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Hampton, New Hampshire: Thorvald's Rock

This rock, with Viking runes, marks the AD 1004 grave of Thorvald, brother of Viking explorer Leif Eriksson and son of Erik the Red. Or -- maybe it's just a rock with scratches on it.

Tuck Museum

Address:
40 Park Ave., Hampton, NH
Directions:
Tuck Museum. US Hwy 1 (Lafayette Rd) just north of its intersection with Hwy 101 (Exeter-Hampton Expy). Turn east on Park Ave. to the Tuck Museum. The rock is in the little round rock well, on the lawn on the north side of the street.
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Visitor Tips and News About Thorvald's Rock

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Thorvald's Rock.

Thorvald's Rock

My father, who is knowledgeable about the (Minnesota) Vikings, seems skeptical about the authenticity of Thorvald's Rock.

[Kurt Deion / kurtshistoricsites.com, 05/21/2019]

Thorvald's Rock

Thorvald's Rock

The Tuck Museum is really cute, showing the history of Hampton, but the rock is really nothing much.

[Sue Thompson, 07/17/2017]
Thorvald's Rock

This rock, with Viking runes, supposedly marks the AD 1004 grave of Thorvald, brother of Viking explorer Leif Eriksson and son of Erik the Red. Or -- maybe it's just a rock with scratches on it, packaged as a Viking relic by Hampton district court judge Charles A. Lamprey, who wanted to increase the value of land that he was developing for beach cottages in 1902 (Lamprey's claims were boosted, kind of, by runologist Ola Strandwold, who said that the scratches really were ancient, but that they read, "Bui raised stone 1043 AD"). Whatever its pedigree, Thorvald's Rock quickly became a bona-fide tourist attraction. People began to chip away at it for souvenirs. A Massachusetts man tried to drag the entire boulder away in a truck. In 1989 it was moved to the garden of the Tuck Museum, where it's now safely encased in a concrete well topped with a row of iron bars.

[Roadsideamerica.com Team, 12/03/2005]

Nearby Offbeat Places

Memorial to a WitchMemorial to a Witch, Hampton, NH - < 1 mi.
Hotel with Fake LighthouseHotel with Fake Lighthouse, Hampton, NH - 2 mi.
16-Foot-Tall Beach Santa16-Foot-Tall Beach Santa, Hampton, NH - 2 mi.
In the region:
Salem Wax Museum, Salem, MA - 29 mi.

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