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Uunartoq disc
The Uunartoq platter was discover in an 11th century convent in Greenland in 1948 . It is think to have been used as a orbit by the Vikings as they pass over the North Atlantic Ocean from Norway to Greenland .
Sun compass vs. twilight board
former interpretations of the artifact have suggested that the Vikings used the disc almost as a sun dial , in which the trace cast by a tenuous , cardinal pin indicated the cardinal counselling of traveling . But now , researcher from Hungary have present a new interpretation of the artifact as a gloaming control panel that could have been used even when the sun was below the horizon with the help of accessory items include quartz glass and a wooden slab .
Sunstones
aventurine , for example , were slice of calcite that could have helped locate the position of the obscure sun base on colorful patterns cast within the quartz glass due to the polarization of UV rays in the sky .
Testing the sunstones
Two sunstones would have been used in conjunction to locate the position of the sun beneath the skyline .
Shadow stick
Once the Vikings settle the position of the sun , they may have used a prick call a shadow spliff to fix their cardinal direction .
How Vikings Might Have Navigated on Cloudy Days
Neither sunstone nor shadow stick have been discovered in conjunction with the Unnatorq disc , but both have been spell about in mediaeval writings , suggest that they would have been usable to the Vikings .
