphered, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Kensington Rune Stone: A New Translation, noahsage.com, February 2023. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Rök runestone of Sweden, noahsage.com, April 2023. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Runic Riddles: Time Capsules, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L. The Long Debated Bourne Stone, noahsage.com, January 2023. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Nomans Land – Leif Eriksson Inscription, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Narragansett Inscription: A Translation with its Date of Dedication, Author and Inscriber, noahsage.com, October 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Newport Tower: Finding the Date of Dedication, its Designer and Builder, noahsage.com, October 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Wawa Stone and Its Viking Ship, noahsage.com, August 2025. Post here.

The Wawa Stone and its Viking Ship

B.L. Freeborn © August 2025, Updated September 2025                     (Full article PDF here.)

The Wawa Runestone is an excellent topic for study. It is located in Wawa, Ontario above Lake Superior. More information and photos are available at OCARE, Ontario Centre for Archaelogical Research & Education.

Image from OCARE.

The runestone is composed of two parts. There is an extensive inscription in runes on the left and higher up on the rock to the right is a ship in a Viking style. Dr. Henrik Williams was first to study the inscription and will be publishing a paper on the topic. In the meantime, a video is available where he discusses the stone with David Pompeani. (YouTube link here.) In that discussion, he states that often a runic inscription has no relation to the art presented and that the two parts may have been done by different people. That seems to be true here. Indeed, the reader can see easily that the long inscription was done with a sharper, finer tool while the ship was done with a more blunt tool and a much stronger arm. Dr. Williams has identified the inscription as a protestant version of the Lord’s Prayer in modern Swedish. The inscriber did not date the inscription which leaves room for some discussion. It is believed to be of 17th to 19th century origin.

Image from OCARE – Long inscription on left side of Wawa Stone.

As far as the right side with the Viking ship, Dr. Williams could not comment on it, nor did he know the meaning of the X’s. Many would presume these X’s are burial crosses but that implies Christianity, and the Vikings were not necessarily Christian despite their supposed conversion. People converted at knife point are seldom true believers. What then did the artist intend to convey with the crosses? There are no runes present to give any further clues.

Image from OCARE – Ship on right.

Let this not deter us from further study. Notice the artist has presented us with two groups of crosses separated by the ship which implies the number of X’s has some significance. There are five on the left and ten on the right. The number of people shown in the ship appears to be seventeen but others count sixteen. This gives 17, 10 and 5 which is hardly enlightening. However, on closer inspection one notices that the 5 X’s are so arranged to provide two groups of 3 and 2. This grouping then provides 5,3,2. (See image below.)

Closer inspection of the group of ten on the right provides 5 X’s in the first horizontal line, 3 in the next and 2 in the last so that 5,3,2 repeats. This is significant. The Perpetual Easter Calendar/Table was used in the Catholic Church from early times and was still in use long after the Viking era ended. Since calendars were not available, a device was invented similar to a slide rule that allowed the user to determine on what day of the week the first Sunday would fall for each year (known as the Dominical or Day Letter). It repeats every 532 years. (See PDF – Easter Table.) The artist may not have known his letters/runes but he knew his numbers. By providing the 532 in each group of X’s the artist makes it clear there is a date here.

Men and X’s highlighted in white.

To obtain a date from the Table one needs a Line Number #, Golden Number (numbers within the table) and the Dominical Letter/Day Letter (DL) which runs along the top. A proper dating should repeat the date in someway in a more straight forward manner. Presumably, this is the purpose of the X’s.

If one uses the numbers 5, 10 and 17 as provided by the groupings there is no match within the table. However, if the X’s were to announce a date is present, then the 17 men must imply the date in some way. Perhaps it is 1017,1117,1217, etc. But which century?

Year 1217 is on Line #3 with Golden Number (GN) 2 and Dominical Letter (DL) #1. These numbers are provided easily by the three groups of numbers, two of which are X’s and one of which is men. This makes this date a strong possibility. Indeed, this date was found on one of the Spirit Pond Stones which also mentioned Henricus, who was the Bishop mentioned in the Vinland Map. He traveled to Vinland circa 1116 and died presumably in 1123, based on church records for his replacement.

The number 23 is easily found in more than one way by the positioning of the X’s. The year 1123 has Table numbers: Line #19, GN 3 and DL # 7. The value 19 is not represented but the right hand grouping of X’s can be easily separated into 3 and 7.

Other dates were studied with mixed results. One might say that the artist did not mean for us to use the calendar to derive the date. But the artist certainly used the number 532 to alert us to the presence of dates.

Both 1117 and 1123 are strongly supported by the art. Indeed, they are both supported by the Spirit Pond Stones (link to study), the Feather Stone of northeast Canada (link here) and 1117 is supported by a runestone found in the Newport Tower (link to study). Both of these dates refer to the arrival and departure of Bishop Henricus in Vinland as mentioned in the Vinland Map (to be discussed in a future article).  According to both the Spirit Pond Long Inscription Stone and the Vinland Map, he explored up the St. Lawrence and down into Hudson Bay. The proximity of Wawa to Hudson Bay should be noted. The 1117 and 1123 would then be commemorative dates. They mark the beginning of exploration of northern North America by the Vikings. Continued exploration should have followed which explains who may have carved this ship and suggests when.

The unknown artist commemorates
Henricus and his Viking sailors’ exploration
in 1117-1123.

Sadly, virtually everything found in North America that might indicate any European explorer from the dawn of time tread here before Columbus has been declared a fake, destroyed or intentionally forgotten. One such notable work that discusses this topic is The Rediscovery of Lost America by Arlington Mallery and Mary Roberts Harrison, 1979. This work has also been denigrated but if one takes the time to read his references, then his work speaks volumes.

What then happened to the Vikings / Norse / Normans who came to America? Why has history forgotten them? There is a simple answer. If these people were anti-Catholic, then it would have been essential to keep the continent and their colonies a secret. If they lived very simple lives in longhouses and communities, then they left little behind. If they remained in contact, on the sly, with northern Europe, then the Black Death came with the sailors and wiped them out in the late 1300’s as well as any memory of them that existed in Northern Europe.

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*Easter Tables

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**Freeborn, B.L., Validating North American Runic Inscriptions, noahsage.com, November 2022. PDF only.

Freeborn, B.L., Ancient Riddles to Test Our Wits: The Secret Chamber, noahsage.com, January 2016. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Another Riddle in Stone from Canada, noahsage.com, August 2025. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Deciphering the Spirit Pond, Nomans Land and Narragansett Runic Inscriptions, noahsage.com, November 2022. Amulet post. Map stone postPDF only.

Freeborn, B.L., Et in Arcadia Ego – OUOSVAVV DM – Deciphered, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Kensington Rune Stone: A New Translation, noahsage.com, February 2023. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Rök runestone of Sweden, noahsage.com, April 2023. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Runic Riddles: Time Capsules, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L. The Long Debated Bourne Stone, noahsage.com, January 2023. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Nomans Land – Leif Eriksson Inscription, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here.

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The Spirit Pond Rune Stones – Validating and Deciphering

B. L. Freeborn © November 2022; Updated July 2025. This an excerpt from: Deciphering the Spirit Pond, Nomans Land and Narragansett Runic Inscriptions –  Full article PDF version. Map Stone – Front. Photo Scott Wolter ©2009. Used with permission.

Index

Introduction ⇓⇓

SP-3, Inscription stone ⇓⇓

Similar Articles by the same author ⇓⇓

References ⇓⇓

Map stone – obverse. Photo Scott Wolter ©2009. Used with permission.

Introduction

The Spirit Pond Stone with the longest inscription is studied here. There are several plain text readings that have been done, which are vastly different from what is presented. For the most part, the inability to read the stone has led professionals to assume it is fake. It is suggested that this is a riddle, a sort of cross-word puzzle and like any cross word it cannot be ‘read’. One must read this stone’s letters up and down, sometimes backwards, and often as anagrams. Consider it is a puzzle laboriously designed for amusement and the telling of a story. They are meant to take a lot of time to solve so …. do not expect to get it by just ‘reading.’ And since there might be mistakes here, feel free to disagree. In the paper entitled “Validating North American Runic Inscriptions” (PDF), by this author, the Spirit Pond Rune stones were discussed briefly. Reading the first paper is essential to understanding the importance of the numeric information that is given here and followed by ✓ marks. The ciphers in The Inscription Stone (SP-3) are extensive. This is the most thorough study of these inscriptions to date. It follows the work of others who began this study many decades ago. It completes it except for the preservation of the original works. It is up to the reader to motivate those who can. There are four stones from Spirit Pond, Maine that Scott Wolter discusses in The Hooked X: Key to the Secret History of North America. Cyrus Gordon discusses them in Riddles in History. O.G. Landsverk discusses Alf Mongé’s study of them in his books. The Inscription stone (SP-3) has ten lines on the front and on the back there are 5 full lines with the start of a 6th. And thus it begins 56.✓ Apologies are given in advance. This is end to end numbers which makes for poor reading. Do not let the number work deter one from discovering what lays within the inscriptions. The essence can be grasped regardless of the level of interest in the math. Back to Top

Inscription stone – obverse. Photo Scott Wolter ©2009. Used with permission.

SP-3 Inscription Stone

Baal found three times.

Three of the inscription stones use the hooked X. SP-3 as the longest uses it a surprising 33 times on the front and 17 times on the back. 33 + 17 is 50 and 33.50 is the complementary angle to 56.5.✓ Similarly, there are 9 H’s with value 7 on the back and 11 more on the front for a total of 20 or 7, 9, 20 ⇒792.✓ One need not study SP-3 in great detail to see it is a cryptogram about Baal. On line six, Baal is spelled out clearly and it can be found in four other places. One should also notice that on lines five and six in front of this word are four distinct dots in a vertical column (the word dividers). This places four X’s in a square pattern. Their sum then is 40 which implies 56. ✓ This arrangement uses lines 5 and 6.✓ Further still, the word on the sixth line containing Baal has a total of 5 X’s in it so 56.✓ To it’s left there is a 6th X so 56 again.✓ Back to Top   Jump down to Full Translation

Inscription stone – front. Photo Scott Wolter ©2009. Used with permission.

Transliteration of Inscription Stone, SP-3

1. SIKATUMODIN : KILSA : S[LI]A : 2. 17 : DID : HALADHIR : MIBAINBAD 3. HUM : AHR : 1010 : [UU] ULISA SUITNK : 4. 12 : RISI : UIST : 12 : NOR : 10 : SAKAM[LI] 5. UNK : SKIKHILMAN : HAAKON : FAN : 6. HR[IN]IKIN : AT : UIST : BAALAAKA : 7. SILKA : KIYSLRIKN : MIBAINBADH 8. UM : AHR : 1011: SMUALAL[LI][OO]SA : 9. BAMAR[OO]RMAT : THAT : 10. SIKLASHIBI : 11. RI: 12. NAIK[IL]AKTA : BAA 13. MB : UINA : SHIB : UIDH : 14. AKI : 17 : ROIHDHAHOIKUA : 15. KOISAKANK : BANINA : HALADHIR : 16. MIBAINBADHUM : AHR : M11 : Over lined runes are in bold. Bindrunes are underlined or in [ ]. This transliteration was checked against Gordon’s (pg. 138-140). In line 8 he has SK vs. SM here.

Transliteration of Spirit Pond Inscription Stone- Letter placement is maintained creating the uneven depiction. -B.L. Freeborn @Noahsage.com.

Transliteration of Spirit Pond Inscription Stone- Letter placement is maintained creating the uneven depiction. -B.L. Freeborn @Noahsage.com.

Back to Top

Henricus

What else might this text have to say? Mongé found the name Henricus several times in the Spirit Pond rune stones. (Gordon, pgs 142-143.) This example Gordon gives is from the first two lines of text. Below it is transliterated retaining letter placement. (Bold letters are over lined runes on the stone and this rune master used D for Th.) Remove the bold letters: I,T,Th and form HINRIKUS with AMO remaining. In Latin ‘amo’ is ‘love.’ Bishop Henricus (aka Eirikr Gnupson) was believed to be the first bishop in Vinland, America. He was sent by Pope Paschal II (AD 1099-1118). (Gordon, pg. 93) This dating and Mongé’s finding of the name Henricus can be filled out further by the text in the vicinity of the name. Notice the 17 on line #2. If this implies 1117, then it is within this time period. Instead of reading DID (or ThITh) as ‘dead’, as most translators do, read it as ‘did.’ Then one finds it says: Amo Henricus in 17 did he lead.

Inscription Stone with runes traced in white and yellow. Yellow runes are over lined runes.

To where did he lead? The remainder of the two lines has the anagram for sailed twice which implies something hidden. It reads as if it says ‘kill, sa, sail, mi(ghty) bane both.’ A ‘sa’ is a bucket. This suggests they sailed to the place called ‘kill-sa’ or perhaps ‘crater’; and ‘both were mighty and bane.’ This place should be confirmed by the numbers. (They are below for convenience. See table at end for rune number equivalents.) The sum of KILSA is 51 and this is a clue. This 51 when doubled as 51.51̊ gives the latitude of a particularly important place. It is left to the reader to locate it. The next word as an anagram for sail is 11(15+9) 10. Take the 15+9 as 159 then add the 11 and 10. Find the sum 180. There are 180 ̊ of latitude and longitude starts and ends at 180 ̊ . If one reads HIR as if it means ‘here’, then perhaps the answer is found. Note that H, I are 7,9 while the sum is 21 or 7921.✓ The first word on the next line is HUM implying home. It is actually a continuation of the word from the previous line so it might complete the sentence or it begins a new thought since everything here is well placed. The next word is year spelled (AHR), as it was on the Kensington Rune Stone, and then it is followed by 1010. Since Henricus is mentioned and he lived long after 1010 this can only be a commemoration date. Home implies the settlement of Hoop began in that year. The mention of a date suggests one should be found here. Year (AHR) is mentioned again in line 8 and on the reverse in line 6. There they both state the year as 1011. Oddly though, the last 1011 is spelled with a runic M for Roman M or 1000. Even more oddly, there is a rune just after the date 1010 (line 3) that looks like an M -or- it is a bindrune of 2 U’s followed by another U. The word containing these runes is clearly in two parts without a word divider so something is to be found here. The first part sums to 51✓ (using a bindrune of 2 U’s or 4) which was seen just above and the last part to 48. During the years 1010 and 1011, Thorfinn Karlsefini reportedly attempted to colonize Vinland. The last place he stopped he called Hop. Here there are stones in a place called Hoop that mention those years. Mongé believed Henricus created the Spirit Pond stones since his name can be found in ciphers on them. However, would Henricus also embed ‘amo’ with his own name? This suggests someone else wrote at least SP-3. Back to Top

Front Side Date

Returning to the idea of a date, note that there are two 17’s, one on the front and one on the rear. On the fourth line, there are two 12’s. There is a single 10 in this same line with word dividers on both sides. Between the two 12’s are two words with 4 runes each that each sum to 34.✓ Their total sum then is 68. The word between the 17 and 10 (NOR) sums to 17 as well. For clarity the numbers on this line are: #12 : 34 : 34 : #12 : 17 : #10 : 51+24 Note that 90 – 34 = 56.✓ Also, note that there are 24 hours in a day as measured from a place at latitude 51.51.✓ Finding the year is confusing. After much trial and error it seems to be plainly stated by the repeating numerals or year 1217. To confirm this the GN is 2 and the DL is 1. Both of which must have been difficult to embed and even more difficult to identify. The single #10 follows the date (digit sum is 1) and it has word dividers on each side so that it clearly stands out. If this implies GN 1 then a two should be near by. The single word above is divided into two with one empty space between. The left half of the word has 3 U’s (each are a 2) and two of them are joined. There are 2 X’s below, 2 X’s below that and two in succession above. There is a risk here of seeing what is not there. Another confirmation is that this date is five years after the date found on SP-1, the Map Stone. It is also 100 years after the suggested date Henricus arrived, as if it was meant to commemorate his arrival. Further confirmation of his arrival in 1117 is found by reviewing SP-1. This stone then is dated to 1217. The years 1117 and 1217 are further confirmed by a vertical line on the front side. It begins at the bottom at the H I and then straight up as TABL – KS to the 1 space that breaks 2 words. This must refer to the Easter Tables. Examining this further find: HI (7,9) is 16 and the GN for 1117. The sum of KS (6,11) is 17 or the year. The H is 7 or the DL. At the other end of TABL is the space and two words. For year 1217 GN is 2 and DL is 1. Both then are confirmed.✓ While here, notice two other points of interest on line ten. The HI (7,9) is followed by BI (13,9) or 22 so that the series 7922 is formed.✓  The line also begins with SIKLA which is an anagram for KILSA and also ‘a – skill .’ SIKL is (11,9,6,15) and sums to 41 with the A it is 51. The remainder of the line sums to 49. So, that the total sum is 100. The sums of the two words confirming 1217 just above are 51 and 48 as previously mentioned. These numbers will be of use later. Running next to TABL is another vertical line. It spells out BHLAAOA SU INB A which is an anagram of: BAAL SU A BAIN HOL … or … Baal sow A baneful hole. Back to Top

Rear Side Date

Noteworthy numbers on the reverse: The date 1117 is found and confirmed again on the reverse. The numbers #17 and #11 here imply 1117. This year has GN 16 and DL 7. The GN is found by observing M11 is 14+1+1 = 16. This phrase is found on Line 16. Line 13 sums to 117. The M11 also implies year 1011 since M equals 1000 in Roman numerals. On Line 14 the numbers following #17 are: 5 4, 9 7 3 or 9, 19. Year 1117 is on Calendar Line #19. ✓ For that year the DL is 7. Continuing within that word the next rune/numbers are 7 10 7 4. There are three 7’s in this word. The numbers around each 7 sum to 17. The 10 and 7 sum to 17. The 7, 10 sum to 17. The 7,3,7 to 17. The last two (7,4) to 11. Clearly 1117 is indicated here. The end of the word is 9 6 2 = 17 and A(10). In addition, the two runes above the #17 are UI or 11 which repeats 1117. There are 16 runes on Line 14 which is another confirmation of the GN 16. This date is confirmed. The sum of the letters preceding the over lined X on line 16 is 76 or the period of Halley’s Comet.✓ The sum of the entire word is 112 or 2 x 56.✓ The following is deduced from this: 1010 to 1011 is the year Hoop was settled by Karlsefini. Year 1117 was when Henricus arrived at the settlement. Year 1217 is the year this was written to memorialize these dates. Back to Top

Center Pictogram

There is more of interest besides dates hidden here. There is a pictogram in the center of the front. It runs through the center of all ten lines. View each rune as a picture instead of the rune and find it begins with the ‘two’ dots. Below is a ‘star’ suggesting two stars. The stars fall, as the legs of the letter M show. They strike and strike. (The N’s form skewed X’s.) Then it says it went up (an arrow and line) and fanned out the way the runes are shaped like trees. It ends at an enlarged X. Line 1: – : –  Rune to the right is K(6). Line 2: H (7) Rune above is 6 or 7..6… 76.✓ See below. Line 3: U+U or M, (2+ 2) or (M = 14) and next U(2)…. 14 x 2 = 28✓ Line 4: N (8) Two 2’s from bindrune just above and 8 twice or 2…8 ⇒28✓ Line 5: N (8) ⇒ 28✓ (Two from bindrune above. Used second time.) Line 6: T (12) Sum 8 + 8 + 12 = 28✓ Line 7: I (9) Letters to each side are R I K or R|K …5|6✓ Line 8: M (14) Line 9: M (14) Sum 14 + 14 = 28 Sum to here is (7,4,8,8,12,9,14,14) = 76.✓ Line 10: A (10) Total sum is 86.✓ The arrow and line (TI) in a vertical line in this manner appears on the Kensington rune stone and the Rök Runestone in Sweden. In Elder Futhark it is 17 and 11 which is 28.✓ Some words can be made out in this vertical list. Hu sounds like ‘how.’ The double N could be ‘none.’ Tie has been seen before. Ma is ‘more’ and it ends with the hooked X which looks like two darts heading into a peak or mountain. There is much to ponder here. Surely though, it was set up to repeat 28’s (half of 56).✓ The repetition of 76 at the top and in the sum suggest the period of Halley’s comet. The rune master infers two comets struck by using that number/time period and the depiction. Back to Top

Anagrams of a Sort

Lines eight and nine provide interesting anagrams. Line nine has two over lined runes (in bold). The eleven rune word beginning line nine reads: BAMAR[OO]RMAT. ⇒ ROM or ROOM as ‘room’ is obvious. Take the over lined (bold) as a hint and remove those as AR or ‘are’ or perhaps ARA as ‘area’ and what remains is BMAOT. One can see A TOMB remains so that it might read: Area a room, tomb.✓ This is another typical Baalist statement. The sum of the word is 79+22 or 79 AT. The long ‘word’ in line eight is SMUALAL[LI][OO]SA. This is Baalist in nature as well. To read it several other lines are included: Find: RSRSA, RIM, NU, AN, XXX, LI, BAAL, LI, ╢╢, BAIN, SA, SA, 3, HIT, A and HATI which forms 7,10,12,9 or 7922.✓ This might read: Raze, raze, rim, now, An, XXX, lie, eye, Baal, lie, net, bane, bucket, bucket, 3, hit, A. It also can be read as five word anagram: AS MU I ALL LOOSA.

It was razed and razed until it is a rim now. Upon An were the three strikes by Baal. It lies in the net at the baneful buckets from the three hits on A. As it mowed the eye all was loosened.

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The Author and Inscriber

Because this author also designed SP-1, The Map Stone, it is easy to spot his name. On the rear, left side, Line 4 find AKI. Perfectly lined up beneath is MK for ‘make’ and just to the right is another I. So it is: I make, Aki. Just above Aki is an M and above this is an N or NM for ‘name’ which clarifies Aki is a name.

My name is Aki and I made this.

Acrostic and Telestic

Typically there are ciphers that run along the outside edges called the acrostic and telestic. Part of one was found above when the inscriber’s name was located. This works easily on the reverse. The number of words on each line is counted. Then from the left or right count in that many runes. Here the first line is RI, one word, and count from the right 1 to find I. Similarly the next line has one word (count :’s) and find A. Repeating this from the right for all lines reveals: I A U K H 1. This reads in both directions alternating: AK1⇒ ⇐HUI or I how Aki… which clearly means he designed it as well:

I Aki – how made.

Do the same from the right and find: RAIIIB. Read it by alternating in both directions. It reveals: RI I BI A or 56 I Bi-A or … At 56 is the eye and the bisected A. This is typical of Baalist statements which is very unsatisfying to us because it seems like nonsense. Reading the front in the same manner produces nothing. However, reading it in reverse acrostic-telestic is productive. This means the word count from the first line is used on the last etc. in a reverse manner. Example: #number of words in line one is three. In the last line, front side, count from the right and left to find K and I. Again these are typical Baalist statements that tell of a double comet striking the mighty hill of An and in ire it wanders as the eye was hacked. It made a crater in the south. – This describes the details of the apocalypse. The root words of which are the same: a- poc-collapse or at ‘a’ there is a (poc)crater which caused the collapse. Further study of runes, ancient riddles and words will reveal to the reader whether this is accurate. No doubt Mongé in his extensive study of this inscription found these same lines but ignored them as gibberish. He did obtain a readable acrostic (from the left end) by ignoring the lines with numbers. He also continued working until he found a brilliant substitution cipher using the over lined runes which contains Henricus. (Landsverk, pg. 205-206) Back to Top

Over Lined Rune Ciphers

There are 9 over lined runes on the front. (I,T,D,A,A,K,A,R,A). There are 7 on the reverse (B,N,S,A,A,K,A). 79✓ The sum of the seven is 68 or 86 in reverse. ✓ The sum of the 9 runes on the front is 75 or 24+ 51. Recall there are 24 hours of longitude and the reader was directed to find 51.51̊ earlier. Notice that the first three (I T D) when read in reverse (Th/D is 3) are ‘3 TI’ or ‘3 at the Tie.’ Two of the A’s (X’s) are next to a B and bindrune (I+L). It is easy to arrange BAAL I or ‘Baal eye’ out of this. The remaining are A ARK or perhaps ‘ark at X.’ On the reverse. AKA appears. Aka can also be taken as AGA which may be ‘āga’⇒ own;‘ege’⇒ terror; ‘oga’⇒ ogre; ‘aga’ ⇒go away. So, perhaps it is ‘The eye of Baal lies where it owned it.’ The other over lined letters on the back: BN SA suggests ‘bane bucket.’ Or perhaps:

The eye of Baal lies in 3 arks at the tie where it owned it. The baneful craters are horrifying.

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Rhode Island

In that complicated line #14 which was where all the 17’s were found hides something else of interest. The line reads ‘AKI : 17 : ROIHDHAHOIKUA:’. The name AKI on the left was found above as the author. The long word appears to be a four word anagram. Remove the following letters from the long word: I, AKI, HU and what remains is ROHDAHO. ‘OH’ means ‘island’ so remove that ⇒ ROHDA?…. RHODA OH ……… ⇒ I, Aki how in Rhode Island. On the reverse there is another phrase that is very clear. Begin on the right side third line down reading in a straight line is: HKHR which ends at the ‘r’ in year (AHR).⇒ ⇒ hack here year… Next column: UAM (2,10,14) or 1214. ⇒⇒ 1214 Indeed, the full word is HALADHIR or ‘He led here.’ And where is here? It also includes two anagrams with L as a divider. Find: HA – ADHIR ⇒ Rhadi Ah ⇒ Rhode Oh ⇒ Rhode Island. It repeats! (Recall there are 50 X’s in this. Some o’s and æ’s must have been sacrificed to achieve that number. I can be either e or I.) So:

Aki cut in 1214 for the 100 year anniversary of Henricus’ arrival at Rhode Island where he led.

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Longitude and Latitude

Finding the longitude and latitude hidden in these inscriptions requires knowing it in advance. It cannot just be read off. The text gave us the clue Rhode Island so we shall have some area to work with, assuming it is the same Rhode Island we know of today. The location of Newport Tower is 41.48̊N and 71.31̊W and the location of nearby Narragansett is 41.45̊N and 71.45̊W with respect to the Greenwich Meridian. Interspersed through the text is Pentadic numbers such as seen on line two and three. A listing of these in order with the words North and West as they appear in the text follows. There are four tens and they are all the circle and stick shape. The M in the final date is excluded since it is not Pentadic: 17, 10, 10, 12, West, 12, Nor, 10, West, 10, 11,………reverse side: 17, 11 Total sum = 120. Sum from beginning to just after Nor (17+10+10+12+12+10) is 71. Sum from the end to just before Nor (11+17+11+10+10+12) is 71 ⇒ 71 North 71 Sum of numbers excluding 10’s to just after West is (17+12+12) is 41. Sum of remaining numbers excluding 10’s is (11+17+11) is 39. Sum of numbers from beginning to first West is (17+10+10+12) is 49. Sum of numbers from second West to end is (10+11+11+17) is 49. Sum of numbers on reverse side is 28. Additionally, numbers 17 and 12 are lined up over each other on the left so 29. Line three reads – UUULISA SUINK which is 41 A 48. Line four reads – 12 : RISI : UIST : 12 : NOR : 10 : SAKAM[LI] as all numbers this is… 12 : 34 : 34 : 12 : 17 : 10 : 75 The sum of just the numbers 12, 12 and 10 on this line is 34. Two words sum to 34. Line ten summed to 41 A 49. (See above.) The text clearly indicates 41.49 / 41.48 and 71.34. These coordinates bring one to just north of Fort Adams (at 41.48̊N and 71.34̊W) and west of Newport in the bay area off Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island. It would seem Aki did mean to indicate the Fort Adams / Newport area where stands the Newport Tower. Its apparent accuracy suggests they were using the Greenwich Meridian as opposed to other available meridians. (See Post: The Newport Tower: Finding the Date of Dedication, its Designer and Builder.) Back to Top

Founding Family

There is another section of the text that is of interest. Line five ends with: HAAKON : FAN . Gordon (pg. 142) felt this meant ‘Haakon found.’ Haakon is a common name. A closer look at the text reveals more. As before this requires several lines not just one. Running vertically from FAN is FAN so it forms a square: Now one can find KAM, NAM and FAMLI in the square implying ‘Haakon (name) came and is the founding family.’ But there is more here. Notice the LOK at a diagonal and the AT both pointing to the same place or ‘look at.’ What then is in this odd word SUITNK? AKI the author’s name can also be found with the A below. Removing AKI what is left is SUTN which suggests NUT … ‘not’ and/or SUN … ‘son’ or ‘is not Aki.’ Perhaps, we are close to it. KINK/G or KUNK/G is here with the K below. King Haakon IV of Norway began his rule as a child in 1204. Removing these from SUITNK leaves SUT or SIT which seems to imply ‘sit.’ King Haakon IV was ‘sitting’ then but this entire inscription suggests the settlement is much older. Newport can be dated to at least 1116 by the Newport Tower (Freeborn, 2022). This is a hundred years prior to Haakon IV. The text offers another possibility. To the left is the name (UU/M) U -LISA with (D)THIR just above as if it says MUTHIR LISA or ‘mother Lisa.’ SUITNK is also an anagram of Kitsun. Just below the IT is K which repeats Kit. So it is: KITSUN KAM 10. Year 1010 is the date stated in the plain text. Perhaps, the founder of Rhode Island then was:

Haakon, son of Lisa and Kit, was the founding family in 1010.

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A Full Translation

By now we have seen many subjects touched on in this inscription. The first was Baal followed by Henricus in 1117; and the founding family of Haakon Kitson in 1010; Rhode Island and its location; and its author, Aki, in 1214. However, there are many words as yet not discussed. After reviewing each line and looking at the remaining words a summary translation that is not so jumbled will be made. The transliterated image retains letter placement to facilitate reading of the text. Line #1: SIKATUMODIN: KILSA ; SLAI : The first word was found to be a partial anagram for Henricus and ‘amo’ which means ‘love.’ SIKATUMODIN includes the A, R below the M. This is an anagram of several words: SIT KAM MAR U ODIN or site, came, mar, U, Odin ⇒ At the site of Odin it came. It is a mar, a cup, an O den. KILSA describes the place again: where it killed is a bucket. KILSA is also an anagram for ‘a skill.’ The last word is an anagram for ‘sail.’ Line #2 : 17 : DID : HALADHIR : MIBAINBAD-HUM 17 was used to calculate the longitude/latitude and the years 1117 and 1217. DID is ‘did,’ and HALADHIR was seen to be both ‘he led here’ and ‘Rhode Island.’ MIBAINBAD-HUM appears to be plain text joined words: My baneful bad home. Note that BAD is directly above the SUITNK which was found to include ‘not king.’ So it is ‘Haakon is not the bad king.’ Running vertically under the ‘did’ is AIKI or I, Aki, did. Line #3 : HUM : AHR : 1010 : [UU] ULISA SUITNK : HUM is ‘home.’ AHR is both ‘year’ and an anagram of HAR or ‘here.’ 1010 is the year. [UU]U is part of the center pictogram and suggests ‘three cups.’ [UU] is also a Latin M so that MU with the R just below and a TH (D) just above as if it says MOThR LISA or ‘mother Lisa.’ SUITNK with the K below was ‘not sit King.’ It was otherwise an anagram of ‘Kitson.’ Line #4 : 12 : RISI : UIST : 12 : NOR : 10 : SAKAM[LI] – UNK The numbers refer to the years 1217 and 1010. They were also used to calculate the longitude/latitude. UIST and NOR are ‘North’, ‘west’ or ‘waste.’ Above the NOR is RU or ‘row north.’ RISI with the M and A above form RIM and SAI or ‘rim’ and ‘sea.’ RISI with the A above forms ‘Æsir.’ The Æsir were the primary gods ruled by Odin. The line ends with SAKAM[LI]. SAK is either ‘sack’ or ‘sag’. It can also be SA KAM LI. ‘Sa’ is a bucket in Old English so it becomes ‘bucket came lie.’ The AMLI was part of the words ‘family’ and ‘fan.’ The K has I above and N below so ‘kin.’ If this is an anagram SAM KIN FAN FAMLI or ‘same kin founding family’ certainly makes sense. The word continues onto the next line. The LIUNK is UNKLE or ‘uncle.’ This Haakon Kitson is then uncle to the bad King Haakon. Line #5 : UNK : SKIKHILMAN : HAAKON : FAN : The first word UNK is KNO ⇒‘know.’ SKIKHILMAN is ‘skill hill hike man.’ Then follows the founders actual name spelled out, Haakon, with fan repeated both horizontally and vertically which seems to imply ‘founder.’ Line #6 : HR[IN]IKIN : AT : UIST : BAALAAKA : The first word is an anagram of Henricus using the U and S above. This leaves ‘in.’ Above KIN is another K suggesting ‘king’ again and also ‘kin.’ The ‘in’ is followed by AT or ‘at.’ This ‘in at’ sounds redundant, however AT in Hebrew gematria is 79. HR[IN]IKIN is also HIR NI KIN or here nigh kin of king. The H with U above and S below suggests SHU ⇒ ‘show.’ Then follows UIST or ‘west’ or ‘waste.’ Baal follows three times in different directions as shown above. LAAKA is ‘lake’ spelled with three A’s repeating the idea of 3. Line #7 : SILKA : KIYSLRIKN : MIBAINBADH SILKA as before is both ‘Kilsa’ and also ‘a skill.’ KIʀSLRIKN seems unintelligible which it should since it is an anagram for ‘Skrilingʀ’ ⇒ ‘scræling’ or foreign person. The last word, ‘my baneful bad home,’ was discussed before. It repeats three times as the refrain of the piece. Mongé felt Kilsa was the year 1124. (See Map Stone.) Line #8 : UM : AHR : 1011: SMUALAL[LI][OO]SA : This was discussed above. It was: It was razed and razed until it is a rim now. Upon An were the three strikes by Baal. It lies in the net at the baneful buckets from the three hits on A. As it mowed the eye, all was loosened. This additional comment is added. The vertical runes running through the S might also include the A on the bottom line so that it becomes: ARSRSA of ‘Aesir, Aesir.’ Line #9 : BAMAR[OO]RMAT : THAT : This was also discussed above. It was: ‘Area a room, tomb.’ THAT is ‘that’ and also was part of the end line anagram HATI or ‘hit A.’ Line #10 : SIKLASHIBI : SIKLASHIBI appears complicated. It reads better with the M above the A included and the AT above the last I so that it says: ‘I am skil at ship’ ⇒ ‘I am skilled at ship’ which suggests he is either a skilled builder of ships or sailor. Line #11 : RI : RI is both 51 and 56. It appears on the Kensington rune stone on the side at the far right; and on the Rok rune stone in Sweden on the top at the far right. Line #12 : NAIK[IL]AKTA : BAA NAIK[IL]AKTA with the M below at the start of the line and the IN below the K reads: MANI KIL KIN ATAK ⇒ many kin killed in attack. The BAA is with the B below and DO is ‘ababod.’ This is Old English ‘æbebod’ which means an ‘edict of law.’ Line #13 : MB : UINA : SHIB : UIDH : MB : UINA : SHIB : UIDH is almost straightforward plain text: move Vine ship with ⇒ moved to Vineland on a ship with…. Also find DOA running down with another A below and to the side N,M which implies …Doa (name). The runes in the square UID /HO spell out: HU I DO ⇒ how I do. The last H begins the ‘hack here Rhode Island 1214’ found previously which runs vertically to the right. VINA has an R below the A which creates VINAR or an anagram for Vanir. The Vanir are another group of gods in Norse Mythology. Line #14 : AKI : 17 : ROIHDHAHOIKUA : The first word is the author’s name, Aki, and as discussed before the acrostic says: I Aki (name) make. The long word, also discussed above, is: I, Aki how in Rhode Island. Line #15 : KOISAKANK : BANINA : HALADHIR : The first two words are new. KOISAKANK is an anagram for I KO AS KANK ⇒ I go as King. KANK is directly over BAD so once again he states the King is bad. BANINA is combined with the AB above the N so that it clearly says BAN, BAN. The U below the N creates ‘now.’ There is an M below the INA so that it is MANI or ‘many.’ Line #16 : MIBAINBADHUM : AHR : M11 MIBAINBADHUM was My baneful bad home. The H is part of another restatement of HAAKON. It moves up and to the left as HKON and up to the right as HAA. One of those A’s is part of BANINA and the M below it forms the word ‘name’ which confirms that it was intentional. The remaining letters of AHR : M11 were a part of the vertical lines discussed above. Vertical lines : Vertical lines included the center pictogram, the Table Date line, and the line next to it which gave: Baal sow baneful hole. Back to Top

Summary Translation

In order to summarize these jumbled ideas, their positioning in the inscription and topic will be taken into account. For example: ‘know, skill hike man’ are part of the Henricus anagram so presumably this refers to him. With that said, it translates more or less to: ………
51 / 56 Rhode Island was founded in 1010. Haakon Kitson, son of Lisa and Kit, was the founding family. He was uncle and kin to the sitting bad King Haakon at my baneful bad home. Beloved Henricus in 1117 did he lead here in Rhode Island. He was a skilled sailor. Henricus was a knowledgeable man and a skilled outdoors man. Henricus hired nigh the kin of the King of the Scrælings to go west to the Baal lakes and show him. He rowed north and sailed with the scrælings in 1124. I, Aki, made and designed this. I am a skilled sailor. Many of my kin were killed in an attack because of an edict of law at my baneful bad home. I go as the bad King Haakon banned now my many gods. I moved to Vineland on a ship with Doa. This is how I came. For 1217, I, Aki, cut this and designed it in Rhode Island. He banned my gods Vanir, Odin, and Æsir, Æsir! At the site of Odin it came. It is a mar, a cup, an O den. It was killed at the bucket. The home of the three cups from Baal is here. It wasted the north and it became a rimmed sea. It was sacked as it sagged to where the bucket came to lie. Baal, Baal, Baal! There are 3 lakes. Baneful and bad was its home. Two comets struck the eye which is the tie. It flew up as it was struck. It was razed and razed until it is a rim now. Upon An were the three strikes by Baal. It lies in the net at the baneful buckets. As it mowed the eye all was loosened. In ire it wandered south as the eye was hacked. The area is a room, a tomb. That is where it hit. The eye hill at the eye is where many struck. At 56 is the eye and the bisected A. It made the craters. The eye of Baal lies in three arks at the tie where it owned it. The baneful craters are horrifying. Baal sowed a baneful hole. I, Aki, made this in 1214 for the 100 year anniversary of Henricus’ arrival at Rhode Island, 41.48̊N and 71.34̊W, where he led.

End Translation It would take a miracle to read this inscription as plain text!

Back to Top This concludes the Spirit Pond stones but there is another stone from the same period somewhat south which also provides …… a runic riddle. (Continues with The Nomans Land – Leif Eriksson Inscription – which was this previous post and the Narragansett Inscription here.) Back to Top

Previous… Newport Tower Post          Next … Shawnee Runestone

Younger Futhark Runic Alphabet

From Wikipedia

Similar Articles by the Same Author in PDF and Post:

*Easter Tables

** For numeric background see:

**Freeborn, B.L., Validating North American Runic Inscriptions, noahsage.com, November 2022. PDF only. Freeborn, B.L., Ancient Riddles to Test Our Wits: The Secret Chamber, noahsage.com, January 2016. Post here. Freeborn, B.L., Another Riddle in Stone from Canada, noahsage.com, August 2025. Post here. Freeborn, B.L., Deciphering the Spirit Pond, Nomans Land and Narragansett Runic Inscriptions, noahsage.com, November 2022. Amulet post. Map stone postPDF only. Freeborn, B.L., Et in Arcadia Ego – OUOSVAVV DM – Deciphered, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here. Freeborn, B.L., Kensington Rune Stone: A New Translation, noahsage.com, February 2023. Post here. Freeborn, B.L., Rök runestone of Sweden, noahsage.com, April 2023. Post here. Freeborn, B.L., Runic Riddles: Time Capsules, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here. Freeborn, B.L. The Long Debated Bourne Stone, noahsage.com, January 2023. Post here. Freeborn, B.L., The Nomans Land – Leif Eriksson Inscription, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here. Freeborn, B.L., The Narragansett Inscription: A Translation with its Date of Dedication, Author and Inscriber, noahsage.com, October 2022. Post here. Freeborn, B.L., The Newport Tower: Finding the Date of Dedication, its Designer and Builder, noahsage.com, October 2022. Post here. Freeborn, B.L., The Wawa Stone and Its Viking Ship, noahsage.com, August 2025. Post here.

References

Firestone, Richard; West, Allen; Warwick-Smith, Simon; The Cycle of Cosmic Catastrophes: Flood, Fire, and Famine in the History of Civilization, Bear & Company, Rochester, VT., 2006. Gordon, Cyrus, Riddles in History, Crown Publishers, Inc. New York, 1974. Landsverk, O.G., Runic Records of the Norsemen in America, Erik J. Friis, Publisher, Rushford, MN, 1974. Landsverk, O.G., Ancient Norse Messages, Norseman Press, Glendale, California, 1969. Lenik, Edward J., Making Pictures in Stone: American Indian Rock Art of the Northeast, 2009. Mongé, Alf & O.G. Landsverk, Norse Medieval Cryptography in Runic Carvings, Norseman Press, Glendale, California, 1967. Syversen, Earl, Norse Runic Inscriptions: with their Long-forgotten Cryptography, The Vine Hill Press, Sebastopol, California, 1979. Wolter, Scott F, The Hooked X: Key to the Secret History of North America, North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc., St. Cloud, Minnesota 2009. Derogatory article by Aslak Liestol of Alf Mongé’s work: http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/41/v41i01p034-042.pdf  and…. …Landsverk responded to these comments in Ancient Norse Messages pg. 126-129; and often in Runic Records of the Norsemen in America. Back to Top

The Newport Tower: Finding the Year of Dedication, its Designer and Builder

B.L. Freeborn © October 30, 2022, Rewritten June 2025        (PDF version here.)

Who built the Newport Tower is a long standing question. It has been well proven by James Eagan that the tower is used for keeping time as the celestial bodies align with its numerous small windows. Eagan also noticed that certain letters formed with stones appear in the arches of the structure. Most notable and hard to miss is the >OI<. He found the Delta and P (shown as R). He also thought the h was a Greek η. From there he determined, probably correctly, it spells out Rode as in Rhode Island. His theory states John Dee had the tower built in 1583 in connection with a colonization attempt which failed.

The tower is shown on the “Woods Map 1635’ by William Woods a colonist in Providence, RI (Syverson, pg.32) The map notes it as Old Plymouth. This is the earliest known record and predates Benedict Arnold senior’s ownership. Evidently Arnold knew what it was and probably who built it, but because of the possibility of these prior claims resurfacing he referred to it as an old windmill knowing very well only a fool would believe that.

Newport Tower in 2023

After studying Eagan’s discovery, the other letters shown above were identified. There are eight arches. Three of which have one letter displayed and five display two each. There is also a round stone on the interior opposite the >OI< stone which is on the northwest side. This makes fourteen altogether. To complicate the picture there is a runic inscription found over the southwest pillar (see images below). It was translated by Mongé (1967) and it reads Henricus 1116. This refers to Bishop Henricus from Greenland that was sent to Vinland. He is known as Bishop Eirik Gnupsson in Icelandic annals. Other theories as to the tower’s origin abound. The Henricus theory is at least supported by an inscription imbedded into the tower itself in the manner of a corner stone.

This paper is a study of the inscription and stone letters. It is also an addendum to Validating North American Runic Inscriptions (PDF). The translation is given here and the study with its numeric work follows. The aforementioned paper will be helpful in understanding it.

Translation

The round stone on a peg in the NW arch is as indicative of Baal as a cross is to Christ. (The >OI< stones.) Furthermore, it would seem the stone letters spell out Baal. This leads to studying the ‘inscription’ as if it is of Baalist origin and if so, certain numbers must be present. Validating North American Runic Inscriptions describes how certain numbers are embedded in Baalist inscriptions. One should recall that the Catholic Church went to great lengths to stamp out paganism in the time preceding, during and after Henricus’ tenure as Bishop. Apparently, Baal was central to that religion which is why there are so many references to it hidden in runic riddles. The dedication to Baal at Newport tower is unmistakable. The stone letters are repeated here:
Reading in a clockwise manner – b O O L T I h Δ I O >I< P/R O
These are transliterated as:           B A A L T I h D I A I R O

Note that the P in some scripts/languages is R. The O’s can be either O or A. Similarly, the I can be E. In Futhark runes B can be P.
Reading from the top clockwise find: RO, BAAL, TI, HI, HID, DI, O, >I<
Also find: HIT, I TOOL, O LO, BOR, ROB, POL, RODE or RHODE and OH.

The first line suggests: Row, Baal, Tie, die, high, hide, eye, two strikes at I.
The second adds: hit, I tool Rob, hole low, bore, pole; rod, red or road; and oh. We may conclude:

Baal at the high tie hit. It hit twice at the eye in rows.
The hole is low where it bored the eye of the pole.

“ROB” tooled (designed and built).
Rhode Island

The first two lines are typical Baalist statements. The words are easily found in the inscription. Rhode Island perhaps requires an explanation. RHODE appears to be a combined anagram for Rod (or Red) and Oh (meaning island). A rod is a measuring length of 16.5 feet. The clay on the shores of Rhode Island is notably red so it might also refer to red. This suggests the name, Rhode Island, is much older than cited by modern authorities. The name Rob, R.O.B. or B.O.R. is the name or initials of the designer. The H presumably represents his pseudonym, Henricus. (To be discussed further below.)

Then Comes Henricus

Above the southwest pillar of the tower is a runic inscription. Harek Williams examines it in a video with James Eagan and confirms it is human carved and nothing more. A much better source for proving it is an authentic runic carving is Alf Mongé. Why the latter? Harek Williams reads plain text runes from that period. He does not delve into runic puzzles or dated riddles. Alf Mongé was a cryptologist. He deciphered the deep scratch marks into runic letters and decoded them. He found it reads: Henricus 1116. This gives a lower limit to the age of the tower. Based on other runic inscriptions found along the east coast and the Narragansett inscription nearby this seems plausible.

The rapidity with which the tower is giving away to nature demands that it must be under constant care. This requires that, regardless of when it was built, it must have been periodically repaired. It has been nine hundred years since Bishop Henricus visited (circa 1116) as stated in the Vinland map legend. The Spirit Pond stones are dated to 1214-1217. (Freeborn, Deciphering.., 2022) They commemorate his visit. The Kensington Stone’s date is 1362. (Freeborn, Kensington.., 2023) It states the travelers came from Rhode Island. In 1525 Verazzanno explored the coast but did not mention the tower. In 1583 John Dee sent an expedition to the area. By the 1600’s it was settled by colonists and it came under the care of Benedict Arnold senior. This could mean it received periodic maintenance since the time of its construction, on or after 1116, until Arnold’s ownership five hundred years later.

The date and builder need not be total speculation. The aforementioned inlaid letters tell the story of Baal. If they were chosen in the manner of a runic riddle they may reveal more. Since Henricus was a master at runic riddles, and if this was built by him or in honor of him, then the symbols should contain further information. These riddles often contained a date.

As far as John Dee being the designer, that is possible as well. However, and it is a very big however, he was a devoted Christian and this tower is clearly a dedication to Baal. A study of Dee’s mathematics does not display the numbers so prevalent in Baalist inscriptions which suggests he is not the creator. The two religions are not mutually exclusive since Henricus was a Bishop of the church, but he lived at the point in time when paganism, through genocide, was actively being stamped out. To continue their religion and live, they were forced underground or in this case, off the European continent. It is possible he was of both beliefs.

After a mathematical study (which follows) of the letters’ number equivalents more information was derived. As seen, it was erected to commemorate the great story of Baal. It also commemorates Henricus’ visit in 1116 and suggests an erection date from 1153 to 1161. This is some thirty years after his supposed death. In keeping with his humor, or some might say his ego, he designed and oversaw the construction himself.

Designed and Built by O.M. – Dedicated 1161
To Honor Baal and Bishop Henricus’ visit in 1116
Rhode Island

Number Work and Proof of Transliteration

Certain numbers** appear when the letters in any Baalist inscription is converted to their numerical equivalent (gematria). The Newport Tower’s hidden letter/numbers are studied here. Numbers that are typically found are noted by a ✓ check mark. Simply put, if the numbers are not found, it is -not- a true Baalist inscription -or- the letters have been misinterpreted. Once the correct letters are proven via their gematria then the message about Baal can be read and also, possibly, who wrote it and when. The result of this study is as noted above.

The proposed transcription of symbols imbedded in the arches of the Newport Tower is shown below. The numbers are studied for repetitions and pertinent numbers.

Norse Runic Gematria

Sum from T and around to first A = 79. From the same A to L is 23. So that it is 79,23.✓
Total sum is 98 or 89 in reverse which reminds one 89 x 89 = 7921.✓
The sum from the Δ around again to the 7 is 89. ✓ The 79 is also imbedded in the text.✓
Even more notable the 9,3,9 sum to 21 so it becomes 7921.✓
The sum from the first A to first I is 51.✓ The sum from H to the right and around to L is 86.✓
The 28 appears twice which is half of 56.✓ The sum from B to the left around to the I (by H) is 56.✓
The sum from first I to the last O is 43. Twice 43 is 86.✓
The tower also spells out RHODI or Rhode. These letters have values: 5,7,4,3,9 = 28 and twice this is 56 ✓
Note the 12’s at T, ID, DI. Note the 13 at AI just following the 12.
Note the 14 at IR. Lastly, note 7 and 9 sum to 16.
By summing adjoining numbers find: 13,17, 19, 15, 19,12, 16, 12, 12, 13, 13, 14, 9, 17…
On either side of the 16 is a 12, then 12, 12, 13, 13, 14.

Years 1112,1113, 1114, 1115,1116 and 1117 are all implied by the series. These numbers coincide with the period of time Henricus was believed to be in Vinland. In dated runic riddles the Golden Number (GN), Day Letter (DL) and Line # are used to denote a year since every year has specific values that can be found in Easter Tables (a calendar device created in 525 AD). The main legend on the Vinland Map has the phrase: ‘anno p. ss. nrj.’. This uses a 1, 2, 3 sequence in the abbreviations. Since ‘anno’ means year, this is clearly a reference to ‘year 1123’ when Bishop Henricus was replaced by Bishop Arnold and his death was therefore presumed. As an example, if it implies Line #1, Golden Number (GN) 2 and Day Letter (DL) 3 then 1161 is indicated. In this instance, for year 1116, the values are Line #19, GN 14, and DL 3. There are two sums of value 19 with a 15 in between. The delta is the only letter in Greek. D has value 3 in Futhark. This 3 would be the DL. This then easily points to a date 1116. The date has additional merit as seen below. Without corroborating information as seen in the imbedded stone and Vinland map, other dates remain as possibilities.

Runic Inscription Study

Briefly, this is a summary of Mongé’s decipherment of the small stone imbedded above one of the pillars shown in the image above. It is a group of five runes and two are joined runes: (HE) N (IK) ʀ S or Henricus. There is an arrow to the right. The arrow is another feature common on Baalist inscriptions.** Using runic gematria, the year 1116 is found. The (HE) is 16. The S is 11. The ʀ is 16. The (IK) is 15. Reading in reverse find 1116. The repetition of the 16 and 15 help confirm the interpretation. It is worth reading Mongé’s study (Mongé, pgs 128-129).

The Structure Contributes

Round sun stone on interior.

The structure is set up to provide numbers as well. There are 8 pillars and 10 symbols that appear on five arches (two each). One symbol (the round sunstone) is in the inside and three arches have only one symbol for a total of 14 symbols. 4 x 14 = 56.✓
There are five arches with two symbols each or 10.
There are three with one each for 3. Total 13.
There is a single round stone on the interior. So 1. Then 1 and 13 ➟ 113 = 56.5 x 2.✓
There are 8 pillars and of course, 8 arches. A square of sides 5.656 has a diagonal of 8.✓
There are double symbols in 5 arches and single symbols in 3.
If the first arch with B is #1, then the arches with two symbols are found on: 3, 5, 6, 7,8. The ever present 3 is represented, then 56 and 7 x 8 is 56 again.✓ Similarly, if B is #1, then it is 1 symbol, then 1 symbol, then 2 symbols; or 112 which is twice 56.✓

One may again conclude after finding so many numbers typically found in Baalist documents that the transliteration is correct. The set of numbers is then 5,3,2,2,2,2,2,1,1,1 and 10. Let us view this another way. There are 3 arches with only 1 symbol. This is part of the story of Baal. There are 3 arcs.✓ The repeating 2’s emphasize that there were 2 Baals ✓.

Also note the number 532 is easily found. This is the number of years in the Easter Table before the table starts to repeat. Its presence infers a date. The 1,2,3 suggests year 1161 as seen above. The more probable date of 1153 is also easily implied here. Of the eight arches 5 have two symbols and 3 have one for 53. There is one round stone on the inside and one on the outside between two pillars which implies the 11. The sum of the digits in 1153 is 10 which is the number of double symbols.✓ It is suggested that Henricus journeyed to Rhode Island a second time or began the structure in 1153, and the tower was completed on or before 1161. This accounts for some of the confusion in the Vinland Map that says, ‘He remained a long time summer and winter and later returned toward Greenland.’ He was presumed dead in 1123 but reappears thirty years later.

Newport Tower with OM on side. Round stone is O. Adjoining arches form M.

Who was the Builder?

Further information is here about Henricus. If the letter sequence is viewed using the Elder Futhark gematria we find:
18 4 4 21 17 9 11 23 11 4 11 5 24 …18
B  A A L  T H  I   D   I  A I R O… B ⇒… repeats..

It is believed Henricus died in 1123 because a new Bishop of Greenland was consecrated in 1124. Note that 1123 is emphasized in the sequence.

Find: I, DI, H 1123…… I die 1123 (as) Henricus.
I HID 1123 ……… I hid 1123.
I R O B …. or… B. O. R. or I Rob….

In other runic riddles such phrases are anagrams. Recall first that the O’s were also considered to be A’s and find in these letters – B A A L T H I D I A I R O the following:

I DI  REAL PA AT OH ………. I die. Real father at island. (OH = island)
I ROB LOT I AID HA ………. I rob (the) lot. I aid. Ha!
I HID A O ROB IT AL ………. I hid. I ring rob it all.
I A O I HID ROB LOT ………. I a ring. I hid. Rob lot.
I HI PA O RAID LOT ………. I high father (bishop). Ring raid lot.
I PA H I O RAID LOT ………. I Father H. I ring (that) raid lot.
IT A O ROB AL I HID ………. It a ring. Rob all. I hid.
I PA O HID AL AT RI ………. I father. Ring hid all at RI (Rhode Island).
RHODE IT AL I A PA ………. Rhode. It all I, a father.

This sounds like the confession of a thief who robbed and aided. Furthermore, it suggests he hid it at RI, which one might think refers to treasure. It is more likely it means he was using his ill gotten gains to ‘aid’ his fellow man and hiding those people at Rhode Island. What sort of people needed to be hidden in that era? And is there a thief known as Rob who stole from the rich and gave to the poor? Who then was Henricus? Who was Rob?

Perhaps a couple more phrases might help.

I O PA HID AL AT RI ………. I O. Father (who) hid all at RI. (Rhode Island)
I O R PA AL HAT I DI ………. I O . Are Father (of) all. Hate I die.
I O R PA AL HAT I DI ………. I O . Are pa. All hate I die.

The image of the side of the tower shows a round stone between two arches. (See above.) If the round stone is an O then might not the two arches represent an M? Who then was OM and was OM a king?

It just so happens that a king also died in 1123 and his name was Oystein Magnusson who co-ruled Norway with his brother Sigurd the Crusader. Sigurd was a warrior and killer. It is then possible it was Oystein who named Henricus (Erik) as Bishop to Greenland.

A study of the two kings’ relationship can be seen in the historical account of Snorri. They were not friends. The need arises for a new bishop in Greenland in 1123. It is Sigurd that names him since Oystein has died unexpectedly.

So then we might ask:
• Did King Oystein name himself as Bishop and travel to Rhode Island as Henricus?
• Was King Oystein spiriting his people away from the genocides in Norway and sending them to Rhode Island?
• Was he funding his enterprise by robbing?
• King Oystein was a fabulous architect and builder of ships, bridges and churches. Did he design the tower?
• Did he hide from his murderous brother and later return to Rhode Island to oversee the tower’s construction?

Perhaps if one looks closer at the Vinland map (yes… it’s been declared a fake…), one can find his initials OM there as well. (Hint: use two copies against a sunny window.) Did King Oystein also pen the map?

 

Conclusion

The Newport Tower’s embedded letters when converted to gematria reveal numbers typical of Baalist documents. Their transliteration and subsequent translation educate us in a long lost religion. That this tower displays these features severely narrows the field of possible builders. It also strongly suggests that the northern peoples, Norse and others, inhabited this region known as Rhode Island for some time and built an elegant edifice by the year 1161. Pagan / Baalist beliefs are apparent in the design of the structure. Regardless of who designed and built this Tower, it is a marvelous feat of time keeping / engineering.

This still leaves us plenty of mystery but the time period has narrowed to a window beginning in 1116 to around 1161. Furthermore, new evidence of the builder/architect is presented here pointing to a man who used the alias Henricus and who signed his work O.M.

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Similar Articles by the Same Author in PDF and Post:

*Easter Tables

** For numeric background see:

**Freeborn, B.L., Validating North American Runic Inscriptions, noahsage.com, November 2022. PDF only.

Freeborn, B.L., Ancient Riddles to Test Our Wits: The Secret Chamber, noahsage.com, January 2016. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Another Riddle in Stone from Canada, noahsage.com, August 2025. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Deciphering the Spirit Pond, Nomans Land and Narragansett Runic Inscriptions, noahsage.com, November 2022. Amulet post. Map stone postPDF only.

Freeborn, B.L., Et in Arcadia Ego – OUOSVAVV DM – Deciphered, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Kensington Rune Stone: A New Translation, noahsage.com, February 2023. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Rök runestone of Sweden, noahsage.com, April 2023. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Runic Riddles: Time Capsules, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L. The Long Debated Bourne Stone, noahsage.com, January 2023. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Nomans Land – Leif Eriksson Inscription, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Narragansett Inscription: A Translation with its Date of Dedication, Author and Inscriber, noahsage.com, October 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Newport Tower: Finding the Date of Dedication, its Designer and Builder, noahsage.com, October 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Wawa Stone and Its Viking Ship, noahsage.com, August 2025. Post here.

References

Creedon, Marc, Runologist Henrik Williams Examines the Newport Tower, Youtube, April 2015.

Eagan, James Alan, Elizabethan America: The John Dee Tower of 1583/ A Renaissance horologium in Newport, Rhode Island, Cosmopolite Press, Newport, Rhode Island, 2011.

*Monge, Alf & O.G. Landsverk, Norse Medieval Cryptography in Runic Carvings, Norseman Press, Glendale, California, 1967.

Syversen, Earl, Norse Runic Inscriptions with Their Long-forgotten Cryptography, The Vine Hill Press, Sebastopol, California, 1979.

Derogatory article by Aslak Liestol of Alf Mongé’s work: http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/41/v41i01p034-042.pdf  and….

…Landsverk responded to these comments in Ancient Norse Messages pg. 126-129; and often in Runic Records of the Norsemen in America.

ET IN ARCADIA EGO – OUOSVAVV DM – Deciphered

B.L. Freeborn © December 2022        (PDF version here.)

Shugborough_inscription From Wikipedia

The Shugborough Inscription is a sequence of letters ‘OUOSVAVV’ on the first line and ‘DM’ spaced far apart on the second line. It is on a monument built between 1748 and1756 commissioned by Thomas Anson. Above it is a relief by sculptor Peter Scheemakers which is a variation of the Poussin painting Et in Arcadia ego. The famous painting by Nicolas Poussin displays this inscription on a tomb. It translates from Latin as ‘I am also in Arcadia.’ This inscription has eleven letters on top and three on bottom. The Poussin painting was done in 1637-1638. He did an earlier version in 1627. Previous to this, Guercino painted a similar but different version in 1618-1622. The original inspiration is a poem by Roman poet Virgil known as Ecologues. In this poem from 40 BC the inscription on the tomb of Daphnis is described. The tomb is in ‘Arcades.’ Daphnis was a shepherd in ancient Greek mythology.

From Wikipedia

Although the number of shepherds changes from two to three as the work progresses they all include a tomb. At some point in time the full phrase ‘Et in Arcadia ego’ was developed. The fact that Anson invokes this phrase and adds several elements to it suggests there is more to it besides his still undeciphered cipher some 270 years later.

It would seem he saw something in Et in Arcadia ego that others had not and added the lower inscription as a clue to revealing what is in the original phrase which is most definitely a cipher as well.

Indeed, his efforts resulted in creating a perplexing mystery. The solution to Anson’s ‘OUOSVAVV’ and to the riddle concealed in Et in Arcadia ego follow.

Part I: OUOSVAVV DM

Image Details

Before solving it, note what the image gives us:
• A woman on the left stands tall but looks down.
• The sky is tumultuous. On the upper coffin is a round wreath.
• Her right arm is bent and rests on her hip. It forms an arc.
• There are 3 shepherds each of whom has a staff. One leans to the left by the woman. The other two lean to the right. Two of the staffs seem to join at the bottom in a very large V.
• Two of the shepherds gesture at the inscription. Their thumbs are out creating V’s. It is said they are pointing at the N and R but in fact they frame the letter A.
• The third shepherd rests his arm on the tomb with 3 fingers together. This also appears in the Poussin version.
• Their arms form two arcs. The Poussin uses a shadow to depict a third arm /arc.
• While the other three look at the inscription, the shepherd on the left looks directly at the observer with a smile on his face.

Is he laughing because this is a riddle? With those images in mind, the solutions move forward.

Cipher #1: O U O S V A V V – D M

For background purposes:
Many alphabets have numerical equivalents for their letters called gematria. Hebrew, Greek and Futhork are three which have gematria. Hebrew and Greek gematria are still in use today. Then to complicate matters, just slightly, do not forget there are also Roman Numerals which are letters as well. The solution requires the Hebrew gematria – first.

  • O is 70. A is 1.    U is Vav or 6.    S is S or 60.
  • D is D or 4.   M is M or 40. 
  • V is Vav or 6, but then again it is also a 5 as in a Roman V.

If the line is read as DO then the word ‘do’ is found which refers to Poussin. He ‘did’ it. If the D replaces the O then the word DUO can be spelled. An S follows. Perhaps he meant a DUO of S’s. Missing S found.✓

If the A is replaced by it’s value or 1 or Roman numeral I. Then the I is found.✓

There is no N. However, there is an M just below. In Hebrew gematria M has value 40 and N has value 50. There are two V’s where there should be an N. Two Roman V’s equals 10 and 40 + 10 = 50 ⇒ N. Missing N found. ✓

The first letter is O and as stated previously it has value 70. The P in Hebrew has value 80. Once again add two V’s or 10 and find 70 + 10 = 80 ⇒ P. ✓

The last two letters now spell NM which sounds remarkably like ‘name.’

The inscription then simply reads: DO POUSSIN NaMe. – – One mystery solved. ✓

By creating this exercise, Anson has shown us several clues to resolve the riddle in the original inscription. Note that it required two numeric systems to solve it (Hint #1) and more importantly, fixed the value of the O’s at 70 (Hint #2).

We must pause for a moment for a bit of seemingly irrelevant information. In drafting, when drawing an image of an object, two versions are often shown: the plan view – as if one is looking down; and the side view – as if one is looking at the side. Now – in your minds eye – look at the O’ and U’s as if they are plan and side views of an object. This will be called Anson’s Big Hint.

These -3- letters are followed by an S. Recall S often represents the word South. This idea will repeat later.

Cipher #1 Numbers

This requires numbers for a while…distasteful to many… lovely to others.

  • Yahweh or יהוה or 565 10 can be seen in the last four letters. (If A replaced with I.) The V is 5 and then VI is 6. Then V. Two V’s is 10. Or see it this way. In the fifth and sixth position from the left is V and I. This is 5th and 6th then 5 and 6 or 56.

Fully substituting now for the phrase but using only Hebrew gematria it equates to:

70 6 70 60 6 1 6 6
     4 40

  • Find 76 twice at the start. And it repeats again with 70 60.
  • If the last four are seen as Roman numerals 5 1 5 5 = 16 and 60. Together 16+60 = 76.
  • The pattern of the layout is 2 letters and 8 letters or 28. The product of 4 (on line two) and 70 is 280.
  • The 4 repeats in the 40. They sum to 44.
  • The top line sum is 225 and 4 x 225 is 900.
  • The sum from 60 right becomes 79. The remaining numbers sum to 190. See this as a series 79,190…..or…. 7919.
  • There are four 6’s or 24.

Let’s give some of these meaning.
• The period of Halley’s comet is 76 years.
• There are 24 hours in a day and 24 hours of longitude mark the planet.
• Each hour has 60 minutes.
• The number of seconds of longitude is 86400. This is also the number of seconds in a day. Half of this is 432,000 or 432 for short. Reverse this number and find 234.
• The 900 reminds one the pole lies at 90̊.
• The diameter of the planet is 7920 miles.
• The 28 is repeated twice so it must be important. Indeed, a 40 is present and a square of sides 40 has a diagonal of 56.56 which is a number similar to that just seen above.

All but two of the numbers reference time and/or longitude. One reference is to God and the other is to a comet.

How many of these numbers will repeat in that first phrase ET IN ARCADIA – EGO?

Cipher #2 ET IN ARCADIA EGO

To continue, we convert these lines to their numeric equivalent in Hebrew.

  • Each line begins with 79. (70+9) and (70+3+6). T to A (9+10+50+10) is also 79 and it is followed by 200. This is 79200.
  • Sum of top line (376) minus second line (79) is 297. A jumbled 792.
  • IN (10+50) provides 60.
  • NA (50+1) provides 51.
  • I to R (10+50+10+200) provides 270.
  • N and O (50+6) provides 56. The number of letters on the first line is 11 and on the second is 3 so together as 113 it is twice 56.5.
  • From C to A (20+1+4+10+1) is 36.

This much shorter list gives us 51, 36, 376 and 270 that are new.

  • There are 360̊ in a circle.
  • Due west is at 270̊.
  • The Greenwich Meridian is at latitude 51.51̊.
  • 3 76 should be seen as 3 and 76. We have seen the 3 in the Big Hint OUO.

Evidently then, these numbers do relate to longitude and latitude.

The following important note is made. Normally E should equal 1 and A should equal 70. If this arrangement is chosen, nothing is found. Anson did the same manipulation in his riddle. ‘O’ normally has value 6 but he changed it to 70.

The original phrase Virgil used in his poem was only ‘Arcades.’ Someone in turn added the ET IN and EGO with the latter on the second line and changed ‘Arcades’ to ‘Arcadia.’ Presumably this was done in the same manner we say American for someone from America. The endings are just a change in suffix.

Let’s make it worse. After all, Hint #1 suggests two gematrias may be in play here. Having tried Latin and found nothing, the next one attempted was Futhork. This alphabet is used primarily only by the most northern peoples. This inscription is very reminiscent of their style of runic riddles except in Latin letters. Since positioning is of great importance to runic riddles, it is likely the E was aligned under or almost under the I when this was first written. Furthermore, since it is in Latin and Hebrew gematria provides numbers of interest, it is likely the writer was extremely well educated. So, we proceed by using the Younger Futhork. (E and I share value 9. See chart at end.)

This seems random except the 5 and 6 follow each other. So we begin there:

  • RC is 56.
  • NGO is 864.
  • Sum from R to end is 43.
  • Sum of phrase ‘In Arcadia’ is 70. There are two 9’s one above the other and to the left is (9+12) or 21 so…70, 9,21 or… 7921.
    The letters IN provide 98 which reminds one 89 x 89 = 7920.
  • Sum from first I to last I is 60.
  • Sum from first I to R is 32. Sum of ADIA is 32.
  • Sum from first I to D is 51.
  • Sum from C to last I is 28.
  • Sum of A above O is 14.
  • 9+9 = 18.
  • Sum of the top line is 91 and of the second is 19. Note 91 in reverse is 19.

A few of these are new but actually repeat the same ideas.

  • 14 is half of 28 which is half of 56.
  • 32 is 5.65 x 5.65.
  • There are 180̊ degrees of latitude.
  • There are 19 lines in the Easter table. (See below.)

Evidently, it is far from random! Indeed, it can be summed as follows to find something else of great interest.

When was ‘he’ in Arcadia

This is a date. All the runic riddles, as shown by Alf Mongé (1967), are dated via the Easter Tables. This form of calendar was invented in 525 AD by Dionysius Exiguus but was in use in other forms since 390 AD. In the Easter Tables (used to place Easter – a moveable holiday) each year is identified by three numbers: Line #, Golden Number (GN) and Day Letter (DL). There are 19 lines for 532 years and then the calendar recycles. Each line represents 28 years by GN and DL. Each DL tells what day of the week the year started. (The period of years during which these runic riddles were being written is covered by the appended chart.)

‘Vinland: 1011’ As seen Spirit Pond Map Stone

Above we see how a year date is implied by the riddle master. The date should appear twice. Once literally and once at least by confirmation with Line #, GN and DL. One must proceed somewhat by trial and error. Notice the 15. If this is a Line #, it begins with year 1000. Numbers 1010, 1011 and 1012 are present. The first, 1010 has GN 4, DL 1 which is indicated by the 4 next to the 15. Year 1011 and year 1012 are indicated by GN’s 5 and 6 which appear just above them. They have DL’s 7 and 5,6 (leap year) respectively. The DL’s for 1012 are just above. There is no 7 or sum to 7. This gives a span of years from 1010 to 1012 which is very significant. The Spirit Pond runestone SP-3 from Maine dates itself to 1010 and 1011. Also part of the same collection, the amulet stone clearly states Vin 1010; and the Map Stone states Vinland 1011. It can be said then there is support for this interpretation. But it gets better….

Who Wrote It

We know Virgil wrote the original phrase ‘Arcades’ about the year 40 BC. The age of Rome and widespread Paganism. We know Poussin and Guercino both immortalized it around 1630 in its present form. The era of the Pilgrams and witch trials. The above dating suggests that before or in the year 1010 ‘someone’ added the Et In /Ego to the phrase. The era when northern kings of Norway, Denmark and Sweden chose Christianity and began to oppress Paganism earnestly. Anson added his own two lines to those words around 1750. The age when freedom of religion was beginning to take shape. Who then added those three words during the era of Pagan oppression in the north?

Fortunately, many of these encrypted riddles do include the name of the author. Often it is concealed in the telestic/acrostic lines. These are the end letters running down or up the left and right sides of the inscription. In this case EE/AO reveals nothing. Now one should check the letters from both ends as noted by the word count for each line. In this case there are three words on the first line and one on the second. The third letters in, on the first line, are I and D. The first letters on the second are E and O. This is IE from the left and DO from the right.

The letters tell us two things. Anson also found this since he repeated the same ‘DO’ in his riddle. The name of the writer is then IE. But, this is a problem. It is not a name but the Latin phrase ‘ie.’ which is still in use. It essentially means ‘to restate’ or ‘as stated.’ The name then is obvious. ??? It turns out EGO is a male name of Swedish/ Danish/ Norwegian origin. But the text also uses the word ET which means in Latin ‘and.’ Interestingly, another name is also apparent at the same point in the inscription: IN and below it GE – Inge. So it reads:

INGE ET EGO DO – IN ARCADIA – 1010 – 1012

Inge and Ego wrote this – who were in Arcadia in 1010 to 1012

Another mystery appears. Where was Arcadia of the myths and was it a real place in 1010?

Conceal and Anagram

It has become blatantly obvious something else is concealed here. As it happens often in these riddles when an acrostic or telestic requires a letter in a certain position something will be misspelled or words will be compressed together. Let us look at it again. Perhaps if the D is used twice and EGO becomes AGO then it reads:

ET IN ARC / A D / D I / A AGO

Now note: ET spells ‘eat’and AD means ‘fire’ in Old English. It means ‘hell’ in Russian. DI can be taken to mean ‘die’ and ago means ‘in the past.’ Now the phrase becomes: Eat in arc, fire, die, A – a long time ago.

It was eaten in an arc. By fire died A – a long time ago.

The letter framed by the shepherds hands was A. This then is a tomb in memory of ‘A.’ Sound strange? It is about to get even stranger.

We have just assumed the word spacing was compressed. What if this contains anagrams? What words do we see? Die, eat, go, roc(k), net, near, gore, dare, tear, gear, care, gone, ran. And then there is that Big Hint Anson gave…cup or was it a can?

Perhaps this says: ET I I CANADA GORE

No? We can be relatively certain this is the intended meaning by looking at the gematria in Hebrew:

ET I I CANADA       70 9 10 10 20 1 50 1 4 1

GORE                        3 6 200 70

These are found: 7920, 40, 60, 51, 51, 56, 77, 141 and 36, 270, 279. All of which were seen above. But again we have compressed CANADA into one word. Should it be CAN 141? Or CAN AD A? Either way, the whole thing becomes strange. Were Ego and Inge actually in Canada in 1010? Was it even called Canada then?

Virgil used the word ‘Arcades’ and it was where ‘Daphnis’ the shepherd was from. In Latin: ‘arc’ is arc, ‘cade’ is fall, ‘ad’ is to, and ‘caed’ is kill (the root of cadaver). It ends in S. Together it is: arc-fall to death-S. Whereas, Daphnis is not quite so obvious. It is four words together as well: hid-pan-I-S or hid-pan-eye-S. The ending ‘nis’ is remarkably close to ‘N is S’ and English ‘ness’ seen in other runic riddles. A study of many of the names Virgil used are like this. Perhaps the common theme here is Paganism.

It was eaten in an arc. By fire died A – a long time ago.

Inge and Ego wrote this – who were in Canada in 1010 to 1012

Remember – history is written by the victor.

The remainder of the secret is now easy to grasp, if the mind is willing.

Image at Virgil’s Tomb is reminiscent of Ragnarok.

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From Wikipedia

Similar Articles by the Same Author

*Easter Tables

** For numeric background see:

**Freeborn, B.L., Validating North American Runic Inscriptions, noahsage.com, November 2022. PDF only.

Freeborn, B.L., Ancient Riddles to Test Our Wits: The Secret Chamber, noahsage.com, January 2016. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Another Riddle in Stone from Canada, noahsage.com, August 2025. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Deciphering the Spirit Pond, Nomans Land and Narragansett Runic Inscriptions, noahsage.com, November 2022. Amulet post. Map stone postPDF only.

Freeborn, B.L., Et in Arcadia Ego – OUOSVAVV DM – Deciphered, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Kensington Rune Stone: A New Translation, noahsage.com, February 2023. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Rök runestone of Sweden, noahsage.com, April 2023. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Runic Riddles: Time Capsules, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L. The Long Debated Bourne Stone, noahsage.com, January 2023. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Nomans Land – Leif Eriksson Inscription, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Narragansett Inscription: A Translation with its Date of Dedication, Author and Inscriber, noahsage.com, October 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Newport Tower: Finding the Date of Dedication, its Designer and Builder, noahsage.com, October 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Wawa Stone and Its Viking Ship, noahsage.com, August 2025. Post here.

References

Gordon, Cyrus, Riddles in History, Crown Publishers, Inc. New York, 1974.

Landsverk, O.G., Runic Records of the Norsemen in America, Erik J. Friis, Publisher, Rushford, MN, 1974.

Mongé, Alf & O.G. Landsverk, Norse Medieval Cryptography in Runic Carvings, Norseman Press, Glendale, California, 1967.

Derogatory article by Aslak Liestol of Alf Mongé’s work: http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/41/v41i01p034-042.pdf  and….

…Landsverk responded to these comments in Ancient Norse Messages pg. 126-129; and often in Runic Records of the Norsemen in America.

Wikipedia articles on: Guercino ‘Et in Arcadia Ego’ ; Virgil ; Poussin ‘Et in Arcadia Ego’ ; Shugborough Inscription ; and many others.

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Runic Riddles: Time Capsules

B.L. Freeborn © December 2022               (PDF version here.)

Runic riddles are riddles written in runes. Runes are alphabets that were in use in northern Europe, Britain and other northern areas. They were used for centuries but died out and banned with the coming of Christianity.

There are a certain group of inscriptions from this period that are either difficult to interpret, very short, have unexplained symbols, use bindrunes (letters stuck together), and/ or are unusual for some reason. Here is an example from Norway (Lomen No. 2; Norges Inscrifter Med De Yngre Runer, Vol.1, Pg. 216) deemed to be a magic incantation. It is simply a riddle. The solution is at the end of the post.

These unusual ones are where the riddles hide. Primarily they were created for amusement, in the same manner as crosswords are today. Besides providing unique puzzles for people to solve, they often contained phrases and ‘secret messages’ that we find strange or incomprehensible today. They are little windows into a bygone era before the cleansing of facts by ‘modern’ teachers, internet myths, and the Catholic church. The latter worked especially hard via genocide and threats to stamp out Paganism. Throw the Black death into the picture which killed half the population of these areas and it is not surprising that the information these riddles reveal seems …. surprising to say the least.

Sadly, the numbers of inscriptions still in existence are declining with each passing year. They were once abundant. Many now only exist in photos. The few remaining tell us something of importance.

Many preserve the concepts of Baal and Paganism. This religion can be traced back 12000 years. The remaining practitioners faced with the power of the Catholic Church found a way to preserve some hints of it in these riddles. Others tell us of extraordinary journeys. They reveal an important part of our lost knowledge.

The following posts bring a few of these riddles to you. Others are available as pdfs at the bottom of the posts.

Hopefully, they are both enjoyable and educational to you.

Solution:

This is called a magic formula – ISTIL form. The number of duplicated runes varies. This one uses triplicates and to match the three makes bindrunes of the six initial runes. The transliteration of the three bindrunes and duplicated runes is RT UÆ KN III SSS TTT III LLL. This is an anagram for ‘stlis’ in Latin which means ‘quarrel’ or ’cause’ and/or ‘tellus’ meaning Earth or region. This implies a ‘global difficulty.’

The three bindrunes and the triplicates suggest 3. This is equal to Th (or D) rune. Simplify and add the Th:    Th    R T U Æ K N    I S T I L. As numbers this is: 3   5 12 2 4 6 8     9 11 12 9 15.

The group ISTIL has four notable values. 9,11,12 sum to 32✓; then 9,15 sum to 24✓; then 12,9,15 sum to 36✓; and the total is 56.✓ All of these numbers are important. (For checked ✓ number meanings see below**. See next table for rune/number equivalents.)

The first group containing the bindrunes has no meaningful sums except for the total with the 3 (Th) included which is 40. A square of sides 40 has 56.56 as a diagonal. This repeats the ISTIL sum. The group does have the significant series 4 6 8 which in reverse is 864.✓

From Wikipedia

There are several elements of the riddle missing. The author and year are often stated and the number 792 (always present) is missing. This is long enough to contain both. Mongé derived the name KanutR from the first six runes. His solution is different than what is presented here. (Landsverk, Ancient…, pg. 127-138) However, by inspection the name Thorniut is found. (The Æ includes the sound O. Also, the I rune can be an E.) The only letter missing is an I and a K is left over. There are two I’s in the last group, so this implies letter sharing. If the K shifts to the last group notice this list of small abbreviated words can be formed: KIL (kill); I TIL (I tell); I LIS (I lies); S (south); I TI LI S (I tie lie South). When taken altogether the following is suggested:

I Thorniut tell. The I tie lies South where it was killed in the global upheaval.

This is a typical Baalist statement, including the name of the author, but the number 792 is still missing so the solution is incomplete. If Thorniut is converted to numbers as given (without the I) one finds: 3 4 5 8 2 12. Now the following sums are noted: 3,4 sums to 7; then 4,5 sums to 9; then 3,4,5,8 sums to 20 so that we now have 7920.✓

The year would complete the picture. Some indication of the year and three other numbers is sought: the Golden Number (GN), the Day Letter (DL) and the Line #. These numbers are used to find dates on the Perpetual Easter Table (here). A complete discussion of this is found in any of Landsverk’s books listed below.

The letters as bindrunes were anagrammed for a reason so returning to those runes/numbers we have: 5 12 2 4 6 8. These can somewhat change order since there is no way to tell which rune of the bindrune should go first ie. 12 5 4 2 8 6 etc. Note the 1224 looks like a year and in fact, Line # 4 in the attached chart begins with that year. The 4 is present in the series. But year 1224 has GN 9 which is not present in this group. Since 3 is prominently noted by the triplicates, if taken to mean GN 3 then on this 4th line, year 1237 is indicated. It has day letter 4. The sum of this series of numbers is 37 confirming the date.

Other dates for similar reasons can be found. But after much searching 1237 seemed to have the most in its favor. Mongé dated this to 3 March 1199 using just the 3’s. There is good reason to accept his date except that all versions of Istil riddles repeating 3 times would then imply the same date. The reader is free to search for other plausible dates using the attached Easter Table.

I Thorniut tell in the year 1237. The I tie lies South where it was killed in the global upheaval.

Earlier Riddle Posts      Next Post

Similar Articles by the Same Author in PDF and Post:

*Easter Tables

** For numeric background see:

**Freeborn, B.L., Validating North American Runic Inscriptions, noahsage.com, November 2022. PDF only.

Freeborn, B.L., Ancient Riddles to Test Our Wits: The Secret Chamber, noahsage.com, January 2016. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Another Riddle in Stone from Canada, noahsage.com, August 2025. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Deciphering the Spirit Pond, Nomans Land and Narragansett Runic Inscriptions, noahsage.com, November 2022. Amulet post. Map stone postPDF only.

Freeborn, B.L., Et in Arcadia Ego – OUOSVAVV DM – Deciphered, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Kensington Rune Stone: A New Translation, noahsage.com, February 2023. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Rök runestone of Sweden, noahsage.com, April 2023. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., Runic Riddles: Time Capsules, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L. The Long Debated Bourne Stone, noahsage.com, January 2023. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Nomans Land – Leif Eriksson Inscription, noahsage.com, December 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Narragansett Inscription: A Translation with its Date of Dedication, Author and Inscriber, noahsage.com, October 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Newport Tower: Finding the Date of Dedication, its Designer and Builder, noahsage.com, October 2022. Post here.

Freeborn, B.L., The Wawa Stone and Its Viking Ship, noahsage.com, August 2025. Post here.

Book References:

Landsverk, O.G., Runic Records of the Norsemen in America, Erik J. Friis, Publisher, Rushford, MN, 1974.

Landsverk, O.G., Ancient Norse Messages, Norseman Press, Glendale, California, 1969.

Mongé, Alf & O.G. Landsverk, Norse Medieval Cryptography in Runic Carvings, Norseman Press, Glendale, California, 1967.

Syversen, Earl, Norse Runic Inscriptions: with their Long-forgotten Cryptography, The Vine Hill Press, Sebastopol, California, 1979.

Derogatory article by Aslak Liestol of Alf Mongé’s work: http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/41/v41i01p034-042.pdf  and….

…Landsverk responded to these comments in Ancient Norse Messages pg. 126-129; and often in Runic Records of the Norsemen in America.

Hidden Messages from the Ancients

© 2019 B. L. Freeborn

Here is a short riddle…

 

את הארוט
סעו נאטטירו פניסו אנו וו את
טסאלפמיס סאדוך ראוא דאטארך רו
פניראדיסנוך,
ווה פנול טי כווט וט כארב טי
,אנו וו את טסום טלוכיוויד.

??????

Use this key:

Key to the Hebrew Letters and the Latin Letter that will serve to substitute for it in this study due to font issues.

Using the above key to the Hebrew letters find:

Torah The
the of one using written was
or created ever codes simplest
considering,
it break to took it long how
.difficult most the of one,

Then read them right to left:

The Torah
was written using one of the
simplest codes ever created or,
considering
how long it took to break it,
one of the most difficult.

Apply this same method to this verse from the Torah. (Word order already reversed.)

Deuteronomy Verse 25:14:

לך יהיה לא
בביתך
איפה
איפה
גדולה
וקטנה

Change into Latin letters:

ea-l  h-i-h-i  k-l

c-th-i-b-b

h-p-i-ea

h-p-i-ea

h-l-wf-d-g

h-n-t-q-wf

Into Old English using linked words (letters):

Eall! Hie! Hie! Cyll!
Cuthe-thy-yb-beeb
Haep-pie-ea
Haep-pie-ea
Hleow-wod-dag
Hnat-taque-quo

From Old English to modern:

All! Hy! Hy! It killed!
Clearly then around about it was stranded in tides
It happened as the powerful worms were at the source
It happened as the powerful worms were at the source
At the hollow mound it was senseless as the daggers
collided and changed the direction of its tack as it was leveled

Using the same method:

-Deuteronomy 28:1

גויי כל על

l-a   l-k   i-i-wf-g

Laeg loc eage-iew-wag

The lay and look at the eye was revealed and a wall

Using the same method:

-Deuteronomy 34:6

מול מואב בארץ

ts-r-ea-b   b-ea-wf-m   l-wf-m

Tos-seare-rab beuf-wom loma

It tossed, seared and raved above as it was bent where it looms

And these are some of the numerous other gems:

“Gaze on it all and how it was essentially horrible.”   -Numbers 6:4

“It quelled the living with stones that were abundant
It billowed forth thus as it ebbed at the gorges
in the lands with wasting heat.”    -Numbers 22: 38

“The battles on the living were woeful omens and flames that married.”    -Numbers 22: 41.

Last post —   Back to the first post on this topic

 

 

 

 

The One and Only Language of the Ancients

The thickest ice of the planet is not located at the poles as would be expected.

The thickest ice of the planet is not located at the poles as would be expected.

© 2018 B. L. Freeborn

In the last post the idea that ancient art describes the events of a great comet impact and an associated crustal displacement was discussed. It was also suggested that perhaps there is another way to retrieve any existing ancient records of such an event. This leads to a necessary assumption.

NASA image of crater

NASA image of crater

Assuming knowledge of the pole’s movement was known by key individuals, and if they adamantly believed this knowledge must be passed down through an infinite number of generations, then it should be found in the records of numerous cultures. The depiction of key elements in the art of vastly distant cultures, in both time and place, suggests this is true.

The Bible relates that originally one language existed. This has no doubt spurred on the countless researchers over the last 400+ years, since the existence of a base language was first suggested. The Indo-European Language (also known as indogermanisch) is the proposed base language from which a multitude of others evolved. Countless man hours of research has resulted in the mapping out of language development throughout Europe and western Asia. The oldest known is from 4200 BC in the Anatolian region. This is the same area from which Luwian Hieroglyphs originated that have often been referred to in these posts.

Side view of Great Circle in Newark, Ohio.

Side view of Great Circle in Newark, Ohio.

This four century study has also resulted in the mapping of religious areas and trade routes. If one works backwards from this idea, then it is possible to conjecture that the base language was part and parcel to religion, since trade can be done without verbal communication. Which begs the question: what ancient religion was involved?

A good candidate is…………….? Next post

Back to the first post on this topic.

Ancient Riddles to Test Our Wits: Indus Script

© 2017 B. L. Freeborn

Indus Valley Seal A.

Another ancient riddle presents itself in the Indus Valley seals written in a script which has defied translation. We are in a unique position to make a few inroads into this mystery. A search of Indus Valley Seals shows that the bull at the manger was a common motif so it is worthy of analysis. The message on each of these three seals is obviously different yet the symbolism is remarkably familiar.

Find in the image ….

Indus Valley Seal B.

Ba’al is like a bull.

The serpent like comets were like horns upon a bull.

Upon the covering of the mighty one they left marks like eyebrows.

The pole moved lower.

Indus Valley Seal C.

Now there is a cup on it.

Around it and in it are many cup marks.

The pole of measures now lies above it.

It came to the pole to eat.

——————————-

The familiar symbolism assures us that these images refer to the double comet impact which formed the Nastapoka Arc and Hudson Bay amidst the mighty two mile thick ice sheet..

Observe the first two glyphs on Seal A are very nearly Hebrew  (M) and (I). The double square is also reminiscent of the Metcalf Stone’s first symbol or a dagger.

The third symbol suggests the up/down triangles noted in the previous post and seen in Da Vinci’s art, the Grave Creek Stone and other places. By connecting them to the oblong circle it further suggests the idea of the mountain that became a deep round abyss.

Like in the Grave Creek Stone some of the glyphs are elevated on a peak or delta which make the two glyphs in the center of Seal B appear to be fish but they probably suggest the ‘crater above’ or the ‘crater that delineates.’

Note the symbol immediately to the right of these looks like a comet entering a crater suggesting the idea of an impact.

The two parallel lines are seen on the Newberry Tablet and suggest longitude and/or latitude lines.

On Seal C the Hebrew letter for (Sh) is also elevated and the glyph is reminiscent of the menorah. The symbol third from the right, also elevated, appears to be a mountain that has been shot. Immediately to the right is a glyph like dual flames reminding one of Ba’al which literally means both fires.

Further still, many of the symbols are nearly identical to Luwian Hieroglyphs.

Perhaps with these few clues someone will be able to translate the script…..!!!

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Ancient Riddles to Test Our Wits: Ancient or Modern Copies?

Elephant Tablet found during construction of Cuenca Airport, Ecuador

Elephant Tablet found during construction of Cuenca Airport, Ecuador

© 2016 B. L. Freeborn, updated August 2022

This piece from the Crespi Collection found during construction of the Airport in Cuenca, Ecuador is obviously related to the three stones shown below. An image of the Cuenca stele was published in a book by Barry Fell in 1976. The other three are from Burrow’s Cave which was reportedly found in 1982. In a previous post this stone was translated. Can it be determined if the other three are copies of this stone and if the copies were made relatively recently?

Using transliteration into Paleo-Hebrew circa 200 to 100 BC and Hebrew Letters as derived by J. Huston McCulloch in his study of the Newark Decalogue Stone from Ohio, the Elephant Tablets are translated with the aid of the Anglo-Saxon Language.

These copies of the elephant stone are believed to be from Burrows Cave which means their authenticity is in question.

These copies of the elephant stele are believed to be from Burrow’s Cave which means their authenticity is in question.

Compare the detail in the elephant and Sun. The Sun should appear as a dual reference to Baal’s crater as an origin. The Cuenca shows two eyes and lines radiating from a central O. The trunk of the elephant does not show the all important crater shape in any of the other copies. The back of the mammoth does not appear broken and in the eyebrow shape of Hudson Bay. If it was copied from the Cuenca Stele then the ‘copier’ was far removed from the significance of the detail in it.

The overall presentation on circular and chipped tile shapes is consistent with the story of Baal. However, the stones on the left and right appear freshly machined. And finally, the inscriptions in line 1 and 2 are different than the Cuenca.

The letter ‘th’ in the first line is not reversed as in the Cuenca example which suggests two possibilities. The first is both lines are to be read left to right. The second possibility is the copier was unaware of why the ‘th’ was reversed in the first line and corrected it. The lifespan of the copier cannot be determined by this difference just that he might have thought it was an error in the original. The middle stone’s N (center of first line) is truer to the Paleo-Hebrew style. But it also appears to be an L which then gives the word BL or Baal when read right left.

Lastly, note the facing C’s in the middle line of all four. These were seen in other tablets from Ohio and in art from Knowth, Ireland. Previously, using Luwian glyphs the meaning Great Origin or Mighty Crater was derived from this pattern. It also leads one to another translation of the middle line. If the ‘Th’ stands alone to represent ‘the’ and the C is the Luwian symbol for ‘great’. This then reads ‘The Great cave of Baal’ which is totally plausible and in line with ancient wit to use two languages/alphabets within a text (as academics still do today) and two meanings within the same line.

The overall problem remains though. Because the image of the Cuenca stele was freely available, did Burrow’s make the other three by copying it with minor changes? Barry Fell himself stated the first image published of the stele had an incorrect letter. That mistake appears in the Burrow’s Cave steles.

Old and real? New and fake?

Or copies of secreted away originals?

_________

Back to first post on Elephant Tablet          Ahead to    Next Post

Back to Newberry Tablet beginning or its conclusion.

Paleo-Hebrew at oocities.org

____________________

See full article on the alphabet by J. Huston McCulloch at:

http://www.econ.ohio-state.edu/jhm/arch/decalog.html