Archive for January, 2009

Imagine, for a moment, you are a skilled archaeologist, having devoted years of your life to the uncovering, cataloguing, and assimilation of physical artifacts. You are on an expedition in Sweden, doing research into Scandinavian artifacts in the hopes of illuminating the lives and history of Vikings. One of the artifacts, one of many you publicly announce to little fanfare, is a shard of pottery. Only three words of the old language are clearly legible: "slave," "king," and "judge."

Those three words, common in Viking stories and legends of the day, say nothing about what or whom they refer to, and could be anything from a child's reader to an epic poem. A minority of modern Scandinavians still believe in the Viking gods, and they proudly insist that it refers to Odin–who in Norse mythology (oops, I mean in their truth) is the "king" of the gods, the head of the twelve "judges," and to whom male "slaves" were sacrificed during blót festivals. What more proof could any rational person need? Odin is said to have visited Uppsala, Sweden in person–the king of the gods walking on earth–and those three words on the pottery prove it!

The next day, all of Sweden is abuzz with wonder. The neo-Vikings rattle loudly in the media that their ancient beliefs have been shown true. A week later, their exaltation spreads to the world's newspapers, which pick up the story and spread it uncritically and with arresting headlines. "The God Odin is Proven Real," the stories read, "By Startling New Archaelogical Find." You are now a hero to neo-Vikings everywhere: you have just proven Odin.

Sound implausible? Read on.

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