A document which is either,
A) a 15th century copy of an earlier Norse map
recording the Viking 10th and 11th century exploration
of North America, or
B) a fake concocted by a group of unscrupulous book
dealers who thereby managed to scam some 300,000 USD(*).
Generally speaking, persons associated with Yale University take
up position A) whilst the rest of the world inclines
to B).
The Vinland map first surfaced in the late 1950's. It
was shown to, and rejected by, the British Library, and
ended up under the control of a book dealer, Laurence
Witten. With the support of the Yale University librarian, Thomas
Marston, he persuaded Paul Mellon to purchase the
document and donate the map to the university. Yale
announced the "discovery" of the Vinland Map in
October 1965. Naturally, it has sought to maintain its
"authenticity" ever since, given that a genuine
Vinland map would be a very valuable commercial
commodity indeed.
It is however, undoubtedly a fake since
- Micro analysis of the composition of the inks used
on the map places its origins very firmly in the 20th
century
- Analysis of the history of the source and
acquisition of the document reveals its highly
questionable provenance
- An analysis of the document itself shows a number
of historical anachronisms inconsistent with its supposed 15th century origins
(*) As in 1958 US dollars, multiply by a factor of six to get 2001 US dollars
Sources
Update for the Vinland Map and the Turin Shroud by Dr.
Walter C. McCrone (at
www.mcri.org/vm_shroud_update.html)
Vinland Re-read by Paul Saenger, Imago Mundi - The
International Journal for the History of Cartography
Vol. 50 (1998)